469th Deployment 1968
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The year was 1968, the war in Southeast Asia was raging when Keith realized he needed to prepare for a possible opportunity to deploy with the Air Force in anticipation of sending an Artist to cover the Air War in Vietnam. On 8 November 1968 the artist received orders from the Secretary of the Air Force to proceed to Eglin AFB Florida to join the 469th Tactical Fighter Squadron as they deployed in the first squadron of F-4Es to head to SEA and Korat RTAFB, Thailand. The artist was to fly in the back seat of Lt. Col. Paul Leming's F-4E Phantom. Keith was granted full access to Classified Material giving him complete access to cover the Air Combat campaign in SEA. The Artist is the only known person to fly three different combat missions, in three different aircraft (the F-4E, F-105 & B-52) in a 24-hour period, not to mention he's a civilian.
Below are some slides prepared by Keith's son Todd for the 2024 469th reunion held in Phoenix AZ along with some other images from the artist. These images were pulled from Keith's vast collection of 90K slides documenting his service to our Nation and the United States Military.
Copyrighted Image. Keith Ferris Art Inc.
Keith Ferris Art
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