53rd pilot helps honor Airmen's ultimate sacrifice

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Melissa Harvey
  • 301st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
NAS FORT WORTH JRB --  Jan. 14 was a day that the Dennany and Tucci families waited 42 years for, the day when their Airmen were laid to rest.

Col. James E. Dennany and Maj. Robert L. Tucci were remembered in a memorial service at Dallas-Fort worth National Cemetery.

F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-4 Phantom pilots were among those who honored them.

Pilots from the Air Force Reserve Command's 457th Fighter Squadron flew in a missing-man formation with F-4 pilots from Detachment 1, 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron, based at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M.  The detachment is part of the 53rd Wing, headquatered at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

The unique flyover was conducted over the burial service for Colonel. Dennany and Major Tucci.

"It was the first fly-by in which I participated that honored specific persons, said Maj. Jay Bernstein, a 457th Fighter Squadron F-16 pilot stationed at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, Texas. "...To know that our efforts were in honor of a particular aircrew was very special."

It was a privilege to help let the world know that no matter how long it takes, we will keep working to bring our own back home, Maj. Bernstein said.

"As a pilot, there is a definite risk - every time you fly - that something bad may happen. We all acknowledge that possibility," Maj. Bernstein said.

"Every time I read the stories of what these guys did in Vietnam, I'm grateful to them for their service and sacrifice" said Lt. Col. Patrick Karg, operations officer at Detachment 1, 82nd ATRS, and pilot of the F-4 that flew over the ceremony.

I want to thank the individuals who worked to find Colonel Dennany and Major Tucci's crash site, Maj. Bernstein said. They should know that combat aviators and their families truly appreciate their efforts.