A 23 year veteran buddy of mine in the Airforce sent this to me via e-mail which made me feel very unappreciated as a vet. You guys here are keeping the honor alive and well. Please keep the faith and support of our men and women in harms way. Here is his e-mail to me.

Subject: Air Force Complaint

Luke AFB is west of Phoenix and is rapidly being surrounded
by civilization that complains about the noise from the base
and its planes, forgetting that it was there long before they were.

A certain lieutenant colonel at Luke AFB deserves a big
pat on the back. Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near
Luke AFB wrote the local paper complaining about a group of F-16s
that disturbed his/her day at the mall. When that individual
read the response from a Luke AFB officer, it must have stung quite
a bit.

The complaint:

"Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base: Whom
do we thank for the morning air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11
a.m., a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead
Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet.
Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel
we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers
at Mervyns early bird special? Any response would be appreciated."

The response:

Regarding "A wake-up call from Luke's jets"
(Letters, Thursday):
On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly timed four-ship
flyby of F-16s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air
Force Base flew over the grave of Capt. Jeremy Fresques.
Capt. Fresques was an Air Force officer who was previously
stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq
on May 30, Memorial Day. At 9 a.m. on June 15, his family and friends
gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband,
son and friend. Based on the letter writer's recount of the flyby, and because of
the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gun
salute, the playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of
Capt. Fresques as I gave them their son's flag on behalf of the President
of the United States and all those veterans and servicemen and
women who understand the sacrifices they have endured. A four-ship
flyby is a display of respect the Air Force pays to those who give
their lives in defense of freedom. We are professional aviators and take
our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer witnessed
was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respects.
The letter writer asks, "Whom do we thank for the morning
air show?"

The 56th Fighter Wing will call for you, and forward your
thanks to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques, and thank them
for you, for it was in their honor that my pilots flew the most
honorable formation of their lives.

Lt. Col. Scott Pleus
CO 63rd Fighter Squadron
Luke AFB

Well said by Col. Pleus.

As the Thunderbirds represent all those in uniform, you guys in the Virtual Thunderbirds represent them as well. I appluad (sp?) you and my hats off to you guys for what you are doing.

keep up the great work!

Metro*

Metro wrote:The complaint:
"Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base: Whom
do we thank for the morning air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11
a.m., a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead
Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet.
Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel
we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers
at Mervyns early bird special? Any response would be appreciated."

no, no. My opinion is simple. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO HEAR JET NOISE...DONT LIVE NEAR A MILITARY BASE!!!!!!!!!!

The base has been there more years than most of the surrounding complainers are old. It is the same exact reason for NAS Oceana and the Blue Angels around San Francisco. If you dont like hearing jets than dont even think about living near an airport. For the blue angels reason, people complain about the noise around when they fly......GUESS WHAT LOSER, if you complain about a single squadron that flys what, only 2 or 3 days (EVERY YEAR) there.... go somewhere else for the weeknd. Do us all good and move or just keep your mouth shut.

I agree with what Viper said 100%. I'll put it a little simpler though:

That's the sound of Freedom. Love it or leave it!

I commend LTC Pleus for his words in an emotional and incredibly important situation. His response was blunt, yet at the same time exceptionally respectful to the original complainer.

I would say a few things a bit differently, but this is a family forum.

Good response from the CO. Did the person who wrote the complaint ever respond back again and thank Lt. Col. Scott Pleus for forwarding their thanks to the widow and his parents? Whomever has the time to write a complaint about a flyby over a mall, needs to look a little deeper and try to appreciate how it's intertwined with her freedom of shoe shopping early that morning.

Not sure if this person did reply. Just got the e-mail from a buddy of mine yesterday. I have not talked with him but probably will sometime today.

This person, I hope , is to shamefull to respond or at the least he or she should have the courage to respond with an apology. I think this person won't. No appreciation for what our men and women do for use on a daily basis.

Hey Viper, I see you live in Va Beach. I lived there for 13 years. Great place. Always loved the sound of freedom there. My first apartment was right under the traffic pattern of NAS Oceana. Put me to sleep in comfort every night. "Reflections Apartments" behind the Lynhaven mall. Know the place? See Ya!

Metro

LD,

I spoke with my bud in the Air Force and he guided me to this site. Apparently the lady did apologize. I'm sure she felt like a real "you know what".

Here is the site.

Metro


http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/wakeup.asp

Hahaha...who serves in the Navy and doesnt like jet noise.

Sabertooth wrote:Hahaha...who serves in the Navy and doesnt like jet noise.

an ******* lol

I am very familiar with this whole complaint, I was serving in the Honor Guard at the time and performed the 21 gun salute at the Capt Fresques funeral. When this complaint was seen in the newspaper we all were thinking WTF? With the Base CO and LtC Pleus response in the paper it sparked an apology from the Retired Naval complainer.

The thing I couldn't figure out is that Luke's approach takes them over the Arrowhead Mall everyday, why on this day did the guy have the need to complain

Panther wrote:The thing I couldn't figure out is that Luke's approach takes them over the Arrowhead Mall everyday, why on this day did the guy have the need to complain

Like LD stated....it interrupted the mans daily morning shoe shopping.

Interesting why this letter is making the rounds again after 2 years. I live in the PHX area and saw the original letter when it happened. Yep, I was amazed, and I still am, that a military veteran could have been so incredibly shorted sighted; however, I at least gave him credit that he apologized and took responsibilty for his actions. That rarely happens in this day and age. . .it's always someone elses fault. So I tip my hat to him on that.

Bon

The only reason I can think that it makes its rounds 2 years later is that someone out there really feels that there is a need to make sure people do not forget. If is is because they lost a loved one or simple have great pride in thier country, these individuals(along with me) feel that it needs to be done.

I have never seen this letter and am glad I finally got to read this. After 2 years, it has gotten buried so far that it had never reached me and many others.

Similar to 9-11, people tend to forget the losses and the sacrifices many of those individuals that have made for this country. Rememberence is the key no matter how long ago it happened.

We keep bringing up 9-11 and many other historical events. Every year we honor those during Memorial Day so we do not forget.

I have no problem reminding the public that people are out doing things to keep this country safe and reminding them that they need to think before "inserting foot in mouth".

Apology accepted on my part. Tipping my hat to this person. I don't think so. The apology(in my belief) was a reactive one. Saving one from embarrasment. There will always be individuals that thinks that what we are doing as a country to defend ourselves is less than honorable. Believe me when I say this. I have flow with more than several pilots at my company that would knock your socks off with their feelings about our men and women in the service and what they are trying to accomplish. Very upsetting. Granted, not like Vietnam and I know it is rare, but all it takes is one person.

As I have served 20 years in the Navy following my father's 22 year in the Airforce service spaning Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf war I, I never think that any information(present or past) to remind people of the sacrifice our men and women of the services is ever unwarranted no mater how long ago it occured.

Metro