On June 23, 1944, Kinglsey was serving as the bombardier of a B-17 on a mission over the Romanian oil fields at Ploesti. During the raid, Kingsley’s aircraft was heavily damaged and the tail gunner, Michael J. Sullivan, was wounded. Kingsley administered first aid to Sullivan and another wounded crewmember as the badly damaged B-17 lost altitude. The pilot eventually gave the order to bail out, but Sullivan’s parachute had been damaged, at which point Kingsley removed his own chute and strapped in onto the wounded man. Kingsley then remained with the aircraft until it crashed.
The F-15’s paint scheme was unveiled in 2019, 75 years after Kinglsey’s death. Kinglsey’s portrait, set over Oregon’s Crater Lake, is stenciled on the tail. The rest of the paint scheme is also reflective of the Army Air Corps of Kingsley’s day. The mottled greens and browns are similar to those many B-17s had, and the F-15’s wings are also painted with the distinctive black and white “invasion stripes” that were meant to denote allied aircraft. The nose is also stenciled with art from the squadron and group that Kingsley flew with.https://taskandpurpose.com/history/f15-paint-job-medal-of-honor-parachute/
Wonderful livery, thank you for honoring this native Oregonian. The F-15's from Kingsley Field train over the southern coast where I live, I love getting sight of them when they're at lower altitudes!
1 years ago
Crewchief408