(Pasadena, Texas) – On July 29, 1984 American Legion Post 521 received a F4D Fighter Jet from the Air Force Reclamation Center and dedicated it to all POW’s and MIA’s from all wars and conflicts involving the United States of America. Recently, the Post reached out to the Coating Society of Houston for assistance in refurbishing this iconic piece of memorabilia, which was showing extreme decay due to local weather conditions. “We have been working getting this plane restored for several years and were finally able to find a group that was willing to donate their time and materials to helping us,” said Joseph Thomas, 22nd District Commander of the American Legion Department of Texas.
The F4D model manufactured by McDonnell Douglas was used extensively during the Vietnam crisis. It is an all-weather fighter bomber or interceptor with capabilities of delivering combinations of munitions.
Date: Saturday, December 19, 2020
Time: 10am to 11am
Location: 2221 Preston Road, Pasadena, Texas 77503 (at the jet)
Parking: Free parking
Guests of Honor: City of Pasadena Officials, American Legion members, Coating Society of Houston, GMA Garnet Group, Mineral Tech, Apache Industrial Services BrandSafway, CFG Coatings, Abrasive Warehouse and Supply and PPG Industries
A brief history on the F4 Fighter Bomber:
youtu.be/vTm3sPgJoYU (YouTube 14:09 min.)
Pete Mitchell, project co-manager, stated, “It has been interesting talking to various people about what we are doing with this restoration. We have a lot of veterans that we work with in this group and it has never really been a focal point. In doing this project it has really hit home how this has affected not only our veterans, but those in the community.”
The Coating Society of the Houston Area was established in 1956 as a charitable organization with the purpose of promoting education and best practices in corrosion control and to expand the knowledge and proper use of protective coatings to mitigate the effects or corrosion in industry.
The American Legion Post 521 meets every 1st Monday of the month. Members business meeting starts at 7:00PM at 2221 Preston Road, Pasadena, Texas 77503. The gathering is open to current members and new prospective members.
The American Legion was founded in 1919 in Indianapolis, Indiana and has gone on to create an illustrious history established on four pillars - Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation, National Security, Americanism, and Children & Youth.
To review a complete schedule of activity of American Legion Post 521, please visit: www.facebook.com/AmericanLegionPost521
###