Eight-Ballers welcome friends, alumni to squadron reunion at Vance

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Thomas R. Barger
  • 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  The 8th Flying Training Squadron welcomed alumni and friends to share stories and pay homage to those who came before during a reunion here Friday, March 16.

"We are here to remember," said Lt. Col. Marc Dauteuil, commander of the 8th FTS, while toasting to the many "Eight-Ballers" who had come before.

The 8th FTS trains student pilots in the T-6 Texan II aircraft, but the mission of the unit has not always been training.

On Dec. 23, 1941, the War Department, now the Department of Defense, established the 8th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron. It was officially organized on Feb. 1, 1942, in March Field, Calif. A few months later, the squadron entered the Pacific Theatre of World War II taking reconnaissance photos with Lockheed F-4 Lightning aircraft.

Eight-Ballers provided reconnaissance in unarmed aircraft without fighter escort in heavily patrolled enemy airspace. To further add to their dauntingly dangerous missions, the tropical weather often created deadly navigation conditions and made quality photographic intelligence impossible.

Their lack of personnel, equipment, supplies and weapons led the squadron to feel as if they were "behind the eight-ball," or ill-equipped, according to Dauteuil. Their patch depicts this feeling with a warrior standing behind an eight ball.

Their patch pays further homage to their roots with a lightning bolt, in reference to the F-4 Lightning aircraft, as well as a camera around the warrior's neck, alluding to the reconnaissance mission of the 8th PRS.

During the reunion, retired Army Col. Guy M. Huskerson Jr., shared stories about his friendship with recently deceased Air Force Col. Cecil Rigsby. Rigsby flew more than 7,000 hours in World War II with the 8th PRS in New Guinea and during the Korean and Vietnam Wars as well as the Cold War. He was awarded the Silver Star and five Distinguished Flying Crosses.

Eight-Ballers paid respects to the heroics and legacy of Rigsby by performing a flyover during his memorial service in Austin, Texas, last year.

Huskerson ended his address by lifting his pant leg revealing the cowboy boots Rigsby once wore. "I can't fill his shoes, but I can wear his boots," he said.