F-4 Phantom to be mounted Monday

MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) - The F-4 Phantom aircraft that recently returned to Meridian is being reassembled outside the G.V. Sonny Montgomery National Guard Complex.

The aircraft is scheduled to be fully mounted Monday. Making this happen wasn’t an easy task, as it cost nearly $100,000, and all that money came from donations within the community. The maintenance crew starts working on the aircraft as early as 8 a.m. We spoke with a retired colonel who flew this plane in the late 1970s.

“Around the local area, we’ve probably got 10 or 15 guys that actually flew this airplane so they’re all excited to see it back home as I am. It’s a machine that has a personality. All of these airplanes would talk to you. You’d fly them and they all seem to have a somewhat of a personality, so I just hope the airplane’s proud to be back home as we are to have it here,” said retired Col. Bob Moody.

This plane is just the beginning of the new Veterans Memorial Park at Key Field. The Phantom jet will be surrounded by other memorials to honor the people who have fought for this country. Organizers said their next project is to build a wall of remembrance.

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