481st Tactical Fighter Squadron History . Origins . In 1957 , the 27th Fighter - Escort Wing was assigned to Bergstrom Air Force Base near Austin , Texas and at that time it was part of the Strategic Air Command . In the summer of 1957 , it was renamed as the 27th Tactical Fighter Wing and transferred to the Tactical Air Command . In 1958 , the 27th TFW was inactivated and transferred to Cannon Air Force Base which is just west of Clovis , New Mexico . The transfer did not involve the actual movement of any equipment or aircraft . Instead , the 312th Tactical Fighter Wing and the four squadrons of F - 100 Super Sabre aircraft assigned to it were re - designated as the 27th TFW one day after the 27th had been inactivated at Bergstrom AFB . The 27th TFW was under the 832d Air Division . The four squadrons of the 312th TFW were then re - designated as the 481st , 522d , 523d , and 524th Tactical Fighter Squadrons . This was the beginning of the 481st Tactical Fighter Squadron . Between 1959 and 1973 , aircraft and personnel from the 481st deployed many times to various parts of the world , including Europe , Iran , Saudi Arabia , Taiwan , Thailand and Japan . Some of the known deployments and history are listed below . 10 November 1963 - A deployment of 75 days to Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base , Thailand 14 November 1963 – " Operation Hard Surface " – A deployment to Dhahran , Saudi Arabia . This operation had started with another unit , probably from Cannon AFB , on 4 May 1963 . The 481st participated in this operation from 14 November 1963 to 1 February 1964 . The units assigned to this operation were awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award . 31 March 1964 – " Exercise Delawar " , a CENTO sponsored joint training exercise with the Imperial Iranian Air Force . The 481st TFS and the 429th Tactical Fighter Squadron deployed to Vahdati Air Base at Dezful Iran , with 36 aircraft and over 500 personnel . 7 May 1964 – " Exercise Desert Strike " . This was a joint Air Force and Army training exercise that took place in California , Nevada and Arizona and lasted two weeks . It involved nearly 100 , 000 personnel , fifteen active Air Force fighter squadrons , and numerous other flying squadrons and support units from the active military , the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve . 28 August 1964 – The 481st TFS was selected as the outstanding fighter unit in the Tactical Air Command for the second consecutive quarter . 1 September 1964 – The squadron was sent on a 120 day rotational deployment to Misawa Air Base , Japan . During this time , some aircraft of the 481st TFS also went to Kung Kuan Air Base in Taiwan . While in Taiwan , the aircraft took part in " Operation Sky Soldier VI " . 1 June 1965 – The squadron was the first to respond and depart during a full scale no - notice Operational Readiness Inspection ( ORI ) conducted by an inspection team from the Tactical Air Command . From 29 June 1965 to 22 November 1965 , the 481st was deployed to Tan Son Nhut Air Base , Vietnam . Vietnam War . In the Spring of 1965 , notification was received that the squadron would deploy to Vietnam in late June for a combat tour . On 11 June 1965 , without prior warning , the squadron was alerted to deploy within twenty - four hours and left Cannon AFB on 12 June 1965 under the code name " Operation Two Buck 16 " . After a one - week delay at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines , the squadron arrived at Tan Son Nhut Airbase on 21 June 1965 and began flying combat missions on that first day in South Vietnam . On the night of 19 July , the Army Special Forces camp at Bu Dop , about 100 miles north of Saigon , came under attack by the Viet Cong . Air strikes by two F - 100s of the 481st were credited with “ probably saving the camp that night ” . Just eleven days after this mission , one of the pilots , 1st Lt . Donald D . Watson of Tripoli , Wisconsin was killed on 31 July while flying another air interdiction mission . The squadron averaged over 30 sorties a days and by 6 September 1965 , the 481st TFS “ Crusaders ” had completed 2 , 000 hours of combat flying . In November , many sorties were flown in support of the battle of Plei _ Me and airstrikes by the 481st and other fighter units were “ given much of the credit for turning the battle of Plei Me from disaster into victory . ” When the North Vietnamese left Plei Me and Pleiku , they moved west and the 481st again supported ground troops in the battle that developed in the Ia Drang Valley . While deployed to Vietnam , the 481st aircraft had green triangles painted on the tails which allowed the Forward Air Controllers to easily identify the F - 100s they were controlling as being part of the 481st . Many of the planes had personal names and pictures painted on including “ The Shadow ” , “ Lickity Split ” , “ Pretty Penny ” , “ Why Not ? ” , “ The Mormon Meteor ” , “ The Back Forty ” , “ Mr . Magoo ” , “ Hot Stuff ” , “ Casanova ” , “ Snoopy ” , “ My Little Margie ” and several others . The 481st arrived in Vietnam with eighteen airplanes . During the six - month combat tour , the “ Crusader ’ s ” F - 100s received many hits but only six airplanes were shot down . Captain John Parker was the first pilot to go down and the others were : Captain Joseph Reynes , Captain Charles Summers , Captain Sam Holmes , 1st Lt . Donald Watson , and 1st Lt . John Hauschildt . All ejected safely and were rescued except for 1st Lts . Watson and Hauschildt who were killed . The deaths of Lts . Watson and Hauschildt were part of a larger coincidental tragedy . When four friends who had attended the Air Force Academy together were all assigned to Cannon AFB as pilots , they decided to pool their money and buy a house . Three of the four pilots were assigned to the 481st and the fourth , Lt . Thomas McAtee , was assigned to the 429th Tactical Fighter Squadron . In the space of ten weeks , three of the four friends were killed . On 29 July 1965 , Lt . Donald Watson was killed in South Vietnam . On 23 August 1965 , Lt . Ralph Ford was killed on a training flight near Nara Visa , New Mexico and on 5 October 1965 , Lt . John Hauschildt was killed on a bombing mission in South Vietnam . Lt . McAtee was in Vietnam during this time and had flown 36 combat missions with the 429th TFS . He was shocked to learn of the deaths of his three friends and returned to Clovis , New Mexico in October 1965 to sell the house . Lt . Watson ( left ) and Lt . Huschildt at Cannon AFB during the winter of 1964 - 65 . By 27 November 1965 , the 481st was headed back to Cannon AFB and had flown more than 3 , 600 combat sorties and established an incredible 98 % aircraft in commission rate that assured every combat mission was flown as scheduled . The following F - 100s deployed with the 481st to Vietnam : 0 - 52795 , 0 - 52837 , 0 - 53528 , 0 - 53548 , 0 - 53549 , 0 - 53559 0 - 53569 , 0 - 53602 , 0 - 53603 , 0 - 53604 , 0 - 53613 , 0 - 53622 , 63040 , 63054 , 63056 , 63063 , 63074 , 63100 and 63285 . F - 111 Era . The squadron transitioned to the F - 111 in 1969 and was inactivated on 31 August 1973 . It was later redesignated as the 481st Tactical Fighter Training Squadron and reactivated on 15 January 1976 at Cannon AFB , NM , with assignment to the 27th Tactical Fighter Wing . The unit was again inactivated on 8 July 1980 .