West Chicago veterans restore vintage F-84 fighter jet
The F-84 fighter jet arrived on a truck in pieces of rusted metal, riddled with bullet holes, broken windows, minus one wing tip and covered in bird excrement.
She survived war during her prime in the 1950s only to lay broken and abandoned in a Kansas cornfield through tornadoes and decades of neglect.
In a crowded Saturday ceremony, held three years to the day the F-84 arrived, the West Chicago veterans who long labored to get her here officially dedicated the jet.
"I'm kind of numb," said Kenneth Richardt, of West Chicago VFW Post 6791. "This is in memory of everyone who gave their lives for our freedom."
The refurbished Korean War-era F-84 jet is mounted in all its glory on a pylon in front of the post's clubhouse along Route 59.
Richardt, 90, a lifelong West Chicago resident who served in the Air Force during World War II, is credited as being the driving force behind the jet's arrival. His older brother, Leon, a Marine, was the first West Chicago resident to die in that war in 1942 when the 26-year-old man fell on a hand grenade that a Japanese soldier threw into the tank.
His sacrifice allowed two of his comrades to escape and be rescued. The West Chicago VFW post is named in Leon Richardt's honor.
The jet, on loan from the U.S. Air Force, is on display next to the post's signature M47 tank and cannons, dedicated in 1989. The F-84's restoration involved countless business and private donors who gave their time, money and services.
Jerry Polz, of West Chicago's Jerry's Welding, led the massive project, beginning to end, when the 25 gallons of red, white and blue paint were dry and the massive bird was hoisted via a crane into the sky.
"It wasn't easy," Polz said, "but it's been a real honor."
Added Chuck Scheckel, post chaplain: "It's the true end of a tour of work and love. This is a remembrance of what was, what is and what can be."
Only 2,348 of this particular F-84 model were made, officials said, by the time its production ended in 1957. The crowd for Saturday's dedication included old and new veterans, and state and local dignitaries, such as West Chicago Mayor Michael Kwasman.
"I was here when the truck brought this jet in pieces, rusted metal, parts missing and it seemed that every bird in the Midwest autographed it - what a mess," the mayor told the crowd. "But the heroes of this post saw something different; they envisioned a rebirth of history. And, only through those eyes that saw history, created history, present us- West Chicago - with the future."
At least one man in the crowd actually had flown a similar jet. Nicolas Trifilio, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, said the site of the jet made him feel as if his life had come full circle, The pilot regaled the crowd with stories of his flights.
"I couldn't believe my eyes," said Trifilio, whose service included the Vietnam War and spanned from 1952 to 1974. "This is one of the most remarkable days of my life."