The 1st Fighter Association consists of present and past members of the 1st Fighter Group/1st Fighter Wing with the mission of preserving the heritage of the 1st Fighter Group/Wing. 

27th Fighter Squadron Gets New Commander

On Friday December 16th, the oldest Fighter Squadron in the United States Air Force, the 27th, welcomed it's newest Commanding Officer Lt. Col. Charles E. "Shell" Shuck.  Shell takes over for Lt. Col. David M. "Crash" Elliott.  Crash was among the first F-22 pilots to use the airplane in a military operation when he participated in Operation Inherent Resolve.  He was previously the 27th D.O. which made him the pilot of "Maloney's Pony" prior to becoming Commander.  In attendance representing the 1st Fighter Association were 1st Fighter Association President Emeritus Col. (ret.) Jim "Racquet" Hardenbrook, 1st Fighter Association President Col. (ret.) Pete Marty, 1st Fighter Association Enlisted Advisor Randy "Mopar" Dodge, and Association members Ray Hindle and Darcie DeRosiers.

Lt Robert "Bob" McIntosh Comes Home

On 12 May 1944, 1st Lt Robert L. McIntosh, of the 27th Fighter Squadron, 1st Fighter Group, disappeared during a combat mission in Italy.  His P-38 aircraft, departed Foggia Airfield #3 on a strafing mission against a target in Piacenza, Italy.  After a brief air battle over Bologna, which 1st Lt McIntosh emerged apparently unscathed, the weather worsened and the flight began to climb through the overcast. Although flight leader instructions were acknowledged by 1st Lt McIntosh, his aircraft was observed to dive through the clouds, and he was not seen or heard from again. Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) 4765 documented that he was last seen near Imola, Italy.

After the cessation of hostilities, American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) searches failed to locate his crash site and his remains were declared non-recoverable. In September 2013, Italian citizens excavated a crash site in Santa Cristana, Italy, and found material evidence which correlated with MACR 4765.  Possible human remains, consisting of a single bone fragment, were turned over to U.S. representatives on 11/19/13, and positively identified on 2/12/14.  A DPAA team excavated the site with assistance from an Italian non-profit group in August-September 2015 and the DPAA Lab ultimately identified the additional remains of 1Lt McIntosh on 3/22/16.

​1Lt McIntosh was brought back to his home town of Tiptin Indiana and buried next to his parents on Aug 13 2016, with full military honors.

1st Fighter Association hands out Annual Awards

On February 12th, 2016, Pete Marty, representing the association, gave out three expeditionary awards to member of the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley AFB.  The winners were:
Exp Enlisted- MSgt Bryan Westerhouse (Not available MSgt Vance is in the photo receiving his award)
Exp Non Aviator- 1 Lt Andrew Gibler
Exp Aviator- Capt Kristin Wolfe
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