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This Day in History – June 10, 1969 – The X-15 gets a place in history

10 June 1969: The U.S. Air Force donated the first North American Aviation X-15, serial number 56-6670, to the Smithsonian Institution for display at the National Air and Space Museum. The first of three X-15A hypersonic research rocketplanes built by North American for the Air Force and the National Advisory Committee (NACA, the predecessor of NASA), 56-6670 made the first glide flight and

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Simmonds, Darrell D.

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  • Simmonds, Darrell D.

Darrell D. Simmonds

Preferred Name: Darrell
Nickname/Call Sign: Big D
Date of Birth: January 21, 1934
Highest Military Grade: 0-5 – Lieutenant Colonel
Hometown: Wilbarger, TX
Biography
Pilot Information
Album

“Capt. Dee Simmonds and Lt. George McKinney, both retired lieutenant colonels, were members of the 435th Tactical Fighter Squadron, now the 435th Fighter Training Squadron here at JBSA-Randolph, when they became the first F-4 Phantom crew to shoot down two MiG-21 aircraft on a single mission Nov. 6, 1967.

“It’s not just you, it’s all the resources that you have working for you,” Simmonds said, reminding the group that you don’t achieve success on your own.

“It was the people and resources behind you that helped you get there,” Simmonds said. “When we got done we talked to the whole maintenance group and told them ‘you guys are a part of this.”

McKinney was 23-years-old and 14 months from getting qualified as a pilot when he volunteered from training to go to war.

“Don’t ever forget who packed your parachute, that can be the man or lady on the line, it can be your significant other, you wingman, it can be your squadron commander, it can be anybody,” McKinney said.”(1)

Source: https://www.jbsa.mil/News/News/Article/598847/vietnam-war-pilots-mentor-randolph-pilots/

Units Assigned

  • 1960 492nd Tactical Fighter Squadron/48th Tactical Fighter Wing, Lakenheath RAFB, England (F-100)
  • 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, “Triple Nickel”, Ubon AB, Thailand (F-4 C/D)
  • 1970-1973 58th Fighter Squadron (F-4)

Awards & Decorations

1969 AFAA Medal of Valor

Flight Info

F-100
F-4 C/D

Military & Civilian Education

Simmonds, Darrell F 4
Album Slideshow
Slideshow
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Wall of Honor Location

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