Capt Merlyn Dethlefsen Capt Mike Gilroy F-105F Wild Weasel

Captains Merlyn Dethlefsen and Mike Gilroy flew this Republic F-105F Wild Weasel III, serial number 63-8352, on 10 March 1967 defending a 27 US Air Force strike package during the first air attack on the only industrial complex in North Vietnam, the Thai Nguyen Steel Mill 35 miles northeast of Hanoi North Vietnam. The North Vietnamese were waiting for the strike package and Dethlefsen and Gilroy destroyed three Surface to Air Missile sites earning the Medal of Honor for Captain Dethlefsen and the Air Force Cross for Captain Mike Gilroy.