School honors Colorado's last Vietnam MIA Airman Published April 27, 2009 By Capt. Kristin Haley 140th Wing Public Affairs GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- Officials from the Air Force Intelligence School here named its auditorium in honor of Colorado's last missing in action Air National Guard member from the Vietnam War April 10 here. Colorado native Maj. Perry H. Jefferson was honored as members of the Colorado Air National Guard and Major Jefferson's brother, Mike Jefferson, traveled to Goodfellow Air Force Base for the ceremony. "Today we say, 'Thank you,' to the family of Major Perry Jefferson and we honor him with the dedication of the Perry H. Jefferson Auditorium. We will never forget his sacrifice," said Brig. Gen. Trulan A. Eyre, the 140th Wing commander. He charged the intelligence school classes present at the ceremony to remember the story of Jefferson and continue to tell it, so that it will never be forgotten. In April 1968, the 120th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the Colorado Air National Guard became the first intact Air National Guard unit to be called to active duty for combat operations in Vietnam. The unit deployed with F-100 Super Sabre jets to Phan Rang Air Base, South Vietnam. During the wing's deployment, the Viet Cong had steadily increased its attacks on the base causing significant impact to flying operations. Then Capt. Jefferson volunteered to fly a routine aerial observation mission in the Army's O-1G Bird Dog aircraft in an effort to locate and identify the enemy forces. On April 3, 1969, just one week before he was scheduled to return home, Major Jefferson and Army 1st Lt. Arthur Ecklund took off on an intelligence mission at 6:55 a.m. Vietnam time on call sign Seahorse 78, to the mountainous region of the Ninh Thuan Province. They never returned. An exhaustive three day search ensued but hostile forces in the area prevented the discovery of the crash site. Major Jefferson and Lieutenant Ecklund were officially listed as missing in action April 6, 1969. In 1984, human remains were found near the location the O-1G was last seen and were later identified as Lieutenant Ecklund's. Then in 2001, a Vietnamese national living in California turned over what he believed were the remains of a U.S. serviceman found near a crashed aircraft. In October 2007, DNA and dental record analysis identified those remains as Jefferson's. On April 3, 2008, among family members and friends who served alongside him in Vietnam, Major Jefferson was interned with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. The ceremony included a 21-gun salute and an F-16 Fighting Falcon missing man formation flown by the 120th Fighter Squadron of the Colorado Air National Guard, Major Perry's squadron. General Eyre led the formation over Arlington. "There are certain moments in our lives that define our careers," General Eyre said. "For me, it was flying over the Potomac, over the Pentagon, and over Arlington in honor of a fellow Colorado Guardsman. I'll never forget it". Major Jefferson's name is etched on Panel 27W, Row 005 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. For years, a cross was etched beside his name signifying his MIA status. In the weeks leading to Memorial Day in 2008, the cross was changed to a diamond, marking his belated repatriation. Comment on this story (comments may be published on Air Force Link) View the comments/letters page