Tennessee native and Memphis State graduate, Win DePoorter flew Skyraiders in the USAF from 1965-1969. His distinguished AF service spanned 28 years, all in fighters (F-102, F-106, A-1, F-4). He flew two combat tours in the A-1 and was an A-1 instructor in Florida. He was an “original Sandy” in the 602nd ACS and later specialized in covering infil/exfil of special ops teams with the 6th SOS. DePoorter may hold the record in the A-1 community and possibly amongst all fighter/bomber aircraft in SEA with a mission tally of 657. DePoorter has 2 Silver Stars, 5 DFC’s, and 29 Air Medals. To say he is a special man and an American hero is an understatement. To ask him, he would say he was “simply doing my job”. If you know of any former Skyraider pilots that would like to visit the Tennessee Museum of Aviation.
Source / Author: Tennessee Museum of Aviation
Photo: Tennessee Museum of Aviation