Last to Serve
When the Idaho Air National Guard 124th Fighter Wing retired its last eight F-4 Phantom II aircraft, it ended an era.
An F-4G Wild Weasel had flown its last combat mission on Jan. 2, 1996, over Southern Iraq. A few weeks later, the U.S. Air Force had retired its last F-4 aircraft. Then, on April 20, 1996, in ceremonies at Gowen Field in Boise, Idaho, the 124th Fighter Wing flew the last operational flight of the F-4 Phantom II in an F-4G aircraft. With the line already retired by the Navy and Marine Corps in January 1992, the Phantom II reign over the skies had ended.
The Phantom had been in active U.S. military service since it was first delivered to the Navy in 1960. It joined the services of both the Air Force and Marines in 1962. It had served in both Vietnam and Operation Desert Storm. It had become known as the "world's leading distributor of MiG parts" due to its kill record and had demolished the Iraqi air defense system.
The Phantom II continues to fly in defense of eight other nations. About 100 remain in U.S. service as drones and missile targets, including the eight aircraft which flew to the "boneyard" at Arizona's Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in April 1996.