WESTFIELD, Mass. — Barnes Air National Guard Base is holding a memorial service to honor the 13 members of its 104th Fighter Wing who have died on duty since 1948.
The ceremony for families and service members is Sunday afternoon at the western Massachusetts base. It will be the 28th rededication of the F-100 Memorial, which honors the men, who were from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and France.
The most recent loss was Lt. Col. Morris Fontenot of Longmeadow, whose plane crashed in Virginia in August. Members of his family are expected, along with relatives of Capt. Leonard Bannish of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and Capt. Frank Gibe of Westfield. Bannish died in 1968 and Gibe in 1956.
Other guests include Maj. Gen. Scott Rice, adjutant general of the Massachusetts National Guard and local legislators.
