A Hero's Legacy of Service

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Paul Kanning
  • 325th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Commander
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Did you hear about Morgan Musgrove? Sure, you remember Morgan. Maybe you knew him by his nickname, Moose. Still doesn't ring a bell? You mean you never knew Moose?

Neither did I. In fact, I never heard of Moose Musgrove until a fellow Airman in the 325th Maintenance Group recently told me about him. After hearing his story, I soon realized Moose was a bona fide American hero. I mean it, this man was the real deal. He was an Airman before there was an Air Force. He was a warrior longer than most of us have been alive. And Moose Musgrove could have been the poster boy when "Service Before Self" was coined.

Moose was born in the 1920s in Alabama. When World War II began, he joined the U.S. Army and served in the Air Corps, maintaining B-17 bomber instrumentation and electrical systems. After the war, he worked a bit in the U.S. Postal Service and then came to Tyndall Air Force Base as a civil service Airman. Moose repaired electrical systems on every type of aircraft that has been stationed at Tyndall. He fixed F-101s, B-29s, T-33s, QF-4s, F-15s, and all the other multitude of aircraft that have called Tyndall their home. He spent 51 years out on this flightline working on airplanes. Fifty one years.

Can you imagine that? Imagine serving your country during World War II. Imagine being in that war against tyrants, something so important in our history that we read new books and watch new movies about it still to this day. And can you imagine carrying a toolbox out to the flightline every day for 51 years straight? Imagine how many hot, steamy Florida days he spent out on that concrete. On top of that, imagine also serving the public in the Postal Service. Imagine serving your community as a senior deacon in your church. Imagine all that service and at the same time raising a family. You see what I mean about Moose being an American hero?

I spent the last few weeks wishing I knew Moose. It isn't often that we get the chance to meet a hero like him. It would have been great to talk to him, to hear his experiences, to find out what motivates a man to serve his faith, his family, and his country as long and as well as Moose.

And then something amazing happened. I woke up one morning and took a look around. You know what I saw? I saw Moose Musgrove's service continuing everywhere around me. It is happening every day, right here at Tyndall. Right here, in the 325th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, I am surrounded by heroes just like Moose.

Our Airmen are on the front lines in an epic war, just like Moose was. For example, our supply Airmen constantly deploy with U.S. Army battalions. We have heroes like Tech. Sgt. Floyd Gardner who spent six months at Forward Operating Base Shield, located in the heart of the militia stronghold of Sadr City, Iraq. And there is Staff Sgt. Chad Gibbs who was in Afghanistan, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Soldiers at combat outposts. Consider the five 325th AMXS Airmen who volunteered for 365-day deployments. They are heroes, like Master Sgts. Vic Camper and Greg Elliott who volunteered to train and advise the Afghan Air Corps, so that future Airmen won't have to deploy there. Just as in Moose's case, the children and grandchildren of these heroes will one day read about this war and read about their heroics in history books. All because our Airmen serve.

Our Airmen are amazing aircraft maintainers, just like Moose was. These heroes were Air Education and Training Command's first aircraft maintenance units to score an "Excellent" during their recent logistics compliance inspection. We have heroes who just last month set an all-time record for F-22 sortie production at Tyndall. And then there are F-15 maintenance heroes, working the very same jets that Moose worked, in the same heat, on that very same concrete. They generate tens of thousands of sorties every year. They are 19 and 20-year old heroes who are responsible for ensuring Tyndall can safely produce the world's finest Air Dominance pilots. All because our Airmen serve.

Our Airmen are also deeply committed to their communities, just like Moose was. Nearly every weekend, they volunteer to serve. Last month, 115 of these heroes spent a Saturday cleaning the Tyndall Elementary School grounds. Yes, that's right, 115! That very same Saturday, another 26 heroes cleaned the Lucille Elementary School grounds. Another team of heroes just funded a field trip for some Oscar Patterson Elementary students. These are the same heroes, 78 in total, who spent the weekend before the school year began at Oscar Patterson, painting and mowing and scrubbing so that the school was ready to open on Monday. And these heroes don't just serve in Northwest Florida. When they took six F-15s to Kelly Field for two weeks in January, they spent the weekend with San Antonio Habitat for Humanity. They did the same when they took six F-15s to Naval Air Station, New Orleans, for two weeks in February. The City of New Orleans just sent them a thank you letter for cleaning up Behrman Park, which had been overgrown since Hurricane Katrina. Most times, people devote their weekends to leisurely activities. Not these heroes. They spend weekends making life better for fellow Americans, because they care, because it's what they do...because they serve.

Moose Musgrove passed away last month. You probably didn't hear about his passing though. You see, Moose was a quiet and humble hero. He didn't serve for glory or honors. He served his faith, his family, and his country because it was in his fiber, in his soul.

Moose, thank you for being an American Hero. Thank you for dedicating your life in the service of others. Well done, good and faithful servant.

Oh, and Moose...rest easy. It's our turn now, we won't let you down. Not on our watch. Our heroes will carry your legacy on.