F-15E Missing Man Formation Honors Fallen Lakenheath Pilot
F-15E Missing Man Formation Honors Fallen Lakenheath Pilot
June 19, 2020 | By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory
As members of RAF Lakenheath’s 493rd Fighter Squadron gathered on the RAF Mildenhall flightline on June 18 to pay their final respects to their deceased colleague, 1st Lt. Kenneth “Kage” Allen—who died in a June 15 F-15C crash in the North Sea—F-15Es from the 494th Fighter Squadron flew a Missing Man formation to honor him.
The scene was captured in a Facebook post from 48th Fighter Wing Commander Col. Will Marshall.
“In the first photo below (taken from the aircraft on the outside position) you can see the missing man jet begin its climb away from the formation, leaving a gap, symbolizing his absence from our team and the hole in our hearts from his untimely departure,” Marshall wrote.
Marshall said that the two photos would be all the wing would share from the “private and solemn event.” Grim Reapers Video:
Allen’s body was then flown home to the United States.
Marshall extended thanks to the 493rd Fighter Squadron Airmen who attended the farewell for showing up “to send Kage home in the manner he deserves.”
“Rest easy warrior,” he wrote. “We have the watch from here.”