Department of Defense

In March, pilots from the 199th Fighter Squadron assisted in the rescue of three civilians who ditched a twin-engine aircraft in the ocean 120 miles north of Maui. Two F-15s were scrambled from the alert pad at Hickam, rendezvoused with the aircraft, then marked its location and directed the Coast Guard rescue team to the downed aircraft.

– 1995 Annual Report pp. 20

Year in review: Hawaii National Guard 1995

In March, two pilots from the 199th Fighter Squadron were scrambled in the middle of the night to help rescue three people whose plane was about to ditch in the ocean north ofMaui. Lt. Col. Kimo Kelly and Maj. Wayne Wakeman marked the plane’s location, then helped vector a Coast Guard C-130 to the area. The crew of the downed plane was eventually picked up by a merchant vessel.

– 1995 December Pūpūkahi pp. 3

Two 199th fighter pilots, have been submitted for air medals for their leadership role and outstanding airmanship in leading a seard1 and rescue mission 250 nautical miles east of Oahu at night during March of 1995. Lt. Col. wayne “wildman”‘ Wakeman and Lt. Col. Kimo “Kudzu” Kelly (Ret.) scrambled at 0130 hours to locate a civilian aircraft that had made a “Mayday” radio call stating that their aircraft would ditch at sea due to fuel starvation. Col. Wakeman and Col. Kelly quickly intercepted the distressed aircraft and led the Coast Guard C-130 to a successful rescue of three civilian airman after they ditched their aircraft at night in the Pacific Ocean.

– 1996 Five Decades of Service Excellence Hawaii Air National Guard Golden Anniversary 1946-1996 pp. 55