"Stair Step" 50th anniversary celebrated

Missouri  ANG F-84F Thunderstreak, seen at Lambert Field,
shortly before leaving to reach Toul-Rosières, in fall of 1961.

As I did it in the last Air Fan issue, former guardsmen from Missouri ANG's 131st Tactial Fighter Wing recently gathered to celebrate operation Stair Step 50th anniversary and, as a result, their TDY to Toul-Rosières AB France, also known as TRAB.

Former 131st Tactical Fighter Wing website, become in the meantinme 131st Bomb Wing, tells a little about the reunion : initiated by Tony Ribaudo, the event gathered no less than 75 guardsmen / TRAB veterans in a Saint-Louis restaurant.

You can see some archival pictures online on the unit's website. A good way to discover the Wing's mascot, Banjo Burro, which could not deploy to TRAB for some obvious credibility reasons!

This commemoration can be a good opportunity to present some US Air Force"old dogs" deployed to France during operation Stair Step, and today preserved as a tribute to military aviation :

Republic F-84F Thunderstreak, 52-6368 / 26368, Kalamazoo Air Zoo.
This bird was deployed to Toul-Rosières, France (TRAB)

Republic F-84F Thunderstreak, 51-1346, US Air Force.
Aircrafts from this units were sent to Etain AB, France.