PORTLAND, Ore. -- The number is 777, Triple 7, or if you will, seven, seven, seven, a McDonnell F-4C-23-MC Phantom II supersonic all-weather fighter bomber, U.S. Air Force serial number 64-0777. Though in the case of 777’s Oregon service in the 1980s, it was in the fighter role, not used as a bomber.
After more than three decades away from Oregon, 777 returned this year, arriving late last August to the Oregon Military Museum at Camp Withycombe in Clackamas, Oregon, just southeast of Portland. It was previously displayed at the Cavanaugh Air Museum in Addison, Texas, now closed permanently due to airport expansion there.
The aircraft remains property of the USAF. But veteran aviators in the Oregon Air National Guard and Oregon Military Museum communities led by Maj. Gen. Daniel B. O’Hollaren, USAF (Retired), President of the Oregon Military Museum Project, were successful in their bid to convince the USAF that 777 would enjoy a good and appropriate home back in Oregon.
Origins
The McDonnell aircraft factory in St. Louis, Missouri built 777, one of 583 F-4Cs built for the USAF in 1965. The aircraft first flew on June 28, 1965. After USAF acceptance, the aircraft was initially assigned to the 33rd Tactical Fighter Wing (33rd TFW) at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.
On march 4, 1966, it was assigned to the 389th Tactical Fighter Squadron (389th TFS, the T-Bolts) of the 366th TFW, then based at Holloman AFB, New Mexico. A week later, the squadron and wing deployed for combat operations overseas to Phan Rang Air Base in South Vietnam. In October of that year, the units moved to Da Nang AB in South Vietnam where the 366th TFW later received the nickname as “The Gunfighters of Da Nang.”
The next month, 777 was damaged in battle by a North Vietnamese SA-2 Guideline surface-to-air missile, though the jet recovered safely at Udorn Royal Thai AFB, Thailand. It was repaired there and returned to service with the 389th TFS.
MiG Kill
On May 20, 1967, the combat crew of 777, 389th TFS Commander, Lt. Col. Robert F. Titus and backseater 1st Lt. Milan Zimer, achieved an aerial victory over a North Vietnamese MiG-21 Fishbed fighter using an AIM-7E Sparrow radar-guided air-to-air missile. Their callsign that day was ELGIN 03. It was the first of three MiG-21 kills this crew received credit for, but the only one in 777 (the other two were achieved while flying in F-4C 64-0776, known in the Oregon ANG as “Miss Piggy,” preserved at the Seattle Museum of Flight).
Titus and Zimer got their first MiG-21 as they escorted the rear flank of a Republic F-105 Thunderchief fighter-bomber strike force which attacked the Kinh No motor vehicle repair yard in North Vietnam. As two MiG-21s attempted to engage the F-105s post-strike, ELGIN Flight spotted them and spoiled their attack. ELGIN 03 pursued them but abandoned the attack just when they were about to fire a missile at one as ELGIN 04 called for 03 to break hard because of another MiG coming onto the scene in a threatening position.
Titus and Zimer then moved to rejoin the strike force, at which point they spotted a third MiG, engaged and obtained a full system lock-on. The crew fired two AIM-7 Sparrow missiles to no avail, as these AIM-7s didn’t guide properly.
But the third time was a charm. From his website, Titus recalled: “I thought I was going to have to ram this guy!” He fired a third Sparrow and it hit the MiG-21’s wing root. When the pilot ejected, Titus whooped, “Yahoo! I got that son-of-a-bitch! Yes, it was exciting. I’d been wanting to shoot down enemy airplanes since I was a kid!”
On April 12, 1968, 777 was reassigned to the 12th TFW at Cam Ranh Bay AB, South Vietnam
Post-Combat Service
After the F-4Cs in SE Asia were replaced by newer versions of the F-4, such as the D- and E-models, 777 returned Stateside for depot overhaul and maintenance at the Ogden Air Materiel Area, Hill AFB, Utah. It arrived at Hill on April 25, 1969. On August 29 of the same year, it was gained by the 4453rd Combat Crew Training Wing (4453rd CCTW) at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona.
When the 4453rd CCTW was inactivated in 1971, this Phantom jet transferred on paper over to the 355th TFW at Davis-Monthan, on September 30, 1971. But less than a month later, on October 21, it was assigned to the 310th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron of the 58th Tactical Fighter Training Wing at Luke AFB, Arizona. It served at Luke until its transfer to Oregon sometime between May and November, 1982.
In Oregon Service
In Oregon Air National Guard service, 777 was assigned to the 123rd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (123rd FIS, the Redhawks) of the 142nd Fighter-Interceptor Group (142nd FIG) at Portland ANG Base. While in Oregon service, the aircraft wore at least two different paint schemes, and quite possibly at least one more. It may have come to Oregon in the SE Asia paint scheme common to active duty F-4 units such as worn in its previous unit in Tactical Air Command’s 58th Tactical Training Wing before being repainted to a scheme more suitable for the Redhawk squadron’s air defense mission.
Available photographic evidence shows the aircraft in its early period of Oregon service wearing the semi-glossy, easier to maintain Air Defense Command (ADC) Gray paint scheme (FS 16473) with full-size national insignia and markings. The name “RAZ-MA-TAZ” from crew chief John W. Rasmussen was painted on the left-side air conditioning system ram-air heat exchanger intake, a small air scoop forward and low on the fuselage just abaft the radome. This location was a place that 123rd FIS/142nd Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron personnel favored to paint its aircraft names.
The other paint scheme observed was the low visibility, matte-finish Hill Gray scheme with small national insignia in subdued tones. During this time, the aircraft sported the new name “CITY OF MEDFORD” painted on the ram-air heat exchanger intake. This name was added after August, 1986 when the aircraft, perhaps freshly repainted into Hill Gray, was observed sans name. It certainly had the name by the time the aircraft participated in the William Tell USAF Air-to-Air Weapons Meet 1986 held at Tyndall AFB, Florida wearing this paint scheme and moniker. The other 123rd FIS jets at WT86 also had city names from Oregon. Aircrew names on the canopy rails for 777 as BEAVER 03 were Majors Ron Moore and Bill DeJager.
It appears 777’s name changed again, to “MENACE” by crew chief Dennis Budworth, around the time the Redhawks deployed to Nellis AFB, Nevada in the spring of 1987. It may have retained that name for the 1988 William Tell competition. At WT88 the aircrew names on the canopy rails for 777/BEAVER 03 were Capt. Dave McKinney and 1st Lt. Gary Thompson.
Among the pilot names on the canopy rail over the years was the 142nd FIG commander, Col. Ray A. Pilcher, who commanded the group from July, 1985 to November, 1986.
The end of the Phantom era came in 1989 as the 142nd FIG transitioned to the McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle, and 777 was retired from military service. It was flown to the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center, also known as “The Boneyard” at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona on October 24, 1989, where it rested in the desert sun after nearly a quarter century of service in peace and in war.
Post-Service Disposition
Perhaps because it was a surviving MiG-killer from the Vietnam War, 777 was transferred to the National Museum of the Air Force’s Loan Program. After a little over five years in the boneyard, in December, 1994 it was placed on loan with the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, Texas. It didn’t stay there long, perhaps, as one source indicated that it moved in September, 1995 about ten miles north to the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison (another source indicated the move took place in December, 2007) where it remained until July this year, when forced to relocate because of the museum’s closure.
After much staff coordination and the fundraising necessary to acquire the necessary long-haul transportation, 777 was transferred from Addison to the Oregon Military Museum (OMM) via two tractor trailers. One carried the fuselage and the other the wing assembly, and arrived at the OMM on August 25, 2025, almost 36 years after it left the state.
Shortly after arrival, the fuselage was joined atop the wings to assemble the aircraft, and it is now being prepared for display at the OMM. Bird and insect mitigation are part of the preparation plans for outdoor static display. A suitable foundation for the aircraft’s landing gear to rest on will be created, and at this time, it appears the aircraft will be placed on the south side of the museum entrance.
The aircraft is currently in the SE Asia colors and 389th TFS markings in which it achieved its 1967 MiG kill; it will reportedly be repainted into the colors and markings of its Oregon service in the 123rd FIS, although which colors and markings scheme is not yet clear. No specific time for the refurbishment, protective measures, emplacement and dedication of this new addition to the OMM’s aviation artifacts has been announced to the public yet, but 777 is back home.
Special thanks to Rick “Cecil B de” Williams, Robert B. Haskell, Craig Dixon and Peter Greengrass for their help with the information about and images of 64-0777.
If any Oregon ANG veterans have any additional recollections and/or images of 777’s service in the Oregon ANG, please share them with the 142nd Wing History Office via the 142nd Wing Public Affairs Office. Also welcome are information and/or images from anyone else associated with this aircraft and missions from its service in Southeast Asia and the U.S.