The San Angelo Heritage Chapter of the Freedom Through Vigilance Association (FTVA) and EC-47 History Site, supported by a grant from the San Antonio-based FTVA board of directors, sponsored the creation of the EC-47 Memorial Plaza as shown in the USAF photograph above. Goodfellow AFB officials accepted the Heritage Chapter design and gift of nearly 1,000 pavers on June 24, 2019.
Initial plans were to dedicate the EC-47 Memorial Plaza with an estimated 250 engraved bronze plates during a national Vietnam War Veterans Day ceremony scheduled at the aircraft display on March 27, 2020. However, the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic with its extensive travel bans and community "lockdown" restrictions caused both the construction of the plaza and the dedication ceremony to be postponed indefinitely. Dedicated Goodfellow AFB Civil Engineers and San Angelo contractors did complete the plaza construction and placement of the pavers in early April 2020. The dedication and memorialization ceremony of the Weyandt-Eddy Memorial Plaza was held at the plaza on March 25, 2022. Click HERE for the ceremony photographs.
The following pages contain photographs of finished engraved bronze plates taken in a studio setting. Each bronze plate is numbered to correspond with its final placement location in the plaza design. There are separate galleries and numbering sequences for the 4x8 and 8x8 paver bronzes. Click on the individual paver icons below to link to the respective gallery.
Gallery 4x8 Paver w/inscriptions
Gallery 8x8 Paver w/inscriptions
The EC-47 Memorial Plaza was constructed starting on March 30, 2020. Photos below were taken by JJ Graham, president of the Heritage Chapter-Freedom Through Vigilance Association. The paver installation is complete. About 300 of the finished engraved bronze plates have been installed in their reserved paver locations. Additional bronze plates will be installed as received from the engraver. A special ceremony to dedicate the newly engraved plates is being planned for o/a March 29, 2023.
November 21, 2019: GAFB Project Manager, Kevin Bruce, 17 CES/CEIAP (center, facing camera), and constructor contractors review the EC-47 Memorial Plaza pre-construction area at the aircraft static display location adjacent to the Normal Brown building.
March 2020: Willamette and Western Red-colored pavers are stacked and ready for installation in the EC-47 Memorial Plaza design.
Edge concrete is poured, sand bedding base material is installed and leveled, individual pavers are put in place starting on March 30, 2020.
Scherz contractor foreman and workers confirm placement and alignment of rows and columns of 4x8 and 8x8 Willamette-colored pavers.
Willamette 8x8 and 4x8 pavers being installed with the Hanoi Hilton memorial brick included in the layout.
An engraved bronze plate with the Hanoi Hilton description will be inserted in the 4x8 paver directly below the red prison brick.
Scherz contractor finishes laying and cutting the 8x8 Western Red pavers as needed to complete the plaza installation design.
Scherz contractors sweep sand over the complete surface to fill and stabilize the joints.
The installation is completed except for the placement of the black boot prints and paver sealer finish.
The EC-47 Memorial Plaza Western Red 8x8 paver edge view.
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Vietnam War-style combat boot sole prints have been added to introduce a "walk of honor" theme to the plaza. The sole prints begin near the Hanoi Hilton brick and lead to the personnel entry door on the aircraft.
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These boot sole prints were added to the plaza design by the Goodfellow AFB project civil engineer, Mr. Kevin W. Bruce.
The plaza installation is complete with applied boot sole prints and weather sealant. The bronze engraved plates are next. . .
Wester Red paver view with boot sole prints leading from the display monument to the aircraft rear door. Photos courtesy of Heritage Chapter-FTVA President, JJ Graham, CMSgt, USAF (R).
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