Newsroom

CORVALLIS - A pre-game flyover of a U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft on Saturday will honor the memory of Major Gregg Stone, a 1988 Oregon State University graduate who died in the Middle East March 25 from wounds he received two days earlier.

The flyover will precede OSU's football game with Boise State University, which begins at 4 p.m. in Reser Stadium.

Coordinating the salute will be the OSU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, the OSU Air Force ROTC detachment, and the Idaho Air National Guard.

Stone graduated from OSU with a degree in business management, and earned a commission as an Air Force second lieutenant through the Air Force ROTC program on campus. While on active duty he served as a weapons systems officer at bases in South Dakota and Idaho, until he was assigned as an air liaison officer, providing close air support for U.S. Army ground forces. He was deployed to Kuwait as the acting commander of the 124th Air Support Operations Squadron, a unit of the Idaho Air National Guard.

The flyover inaugurates an effort by the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps ROTC programs at OSU to erect a permanent memorial to pay tribute to all Oregon State University students and alumni who have served in the military and lost their lives.

The A-10 Thunderbolt II, from the 124th Wing of the Idaho Air National Guard in Boise, is designed to provide effective anti-armor support for ground forces.

Affectionately known as the "Warthog," the craft can carry large ordinance payloads and survive intense air-to-air combat.