I was an F 4 WSO( Weapon Systems Officer) during the Vietnam War and flew 133 combat missions. To answer a few of the comments. Yes, the F4 had two crew members. The backseat were pilots until the late 60’s then Navigators were trained as WSO’s. We worked the radar and all bombing aids. We got plenty of stick time including AR and formation flying. The guest was flying in RF 4’s whose mission was recon. They often flew camera runs solo, we usually went in in two or four ship flights. The 100 mission limit was waived for my tour crews were in short supply. We served a one combat regardless of number of missions.

I loved the F4....I was visiting grandpa down in Tucson he lived right off Alvernon. I went to the Food Giant for some ice cream....boom all hell breaks loose and a F5 crashes into the back of the store...it was all fire smoke and brimstone..just like the Cong felt in Nam....Luckily- I dodged a few flying cans of ham and still brought home some Rocky Road...I was 7 years old in 1967...

Dan, Loved this episode, I totally enjoyed listening to Gary recall his days in the F4. I have to admit a few of them had me cringing. Thanks to Gary for his service.

Amazing experiences. Thank you for your service.

That was captivating. Thankyou.

such a great guest and story..thanks

Great interview!

My grandfather did this. thank you for the stories :)

Truly fantastic !

Phabulous interview!

I wish there were a way to thank the crews of the two F-4's who came to our aid on Highway 19, Republic of Vietnam in 1970. My research has narrowed them down to Pho Cat AFB as the likely candidates. Our convoy was halted for an ambush at the top of Mang Yang Pass. The Phantoms helped neutralize the opponents with close air support using napalm and White Phosphorus bombs. Unforgettable experience. Also, thank you CAPT Pfleiger for your service and sharing "the rest of the story." (Such a seemingly nice guy compared to other fighter pilots 🙂)

One of my favorite fighter jet. One of the fastest jet even in today's standard. WHY NOT UPGRADE THE ELECTRONICS - DEFENSE - SENSORS - RADAR - ARMAMENTS AND SELL IT TO SOME DEVELOPING COUNTRIES? I've seen many of these planes in Clark Air base in the Philippines during Vietnam war. Every minutes they comes and go.

I was in the Air Force from 72 to 76. The Air Force had four different models of the of the f-4c, f4d, f-4e and the rf-4c. The rf-4c was a Recon model it had no weapons whatsoever it only had photographic cameras in the nose section. This almost has to be the model that this man flew.

My uncle worked for McDonnell and told me about an incident that happened there. A test pilot was doing an engine run at a high power setting while parked. Something caused the landing gear to retract which caused the plane to careen across the ramp like a fourth of July chaser. The problem was diagnosed as a short circuit in the wiring. No injuries, thankfully, but probably a definite laundry list! Thanks for the program!

The model in front of him is an RF-4C, which is obviously what he flew, and I was stationed at RAF Alconbury in England when he found the sub. Sadly, all I did was fix radios, but the wing got some sort of award for finding that submarine. I forget what it was, but the honcho's were pretty proud. I'd also heard his radio tower story while still stationed there, though I didn't know this pilot personally.

Mr. Pfleiger has seen and experienced some sh!t. Wow! Incredible. Thanks for the video! Oh, and an F4 pilot once told me it's a brick with wings. Nothing that thrust can't overcome...Lol!

I have a story from Korea that is quite similar to his story about being put on standby after being up without sleep all day... Most of us have good stories like these...

Greenhorn pilot on first mission: “hey guys, I think they’re trying to signal us!” Veteran pilot: “You idiot, they’re shooting at us!”

Was in Ubon 1968,497th f4 crew chief

I made target folders of N Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail using RF-4, RF-101, SR-71 and Ryan 147 Lightning Bug film. I saw a lot of IR film mostly shot at night of truck parks on the HCM trail. Recce pilots sure put themselves out there having cameras and speed alone.

Have you thought of contacting any of the Royal Navy or RAF Harrier pilots such as David Morgan who flew fought and had kills in the Falklands conflict in 1982? The Aircrew Interview channel also has a lot of contacts and interviews you might find interesting

Cool a real Pf4 Pfiolot Pfrom the military. Pfantastic!

Very entertaining stories. Gary has a great sense of humor. But one story wasn't complete. How was his golf game after only a few hours of rest? Did he take his clubs with him to Italy in a belly pod? Never mind the Soviets violating that treaty by having a sub in the Med. Was he flying an RF-4? Seems he was, because of the reconnaissance missions he was flying.

All I want to now is did they finally wash out that colonel who flew that F-4 beyond the G limits?

It sounds like he was a an RF-4 pilot. Would have been nice to hear of the differences between that job and the ones they used in Nam for bombing...ie wer they set up to run hotter/faster to get through target area? That type stuff.

I would have needed a clean pair of pants after the guide wire

It sounds to me like generals are more trouble than they're worth. I doubt I'm wrong.

might have been good if we could have heard him

There are a couple of things that really bothered me about this interview. First, it is billed as an F4 pilot story when he is clearly talking about flying the RF4C. Why wouldn’t he be proud of his jet and make clear what he is flying? There is a point in the early part of the video where he discusses flying solo. This is also not true. While it was common to fly single ship, he most assuredly had a backseater or weapon system officer (WSO) with him. Why would he not take this moment to credit the other half of the combat crew? When he got that medal I hope the WSO got one too.

Dan Milligan needs to go back to interview school.

Well done interview and amazing war stories! One constructive criticism, though: please get rid of that ugly ass, toy-like excuse for an F-4 model you have sitting on your interview table! If you ask ANY local scale modeller, I'm sure he/she will be more than happy to custom build a properly done model for you guys...for free! Scale modeller here, too bad I'm on the other side of the pond (Italy).