When Lt. Col. Brad Derrig launched his F-16 fighter jet into the skies over Washington on Sept. 11, 2001, he wasn’t sure what threats the nation faced, but he was ready for anything.

Looking down, he could see the Pentagon in flames but wouldn’t learn until later that a hijacked airliner had crashed into it.

“The hair stood up on the back of your neck,” Derrig said Tuesday, recalling his thoughts on the day that he and two other North Dakota Air National Guard pilots scrambled into the air to protect Washington from further attack.

Derrig and his fellow pilots, who at the time were part of an alert detachment stationed at Langley Air Force Base, Va., received the military’s prestigious Air Medal for their vigilance.

However, the F-16 Derrig flew that day, which began service with the Air National Guard in the 1980s, is now considered obsolete.
Lt. Col. Brad Derrig waves to the ground crew Tuesday from his F-16 as he prepares to leave for Tacoma, Wash. The fighter jet will be displayed as part of a Sept. 11 exhibit. Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor
Lt. Col. Brad Derrig waves to the ground crew Tuesday from his F-16 as he prepares to leave for Tacoma, Wash. The fighter jet will be displayed as part of a Sept. 11 exhibit. Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor
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On Tuesday, Derrig took off from the Fargo base of the 119th Fighter Wing for a flight to Tacoma, Wash., where his F-16 will go on display as part of a Sept. 11 exhibit at the McChord Air Force Base Museum.

“It’s kind of a historic moment,” Derrig said before taking off, hastening to add that any glory must be shared by the entire fighter wing, known collectively as the Happy Hooligans.

“It’s a neat thing for the unit,” said Derrig, whose mission, and that of the entire unit, will now shift from maintaining and flying fighters to operating C-21 transport planes and Predator unmanned aerial vehicles.

Many of the 119th Fighter Wing’s F-16s already have gone to a military “boneyard” near Tucson, Ariz., and most of the rest will soon follow.

Derrig’s plane is an exception, as it’s the jet flown by Maj. Dean Eckmann on Sept. 11.

That plane, tail number

82-926, will remain on permanent display at the Air National Guard base in Fargo.

The other Air Guard F-16 that was among the first responders to the terrorist attacks Sept. 11 is being used by a different Air National Guard unit for training.

Derrig said he will miss the rush of flying the F-16, which he likened to driving a Porsche sports car or Harley Davidson motorcycle.

He added, however, that the people who truly own such fighters are the crew chiefs who maintain them.

Tech. Sgt. Darby Plath, crew chief for Derrig’s plane, said Tuesday morning it was difficult to see the old war bird go.

“I’m gonna miss her,” he said, adding he was glad the plane found a home where it will be appreciated.

“It’s better than going down and sitting in a junk yard,” he said.

Lt. Col. Brad Derrig takes off from Fargo’s Hector International Airport on Tuesday to bring the F-16 to a Tacoma, Wash., museum dedicated to U.S. defense on Sept. 11, 2001. The plane was used to fly air defense over Washington, D.C., that day.