The original Thunderbird Sign
Mike Proff, TBird CE, 10/65 – 11/67, was given the honor of keeping the original Thunderbird Sign that hung in the 101st Soc Trang Company area in Vietnam. CPT Kelly and CPT Knight are responsible for Mike saving the sign and getting permission for Mike to bring it home. CPT Kelly and Mike Proff were very close at Soc Trang during their time as TBirds. Mike says he was his friend, his mentor, his brother, his Aircraft Commander and a truly a outstanding individual. CPT Kelly is, more than anyone else, responsible for having the foresight to save this sign as a historical artifact and a memoir to an outstanding unit and the men in it.
Mike has kept the sign all these years and recently he, along with J J “Crash” Makool, took it to get it framed by a shop in Spokane, WA. Mike is working with Jerry Turner and Terry Gwinn to get the sign donated and hung prominently in the new museum at Ft. Campbell, KY. Here is a photo series on Mike and JJ getting the sign framed and ready to send to the museum, along with a picture of Mike from his glory days with the TBirds.
This is the original sign that hung in the Tbird Soc Trang company area before the framing.
Photo property of and provided by Mike Proff
JJ Makool and Mike Proff with the sign before the framing was done.
Photo property of and provided by Mike Proff
JJ Makool and Mike Proff with the sign after the framing was finished.
Photo property of and provided by Mike Proff
Finished framed sign ready
to go the museum.
Photo property of and
provided by Mike Proff
Mike Proff, April 1967, T Birds Soc Trang
Photo property of and
provided by Mike Proff