Football | 10/16/2014 6:03:00 PM

ELLENSBURG, Wash. (Oct. 16) — In conjunction with Saturday's Homecoming game, weather permitting, a pre-game flyover will be held to commemorate missing in action Maj. San DeWayne Francisco. Inducted into the CWU Athletic Hall of Fame as a member of the 1963 football team, the Kennewick native died during the Vietnam War.
 
Francisco, who was serving as an air force fighter pilot, was shot down in 1968—six days before he was scheduled to return home—on a mission in which filled in for another aviator who had taken ill. Francisco's remains still lie in a Vietnamese jungle.
 
"The problem is he is still there and he is the only man from Kittitas County from the Vietnam era who has yet to be returned home," said CWU alumnus Roger Gray, who was a friend of Francisco. "We want to be an influence and support to bring his remains home. It's a tragedy he is still there and not home."
 
Officials with the non-profit San D. Francisco Awareness Campaign say the U.S. Defense Department knows where Francisco's body lies. However, environmental changes to the landscape and aging witnesses are the driving forces behind the immediacy required for a retrieval mission.
 
To pay tribute to Francisco, the Blackjack Squadron plans to conduct a 10-plane "Missing In Action" formation flyover above Tomlinson Stadium before the Homecoming game.
 
The squadron, comprised of Washington State pilots, is led by Cmdr. Jim Sickler and Col. Richard Iversen, who was Francisco's CWU ROTC classmate. The Blackjack Squadron frequently performs to honor America's military men and women, who died during their service.

The campaign arranged the flyover to support the cause to bring Francisco's remains home. The group will also host a "Bring A Hero Home" rally and fundraiser at
5 p.m. Saturday. It's co-sponsored by CWU's Men of Elwood Manor and Kelleher Motor Company, which will also host the event at 602 N. Pearl St.
 
The public is invited to the evening of "awareness, remembrance and reconnecting," said Gray, who served as the Elwood Manor fraternity president from 1964-65.
 
It will feature music by Janine Stange, known as the "National Anthem Girl," who is coming to Ellensburg specifically for the event. Stange made history by singing the "Star Spangled Banner" in all 50 states in time for the 200th anniversary of Francis Scott Key's writing of the song's lyrics, an event commemorated on September 14 this year. Refreshments will also be available at the "Bring A Hero Home" event.

In addition, contributions to the campaign are being accepted at all Banner Bank locations under the San D. Francisco Awareness Campaign fund. More information is also available at www.sdfawareness.com.