The Department of Defense established the Gold Star Family Member Program to give grieving families peace.
Major James T. Acklin was a training pilot for the 338 Combat Crew. He died in the line of duty in 1987. Monday’s tour of Dyess was the first time his son, Joey Acklin, had been to the base in 36 years, and he recalled memories of his father’s service, “I remember he did a lot of the planning for how you teach people how to fly a B1, all of those things years before those planes even came to Dyess. And then he was, I don’t know if he was the first, but he was one of the first pilots that was checked out and was able to fly a B1. So, he was one of the first instructor pilots from there."
Major Acklin died while flying a B1-B bomber on a training mission near La Junta, Colorado. A flock of birds hit the engines, causing them to catch on fire.
Acklin and two other training pilots were deemed heroes after they sacrificed themselves to save the trainees on board.