Don Ricci is a Santa Rosa Fire Captain and avid lover of military aircraft. His first love is his family and second is the VMFA-323 F4B Phantom II forward nose section he is restoring. Plans are to eventually trailer mount the Phantom to be towed to air shows around the country including MCAS Miramar. The Phantom flew with VMFA-323 at Chu Lai, South Vietnam in 1968. It is dedicated to Major John Dunn and CWO John W. Frederick, Jr. Both were shot down in December of 1965. Gunner Frederick died while a POW in Hanoi and Major Dunn was repatriated in 1973 along with the other POWs.
Don is also an accomplished artist specializing in aircraft nose art. Check out his web site to see some of his work. His nose art is in demand around the country. Though Don never served in the military he has a great deal of respect for all that have served and honors them by doing volunteer work at the Pacific Coast Air Museum in Santa Rosa, Ca and helping man the aircraft displays during their annual air show. Don is an honest and one of the most likable persons you will ever meet. All of the restoration of the VMFA-323 Phantom comes out of his pocket and from the money he makes from his paintings and nose art. Don did a painting of LtCol John Spahr and Capt Kelly Hinz over Iraq in their F/A18 Hornets and was presented to VMFA-323 at MCAS Miramar which now hangs in the Major George Axtell Room. Below is some of his work which will amaze you. Click Here to view Don’s Nose Art web site. Show Don we support his efforts.
A big Thank you and Semper Fi to Don Ricci
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The Man Behind the Art (In his own words) |
"I truly believe in doing nose art with honor to the nostalgia of this great aviation tradition. I truly feel with every brush stroke I am following in the footsteps of those crews in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and Desert Storm who took the time to personalize the aircraft. I love seeing the look on the face of the owner of the aircraft when they see the piece for the first time. All the hours of prep, study and research, coupled with the effort and time I put into 'their baby' makes it all worth while. When I am out on the flightline or in the hangar working on the aircraft there is a connection that I seem to form with the aircraft. When the painting is done and I watch the aircraft fly off, it's bitter sweet. I am proud as hell seeing another piece of my art fly, but on the same token, I am going to miss being with the aircraft. It's almost like it's one of my kids. That's how much heart I put into my work....
We are looking for stories about 323 Death Rattlers both past and present to highlight on this page. A great Sea Story about a Death Rattler or something unusual that happened in 323 would suffice.