555th Fighter Squadron Patch

The 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron came home from Southeast Asia with 39 confirmed MiG kills and a motto to match: World's Largest Distributor of MiG Parts. Three fives make three nickels, and the Triple Nickel has carried that name from F-4 Phantoms to F-16s. It was the first ace squadron of the war in Southeast Asia, it produced the first and second Air Force aces, and it became the only quad ace fighter squadron with 20 MiGs before the count kept climbing. Today the squadron flies F-16CM Fighting Falcons out of Aviano Air Base, Italy, with the 31st Operations Group. The name on the bottom scroll of this patch has been earned over three wars.

The squadron was constituted on 25 November 1942 as the 555th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) and flew the B-26 Marauder with the 386th Bombardment Group from bases in England, France and Belgium, finishing the war in the A-26 Invader. It came back on 8 January 1964 at MacDill AFB, Florida, with the F-4C Phantom II. By June 1966 it was at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base with the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, the Wolfpack, after a stop at Udorn. On 2 January 1967, in Operation Bolo, the squadron downed four MiG-21s, and its final tally stood at 10 MiG-17s, 3 MiG-19s and 26 MiG-21s. The Nickel moved to Luke AFB, Arizona, in 1974 to train F-15 Eagle pilots, then to Aviano on 1 April 1994 with the F-16.

The patch is a 3.12 by 4 inch shape with a cut edge, a round black disc with a green scroll above and a wider green scroll below. The top scroll reads 555th in white, and TRIPLE NICKEL runs across the bottom in white block letters. A full ring of small white stars circles the black border. Inside, the field splits on a diagonal into green and white, and a white eagle head with a gold beak looks out to the left from a white triangle. The back is iron-on.

From the Aviano flight line the squadron has flown in Operation Allied Force, Operation Freedom's Sentinel and Operation Inherent Resolve. It holds four Presidential Unit Citations. Phantom crews at Ubon, F-15 instructors at Luke and F-16 pilots and maintainers in Italy all answer to the same nickname. Crew chiefs who launched jets in the Thai heat and the ones turning Vipers in northern Italy share a squadron that keeps score in MiGs. Few fighter squadrons carry a record like it.

Put it in a shadow box beside a photo of your jet or a Wolfpack patch, or wear it on a flight jacket or a squadron reunion vest. It also makes a good gift for a Triple Nickel pilot, WSO or crew chief, or for a son who grew up hearing about Ubon. Three nickels, one squadron.