Date: 3/28/2012
Rank: Captain
Branch: U.S. Air Force
Operation: Operation Enduring Freedom
U.S. Air Force Capt. Francis Imlay was far more than a veteran fighter pilot. He was a friend, a father and a gifted athlete. Captain Francis Imlay was assigned to the 391st Fighter Squadron “Bold Tigers”, and he was deployed with the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing.
He was killed Wednesday when his F-15E Strike Eagle crashed about 15 miles outside a base in Southwest Asia, according to a release from Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, where Imlay was based.
Col. Ron Buckley, the commander of the 366th Fighter Wing, said Imlay’s death left him with a heavy heart. “Today we mourn the loss of one of our warriors, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family will not soon be forgotten,” Buckley said. More than 300 airmen from the 366th Fighter Wing in Mountain Home are deployed to support F-15E missions helping deliver combat air support for joint fighting operations. The region includes operations in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran.
Francis Dee Imlay was born Sept. 17, 1980, in Utah. He was a graduate of Lakenheath, England, High school, and joined the Air Force after graduating from the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at Auburn University. He trained to become an F-15 pilot at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., and was assigned to Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, in October 2010. He leaves behind a wife and two young children.