There is a nice article about the departure of the last four Grim Reapers plus some some interesting background material and a video.
Confirmation that 3 of the eagles (171,178,172) continued down to the Florida Air Guard
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/s ... w-in-first
Lt Col Todd “Buddha” Pearson is the current commander of the U.S. Air Force’s 493rd Fighter Squadron “Grim Reapers” at RAF Lakenheath, U.K. He led the final four-ship of F-15Cs out of Lakenheath for the seven-hour flight back to the U.S. The unit was the last operator of the F-15C/D Eagle in Europe, and it has been winding up its operations of the type over the last few months as the unit re-equips with the F-35A. As Pearson readied the “Reapers” team to ferry the squadron’s last four F-15Cs back stateside in late April, he told The War Zone his incredible family history and association with the F-15 — Pearson’s father had brought the very first Eagles to Europe some 45 years before.
“My Dad flew the first F-15As into Europe in 1977, and I will fly the last Eagle back out in 2022,” Buddha told The War Zone shortly before the final departure. “He was part of Project Ready Eagle, which brought the first waves of Eagles to join the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing [TFW] at Bitburg, Germany. Unlike the F-35 re-equipping here at Lakenheath now, which is bringing jets in a few at a time, back then they flew the Eagles into Europe 12 at a time!” The first F-15As arrived at Bitburg in April 1977, and at the center of this effort was the then Capt Wilbert D. "Doug" Pearson Jr., Buddha’s father.
