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138th Aviation Company Memorial
The 138th Aviation Company memorial is an effort in progress to restore and display “The Patriot”, a RU-21A Beechcraft King Air tail #67-18113 which served the unit at the Orlando International Airport and abroad. This memorial will be dedicated to the member who served as well as those who gave their lives with the 138th Aviation Company.

History
The 138th Aviation Company has server the United States Army in multiple roles since its initial activation on 1 June 1966 in support of the Vietnam conflict. Following Vietnam, the 138th Aviation Company was re-designated the 138th Army Security Agency (ASA) Company (Aviation) on 15 April 1974 and was located at McCoy Air Force Base what is now known as the Orlando International Airport, where it supported the Army in various roles including Cold War missions, Salvadoran Civil War, the Operation Bright Star 85 exercise in Egypt, support to the National Level intelligence consumers and Counter Narcotic missions directed by Joint Task Force-East and deployment to Saudi Arabia in support of Gulf war Operation Desert Shield/Storm until its deactivation in 1999.

Memorial status
In 2013, Karl Stoltzfus, the founder of Dynamic Aviation and co-owner of Dynamic Airways graciously purchased and agreed to restore the RU-21A Beechcraft King Air tail #67-18113 from a salvage yard in Denver CO. The only caveat was that the 138th Aviation Company memorial organization would need to arrange and fund the transportation of the airframe from Denver, CO to Bridgewater, VA and once the restorations were completed from Bridgewater, VA to Orlando, FL.


 * Spring 2014, thanks to donations, the aircraft was transported via a flatbed trailer from Denver to Dynamic Aviation in Bridgewater, VA.
 * Summer 2014, the salvage a restoration began.
 * Summer 2015, the restoration was completed, and preparations to return the RU-21A back home to Orlando were finalized.
 * Fall 2015, veterans of the 138th Aviation Company accompanied their airplane as part of the Orlando Veterans Day parade. The 138th Aviation Company memorial one Best Float for its participation.
 * Spring 2016, reassembly of the airframe continued with the volunteers from veterans and expert aircraft mechanics from Delta Airlines.
 * Fall 2016, “The Patriot” is currently residing at the Orlando Executive Airport, where volunteers continue to prepare the airframe for long display, and the 138th Aviation Company memorial committee continues to raise the necessary funds for the memorial at the Orlando International Airport.

Funding
The funding for the 138th Aviation Company memorial has been through a grass roots effort by veterans, aviation enthusiast, and the Central Florida community. Many individuals have contributed their free time to the restoration and with continued support, the RU-21A Beechcraft King Air will return home to the Orlando International Airport, where it will stand tall as a reminder of the sacrifices given by the Central Florida Citizen Soldiers.