Fernando Luis Ribas-Dominicci (June 24, 1952 – April 15, 1986), was a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and F-111F pilot in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. He was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

during the U.S. air raid on

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Operation El Dorado Canyon The United States Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps carried out air strikes, code-named Operation El Dorado Canyon, against Libya on 15 April 1986 in retaliation for the West Berlin discotheque bombing ten days earlier, which U.S. President Ron ...

, on April 15, 1986. Ribas Dominicci was awarded the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

and posthumously promoted to the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Early years

Ribas-Dominicci was born in the town of Utuado, in the mountains of Puerto Rico, where he received his primary and secondary education. As a child, he had always dreamed of becoming a pilot and after he graduated from high school, he entered the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez where he earned his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

. As a student in the university, he was a member of the campus'

Air Force ROTC The Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps (AFROTC) is one of the three primary commissioning sources for officers in the United States Air Force and United States Space Force, the other two being the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA ...

program and upon graduation was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. Served in the

United States Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...

from 1975 to 1976.

Military career

Ribas-Dominicci next completed Undergraduate Pilot Training and was awarded his pilot wings at

Laughlin Air Force Base Laughlin Air Force Base is a facility of the United States Air Force located east of Del Rio, Texas. Overview Laughlin AFB, the largest Aviator, pilot training base in the US Air Force, is home to the 47th Flying Training Wing of the Air Educa ...

, later he was assigned to

Cannon Air Force Base Cannon Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base, located approximately southwest of Clovis, New Mexico. The host unit at Cannon is the 27th Special Operations Wing (27 SOW) also known as "The Steadfast Line". It is under the jurisdi ...

, in

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, where he received advanced training as a

General Dynamics F-111 The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark is a retired supersonic, medium-range, multirole combat aircraft. Production models of the F-111 had roles that included attack (e.g. interdiction), strategic bombing (including nuclear weapons capabiliti ...

combat pilot. He served as an F-111 Aardvark pilot with the 522nd Fighter Squadron and then the

523d Fighter Squadron The 523d Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 27th Operations Group stationed at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico. During World War II, its predecessor unit, the 17th Bombardment Squa ...

of the 27th Fighter Wing at Cannon AFB. By 1983, Ribas-Dominicci was a

and the recipient of the

Air Force Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...

. In 1985, he completed his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in aeronautical science at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in

Daytona Beach Daytona Beach is a coastal resort city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. Located on the East Coast of the United States, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach metropo ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, United States.

Operation El Dorado Canyon

On April 15, 1986, in response to acts of terrorism sponsored by

n leader

Muammar al-Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until his assassination by Libyan rebel forces in 2011. He came to power ...

, the United States attacked key terrorist training facilities in Tripoli, Libya, using 18 USAF F-111F fighter-bombers and 5 EF-111A radar jamming aircraft from bases in England. The attack was code-named

. This was part of a joint strike mission in coordination with US Navy aircraft which struck targets in Behghazi, Libya, at the same time. Major Ribas-Dominicci was one of the pilots who participated in the air raid as member of the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing. His F-111F was shot down in action over the disputed

Gulf of Sidra The Gulf of Sidra (), also known as the Gulf of Sirte (), is a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea on the northern coast of Libya, named after the oil port of Sidra or the city of Sirte. It was also historically known as the Great Sirte or G ...

off the Libyan coast. Ribas-Dominicci and his

weapon systems officer A Weapon Systems Officer (WSO), nicknamed "Wizzo", is an air flight officer directly involved in all air operations and weapon systems of a military aircraft. Historically, aircrew duties in military aircraft were highly specialised and rigi ...

, Captain Paul F. Lorence, were the only U.S. casualties of the mission.

Aftermath

On December 25, 1988, after years of denying that they had the bodies of the two crew members, Gaddafi offered to release the body of Lorence to his family through

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

. The body recovered and thought to be that of Lorence was actually that of then-Captain Fernando L. Ribas-Domminici, which was identified by dental records and returned in 1989. The Libyan government has denied that it holds Lorence's remains and the U.S government does not believe that they are hiding anything. Major Fernando Luis Ribas-Dominicci's remains are buried in his hometown of Utuado.

Honors and legacy

Both men's names are engraved in the F-111 "Vark" Memorial Park located in

Clovis, New Mexico Clovis is a city in and the county seat of Curry County, New Mexico. The population was 38,567 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Clovis is located in the New Mexico portion of the Llano Estacado, in the eastern part of the state. A ...

. Ribas-Dominicci was awarded the

and posthumously promoted to the rank of

, effective April 15, 1986. The Ribas-Dominicci Plaza at Laughlin AFB was Named in Honor of Maj. Fernando Ribas-Dominicci on May 26, 1989. He graduated with Laughlin Undergraduate Pilot Training Class 77-05. To honor his memory, the

Government of Puerto Rico The government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, organized under the Constitution of Puerto Rico since 1952, is a republican democracy modeled after the Federal Government of the United States. Under a system of separation of powers, the ...

renamed the Isla Grande Airport in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

to Fernando Ribas Dominicci Airport. The City of Utuado honored the pilot by naming a main avenue as Fernando Ribas-Dominicci Avenue. A monument in Ribas-Dominicci's honor, simulating an F-111, has been placed at the entrance of Utuado. Ribas-Dominicci's name is engraved in '' El Monumento de la Recordación'' (Spanish: ''Monument of Remembrance'') dedicated to Puerto Rico's fallen soldiers and situated in front of the Capitol Building in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

Awards and decorations

Among Major Ribas-Dominicci's military decorations were the following:

Notes

References

External links

*
Captain Paul Lorence: An American Patriot Left Behind
In 2001, Lorence's lifelong friend, reference librarian Theodore D. Karantsalis, enlisted the aid of Congressman Wally Herger's office to urge Libya to return Lorence's remains on behalf of his family and friends. The Paul Lorence web blog (posted above) was started in 2005 to get the word out around the 20th anniversary of the raid. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ribas Dominicci, Fernando L. 1952 births 1986 deaths Aviators killed by being shot down Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University alumni People from Utuado, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican military officers Puerto Rican people of Corsican descent Puerto Rican United States Air Force personnel Recipients of the Air Medal United States Air Force officers United States Air Force reservists American military personnel killed in action Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) University of Puerto Rico alumni