'You were worth it': Retired Navy Cpt. Roy Cash shares experience at Veteran's Day program

Along with their friends and family, dozens of veterans gathered at Englewood Baptist Church on Friday evening to be honored for their service in the U.S military.

Hosted by the West Tennessee Veterans Coalition, the 11th annual Veteran's Day Program featured a presentation of the 13 folds of the American flag by Liberty High School JROTC cadets and a performance of each military branch's respective song by the Jackson State Community College's Innovations Vocal Ensemble.

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Madison County Mayor AJ Massey spoke at the event, declaring that he "will never tire of honoring our veterans." On behalf of the city of Jackson and Madison County, Massey read a proclamation designating November 10-12 as Veteran's Appreciation Weekend.

"I did not serve, but I stand on the shoulders of you men and women who did," Massey said. "We wouldn't be here without you and I want you to hear that."

Retired U.S. Navy pilot, a former TOPGUN Commanding Officer, and nephew to Johnny Cash, Captain Roy "Outlaw" Cash was the evening's keynote speaker. His nickname "Outlaw" was his aviator call sign during his 30 years of service and something his comrades still call him to this day.

A native Memphian, Cash says he knew he wanted to fly since he was seven years old. He joined the Navy in May 1963 before marrying his wife of now 60 years, Billie, on July 4 at the Naval Aviation Chapel in Pensacola, Florida.

Father to Kellye and Carey, Cash has 12 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

A recipient of more than 20 military commendations, Captain Cash served in 305 Vietnam combat missions across six consecutive tours and has 1,200 successful carrier ship landings under his belt. With more than 5,000 flight hours across both Air Force and Navy aircraft, he was the first Navy pilot to fly the Air Force's F-16 fighter jet.

During a reconnaissance flight over North Vietnam, and what he described as his "most unfavorite mission," Vietnamese soldiers armed with heavy artillery on a secluded rock island shot Cash out of his aircraft. After ejecting from the plane, a helicopter on the scene by happenstance rescued Cash from the harbor of Haiphong.

"Why he was there, we still don't know because he should've been 50 miles at sea, but God put him there," he said. "Fortunately for me, the swimmer was able to jump in the water, cut the shroud lines away from me to keep the parachute from dragging me down, and he saved my life."

July 10, 1968 marks Cash's "most memorable and favorite mission."

On this day, Vietnamese MiG-21 pilot Pham Phu Thai was ejected from his plane following Cash's strike at Thai's plane.

"I assumed that that was the end of that story. I don't know if he survived or not," he said.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), a government entity tasked with investigating past war conflicts in order to recover soldiers missing in action or prisoners of war, identified a group of Vietnamese fighter pilots in 2016 after a trip to the country.

Thai was one of them.

In 2017 at a MiG Symposium in San Diego, Cash and Thai got to meet for the first time and have since dubbed themselves as "forever friends," communicating with one another through Google Translate.

"He said this through a translator because he doesn't speak English, but he said 'Roy Cash, Captain, I am honored to meet you in San Diego, California and you are welcome to come to my country in Hanoi if you promise to come unarmed," he said.

Cash concluded his speech at Englewood by singing "Ragged Old Flag," a tribute to the American flag written in 1975 by his late uncle Johnny.

"When people tell me 'thanks for your service,' I say to them 'you were worth it." That's what we all want to say — you were worth it," Cash said.

This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Retired Navy Cpt. Roy Cash speaks at Englewood Baptist Veteran's event