FOLEY – On January 28, 1983, Lieutenant Commander Michael Awood flew a training jet out of Pensacola. It is believed that the jet had come out of repairs, and Lt. Awood was taking it up on a test run. He radioed for help around the time that he flew over the Foley area, and soon after he crashed in the wooded area south of Juniper St and Riviera Blvd. He lost his life in the crash, and though the fine details of the accident are unknown, what is known is that Lt. Awood did not eject from his plane, as he could have done, and the plane went down in an unpopulated area. As a result, no one else came to any injury or harm in the accident.

The Foley Police Department has initiated the steps to place a memorial dedicated to Lt. Awood near the crash site, to commemorate his memory and ultimate sacrifice.

“He lost his life in service of his country,” said Deputy Chief Thurston Bullock. “Although via a trainer jet, Lt. Awood was still in performance of his duties, and we want to recognize that with a memorial.”

Prior to the planning of the memorial, the Police Department reached out to the Navy during their researching phase of the project. Following the approval from the Foley Council that they received on Monday, June 5, the department now plans to communicate with the Navy and Awood’s family about planning a date for the memorial ceremony. There are also plans to reach out to Pensacola, which was where Lt. Awood was stationed at the time of the accident.

“We had heard for years of the story of a navy jet that crashed in Foley in the 1980s,” Police Chief David Wilson said. “The area he crashed into is a swampy, heavily wooded area to this day. Lt. Awood, though he was training, still died for his country that day. We felt a memorial should be in place to commemorate his death and his duty to this great country.”

No official date for the memorial ceremony has been set at this time.