ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, VA (Rocktown Now) — The Rockingham County Board of Supervisors will be honoring the memory of a United States Marine Corps Fighter Pilot on Wednesday night.

At their regularly scheduled meeting at 6pm, the Board will honor Virgil E. Burkey, a pilot who crashed a World War II F4U Corsair Fighter Plane on September 10, 1950, in Fulks Run.

The crash was witnessed by two teens at around 12:40 in the afternoon after they noticed a plane flying very low near Pine Ridge. Witnesses say they could hear the engine cutting on and off and see what appeared to be an engine on fire. The plane tried to cross Pine Ridge, but clipped the tops of trees, which removed one of the wings from the plane. Witnesses then heard a crash and smoke follow.

Witnesses ran to the crash site and arrived to the plane fully engulfed in flames.

Several hours later rescue workers arrived to remove and identify the body. 28-year-old First Lieutenant Virgil E. Burkey from Zion, Illinois was identified, who was a decorated veteran.

Rockingham County Public Schools will be teaching a lesson about the pilot on Wednesday in his memory.

Burkey’s daughter will be flying in from Wisconsin to attend the Board of Supervisors meeting.