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Airfield renamed in honor of Dan Fordice
The Vicksburg-Tallulah Regional Airport has been renamed the Dan Fordice Memorial Airfield to honor a remarkable pilot.
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VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) — In a moving presentation which included family, friends and local leaders, the Vicksburg-Tallulah Regional Airport was officially renamed the Dan Fordice Memorial Airfield today, Friday, Oct. 16.
Dan Fordice, chairman of the Southern Heritage Air Foundation and a 5000-hour pilot, was killed on May 12, 2026, when his P-51 Mustang crashed during aerobatic maneuver. He was the son of former Mississippi Gov. Kirk Fordice.
The presentation held at the airport included a heartfelt message from Fordice’s long term friend Patty Mekus, President of the Sothern Heritage Air Foundation, who shared her memories.
Mekus told a story of how Fordice’s mother once asked him if he was trying to live two lives in one lifetime.
“He simply told her, ‘No, three'”, said Mekus. “And how fitting is that of Dan?”
Father Ryan Humphries of the St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in Tallulah, opened the event with prayer and blessings.
The crowd also heard from Hunter Fordice, Dan’s brother, who spoke of the long association of the Fordice family with the airport.
Yvonne Lewis, Mayor of Tallulah, and Willis Thompson, Mayor of Vicksburg, also shared by commenting about the support the cities would continue to provide to the airfield.
Other speakers included Vicksburg Alderwoman Vickie Bailey, Madison Parish Police Juror Jane Sanders, and Dr. Kelle Barfield, President of the Warren County Board of Supervisors.
To conclude the program, Alaina Fordice, daughter of Dan Fordice, took to the microphone to stress how the airport was important her father’s life. Through tear-filled eyes she described how she spent most of her childhood with her father at the airfield.
“He would be so proud to see all his different families coming together for this event,” she said.
Bill Fulcher and Paul Banchetti directed the crowd to witness the official unveiling.
The sign was reviewed with a cord cutting by Dan’s family members, Ann Claire Fordice, Nathan Fordice, Alaina Fordice, Erin Fordice, Angela Fordice Jordan, Hunter Fordice and Jim Fordice.
