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The Air Force sergeant who died after he plunged 170 feet during a rope rappelling exhibit before a college football game had been selected to perform the dangerous stunt at the annual show for the first time, his father said.
TSgt Ian “Patty” Patterson, 33, was remembered as a “wonderful husband and dad” during his 15 years of military service before his fatal fall from the rafters of the Alamodome ahead of the University of Texas at San Antonio vs. Navy game on Saturday.
“I was very excited. I believe he wanted to do it last year as well,” Patterson’s father, John Patterson, told WDRB+WAVE. “He didn’t do it last year. So this year he had the opportunity.”
Patterson – a tech sergeant with the 6th Combat Training Squadron, Detachment 2, at Joint Base San Antonio – attempted to repel himself from the ceiling of the indoor stadium down to the field when he appeared to lose control of his descent and made the fatal fall.
The stunt, considered one of the most dangerous, had Patterson, along with three other military experts, drop from the stadium rafters on a rope.
Medical officials treated Patterson on the field for roughly 10 minutes before he was placed on a golf cart and rushed out of the stadium and to a hospital, where he died.
The younger Patterson grew up in a military family, with his father serving in the Army, and he answered the call to serve as a teenager.
“He loved the Air Force. He joined right out of high school, and that’s what he wanted,” Patterson’s father, John Patterson, told WDRB+WAVE.
“He knew that the military would give him a solid career and a solid base, and give him discipline and integrity and everything that wraps up a good military individual,” John Patterson said.
Ian Patterson, a 15-year veteran of the Air Force, had traveled all over the world during his career, making stops in South Korea, Germany and Colorado before most recently moving to San Antonio, where he was stationed at the time of his death.
Patterson was awarded several medals and was named the 2022 Air Force Special Warfare Enlisted Instructor of the Year at the Headquarters Air Force level during his decorated decade and a half of service, Nellis Air Force Base said.
“It just takes a split second and I got the waterfalls going,” John Patterson revealed about his emotions.
“I just want to let people know that he was a wonderful man,” the grieving father added. “I love him.”
Patterson was a Tactical Air Control Party instructor and was commemorated by his fellow Airmen with a fundraiser set up for his family.
“TSgt Ian “Patty” Patterson was a loving father, a leader, and a brother in arms. Those who knew and served alongside him remember a caring father, a trusted teammate, and a tested operator. His loss is deeply felt across the TACP community,” The TACP Foundation wrote online.
“Ian, we honor you as a loving father, a leader, and a brother in arms. We will carry your memory forward by standing shoulder to shoulder with your family and your teammates through the days ahead,” the foundation added.
“Rest in peace, brother. Our mission continues. Your family will not walk this road alone.”