{"id":4151,"date":"2019-05-25T13:17:41","date_gmt":"2019-05-25T18:17:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/?p=4151"},"modified":"2019-05-25T13:17:51","modified_gmt":"2019-05-25T18:17:51","slug":"memorial-day-seven-lost-crewmembers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doctoraviation.com\/memorial-day-seven-lost-crewmembers\/","title":{"rendered":"Memorial Day: Seven Lost Crewmembers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The is my Memorial Day Tribute to Seven Lost Crewmembers.\u00a0 Each Memorial Day, I pay tribute to at least one fellow aviator with whom I served in the Air Force.\u00a0 Two years ago, it was PJ Weaver<\/a> and last year it was Steve Phillis<\/a>.\u00a0 Click on the highlights to read those tributes.\u00a0 On March 13, 1987 I lost seven fellow aviators in one afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The AF Thunderbirds<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The\nconcept was known as \u201cThe Thunderhawks\u201d. \nIt was an idea based off the successful Air Force demonstration team:\nThe Thunderbirds.  The idea emanated from\nOmaha Nebraska, the home of Strategic Air Command (i.e. SAC).  General John Chain was the Commander.  Chain\u2019s idea was to \u201cspice up\u201d air shows\nroutines performed by the SAC crews.  The\nB-52 and KC-135 were the backbone of SAC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Major General Bob Beckel<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The idea was aided by General Robert \u201cBob\u201d Beckel.\u00a0 Beckel had been the Commandment of Cadets while I was at the Air Force Academy.\u00a0 The first Academy grad to serve in the role.\u00a0 He was charming, charismatic and immensely popular with the cadets.\u00a0 Beckel served as a Thunderbird from 1965 to 1967 and was, in 1987, the Chief of Staff at SAC Headquarters. (Click here<\/a> to see his full bio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
KC-135A: Type flown by the Thunderhawks<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Fairchild\nAir Force Base was chosen to be the testbed for the demonstration team. Several\nsenior pilots were tapped and began flying in early 1987.  I remember observing a practice one day, alongside\nof Jess Schloss, our Chief Boom.  We watched\nthe KC-135 roar over the runway at about 200 feet and then pull up and to the\nright very aggressively.  \u201cBig Boys with\ntheir Big Toys\u201d, Jess observed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The MIGHTY KC-135A<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

On Friday,\nMarch 13, 1987 three pilots, a young navigator and a boom operator climbed\naboard the Mighty KC-135 for a Thunderhawk practice.  A more seasoned navigator, Jim Litzinger,\ndecided to jump aboard the flight at the last minute.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the practice the KC-135 flew overhead the runway and pulled up and to the right in a 90-bank turn.\u00a0 The aircraft stalled and began to nose down.\u00a0 There was not enough altitude to recover from the stall.\u00a0 The aircraft crashed between the squadron building and the Base Exchange.\u00a0 All aboard perished.\u00a0 Paul Hamilton, observing on the ground was killed as well.\u00a0 For more details on the flight itself, including photos, see a previous blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
General John “Jack” Chain<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The young navigator\u2019s grieving dad pressed hard for General John Chain to be relieved of command.  Ultimately his efforts were not successful.  Chain<\/a> retired from active duty in 1991.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thirty-two\nyears later a memorial lies in the air park at Fairchild AFB devoted to the\nfallen aviators.  Their names and marker\nare below.  Even though they did not die\nin battle, they died serving their country. \nHence, these Seven Crewmembers deserve to be remembered on Memorial Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael\nCornett Pilot<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frank\nJohnson Pilot<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris\nChapman Pilot<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jim Litzinger Navigator<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark Myers Navigator<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rodney Erks Boom Operator<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul Hamilton Boom Operator (on the ground)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Memorial to the Thunderhawk Aviators,
Water marks are from the Sprinkler System<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The is my Memorial Day Tribute to Seven Lost Crewmembers.\u00a0 Each Memorial Day, I pay tribute to at least one fellow aviator with whom I served in the Air Force.\u00a0 Two years ago, it was PJ Weaver and last year it was Steve Phillis.\u00a0 Click on the highlights to read those tributes.\u00a0 On March 13, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":338,"featured_media":4146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[39],"tags":[996,732,734,561,731],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMemorial Day: Seven Lost Crewmembers - Doctor Aviation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The is my Memorial Day Tribute to Seven Lost Crewmembers. 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