Tim's September 2008 Checkpoints Class News Article
HELLO '68!! Greetings and best wishes for much success
to General Norty Schwartz (USAFA '73) in assuming the reins of the Air Force as
our 19th Chief of Staff. Also, a hearty '68 welcome to members of the Class of
2008 as they join the honored ranks of the Long Blue Line. "68 Gives Donation to FAC Association." L-R: Jim Palmer (President, FAC Association), Bob Sallee, Rhip Worrell, Steve McPhail, and Al Blumberg. FAC MEMORIAL DONATION: On Tuesday, 15 April, members of the FAC Association and the USAFA Class of 1968 gathered on the site of the 2008 FAC Memorial for the presentation of a donation of $10,000 from the Class of 1968. The Class made the donation to honor of the five classmates we lost flying the Forward Air Controller Mission in Southeast Asia: John E. Duffy, John L. Ryder, Willis G. Uhls, Paul V. "Skip" Jackson, III, and Ted B. Hallenback. The Class's generosity represents the largest cash donation received by the 2008 FAC Memorial Committee. As you may recall from my last column, buses will be provided at the Embassy Suites for those who wish to attend the dedication of the FAC Memorial. CLASSMATE
FOUND!: Through the impetus of the lost classmate search conducted by Gene
Rose, Bob Daley, and Pat McBride, I made contact with Colonel
DeVere Henderson (USAFA '63), who is the brother of our classmate, Don Henderson.
After a flurry of phone calls and an e-mail or two, Don and I reconnected over
the phone after some 40 years since our last conversation. When asked what he
had been doing for the last 40 years, Don provided a brief summary. After graduating
from pilot training at Moody AFB, Don flew KC-135's at Griffiss AFB, New York
and then volunteered for a tour in C-7A's at Cam Rhan Bay. For the end-of-tour
trip home from Vietnam, he volunteered to ferry one of fifteen C-7A Caribous back
to the States guided by a C-130 on the five-stage island-hopping trip to Hamilton
AFB near San Francisco, CA. On the last and longest leg, one engine seized to
a halt near the half-way point while flying at 10,000 ft. in the middle of the
night. The aircraft could not maintain altitude and descended to level flight
at 3,700 ft. above the water. After flying for 13 more hours in mostly IFR conditions,
the fuel bladders were empty, and the fuel gages were pegged on "E".
The aircraft had reached the Farallon Islands about 25 miles off the California
coast. Clearance had been given to fly under the Golden Gate Bridge, and emergency
actions were being taken to clear segments of beach and freeway for landing. After
ditching, they exited through the cargo door and were picked up by a Coast Guard
vessel within minutes. Don was trapped and entangled in cockpit debris in the
submerged aircraft nose and was rescued by Air Force divers only 2 minutes before
the fuselage disappeared beneath the water's surface. "Take
Me Out to the Ball Game!" L-R: Marty Cole and Buck McCants at Wrigley Field. Marty
Cole has a number of "quests" - sort of like a "Bucket List"
but just a little bit different. One of these is to visit all of the Major League
Baseball stadiums. As Buck McCants notes, "Marty has graciously allowed
me to participate. We knocked out Wrigley Field in Chicago and Miller Park in
Milwaukee in July of 2007. In 2008, we visited Yankee Stadium (which will soon
be torn down), Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, and the new Nationals Stadium
in Washington, DC." If anyone lives near one of the stadiums and would like
to help Marty and Buck fulfill their quest, please drop them a line. "Gone Fishin'!" L-R: Carl Janssen and Bob Beanblossom with Catch of the Day. The
photo above was snapped at Bob Beanblossom's private operation about ten
miles south of Leadville, CO in June. Their place is called Mount Massive Lakes
and it sits up above the Arkansas River. As Carl Janssen writes, "The
mountains to the west are spectacular and so is the fishing!" For you non-fishermen,
those are all rainbow trout ranging from 2 to 4 pounds. Occasionally, Bob serves
as a fly fishing guide in Colorado and is very knowledgeable on the subject. For
classmates who would like to grab a pole and drop a line, Bob and wife, Julie,
would be glad to have classmates and families stop by. |