The Days Forward

West Point Class of 1969

Suzanne Rice

A Tribute to Two Great Pilots – 1970

 Himes – A Tribute to Two Great Pilots – 1970

Those of us who graduated from West Point, but entered the US Air Force for our service, gained a different military family. The Air Force is a smaller branch of our military, so we would become close friends with a set of budding pilots. Some of us did our flight training at the same base while others were assigned to other training bases. Regardless of location, we all went through the same training program flying the three training aircraft in use at that time. The title photo of an amazing jet is the T-38 advanced jet trainer that we finished our training on. For obvious reasons we called it the White Rocket. And, yes, it flew like it looked.     

On this Memorial Day, it is appropriate to remember two classmates that chose to go into the U S Air Force instead of the U S Army. Some of us Air Force guys would cross paths again after West Point; some not, but we shared a love for being airborne. Today, we salute their service and commitment to our Country.

Dave Kirby 1948-1970

Dave Kirby and I were both in the same cadet company (B-4) for 4 years. That meant that starting with Beast Barracks through graduation we lived with the same couple of dozen fellows…. for better or worse. Kirbs was definitely on the “better” side. To be fair, they were all in that category. My B-4 classmates were as outstanding a group of young men you could find. My only regret in going Air Force was that I’d likely never see most of them after graduation. Anyway, my academic prowess was mediocre at best; Kirbs was way up there. I don’t think he actually worked a lot harder than most of us, but he could grasp difficult math and engineering concepts on the first read. As a result, his GPA was far above mine and I think he was ranked at the top of the list for those of us going AF. A small backstory: Our required academic load left very little room for elective courses. In my case I took 4 years of Portuguese (2 years of a foreign language were required) mainly because it was one of the few classes I could get a 3.0 in. Second semester of Firstie year, Kirbs took what was for all practical measures a post-grad level engineering course… CH499, I think. Naturally, he got a 3.0 in it. Course numbers ending in “99” were never on my class schedule. FYI, at the time 3.0 was the max grade in a course; 2.0 was barely passing or “tangent”. After all, we were all engineers back then. On the off-duty side, Kirbs was a car nut. He had a Pontiac with the biggest engine GM put in the thing.

Kirbs With His Car

Of course, he could (and did) take it apart and reassemble it like it was a Lego toy. I’m barely able to adjust the little chain in a toilet tank. Anyway, he got around the academy prohibition on car ownership by keeping the car titled in his dad’s name until Firstie year spring break. He died in a single car crash late at night shortly before Undergraduate Pilot Training graduation. In pilot training at Randolph Air Force Base the time of Dave’s accident was one of his West Point Classmates, 2LT Scott Nix (https://thedaysforward.com/scott-nix/). Scott was honored to be the officer who escorted Dave on his final journey home to his grief-stricken family – a sad assignment, but a real-life example of the camaraderie of graduates of West Point and the Long Gray Line. Dave’s untimely death left a big hole in the future of our Air Force. What if he had not been taken from us so soon. What could he have accomplished? 

New pilot Dave Kirby
Kent Crenshaw 1947-2011

     Kent Crenshaw and I were in different regiments as cadets, so our paths seldom crossed at West Point. After graduation we never met face to face, but our flying careers occasionally ran in parallel. Of the small group of us that went to USAF Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT), his aviation career overall seems most impressive.

    After UPT Kent was assigned to the C-7 Caribou tactical airlifter at Cam Ranh Bay and was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross and three Air Medals during his tour there. As some of you may recall, the C-7 was a light tactical cargo plane that supported Army Special Operations/Green Beret missions in what we now call USAF Special Operations Command. Tiny airfields and low altitude flying were the order of the day. Returning to the U.S. he was assigned to Westover AFB, MA as a B-52 heavy bomber pilot and later Warner Robins AFB, GA in the same aircraft. TDY deployments back to SEA were common for that aircraft. 

    USAF’s post graduate engineering school at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH was his next stop for a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering. The follow-on assignment was to US Air Force Academy as an academic instructor where he also was an instructor pilot in the cadet glider training program. In that capacity, he introduced a motorized glider into their system which reduced the need for routine use of tow planes. 

    After his teaching assignment Kent went to Edwards AFB, CA to the USAF experimental test pilot school and was the 1981 Distinguished Graduate. Another academic tour at USAFA followed. Then it was back to Edwards AFB as an instructor pilot in the test pilot school. An Outstanding Instructor of the Year award followed. I sense a trend here. Kent retired from active military service at USAF’s flight test center in 1989.

    Northwest Airlines hired Kent as a DC-9 pilot but after a few months he got the proverbial “offer you can’t refuse”. Northrup Grumman offered him a job as a civilian test pilot on the still super-secret B-2 stealth bomber. A return to the California desert followed where he remained as the company chief test pilot on that aircraft until the by now well-known B-2 production ended. Are we done here? Apparently not. Gulfstream aircraft, which builds long range corporate business jets, made the next offer. Kent and Judy were off to Savannah, GA where he was involved in flight test operations for Gulfstream’s growing line of large corporate jets. In this capacity he was testing the brand new G650 on Apr. 2, 2011 at Roswell, NM. During a takeoff planned for very challenging conditions, the test aircraft crashed killing the two pilots and two test engineers. Among other things, the accident investigation determined that Kent had flown the aircraft precisely as planned. 

    His wife Judy and their son Cameron lost a husband and father. The world-wide aviation community lost one of its best. We lost an irreplaceable classmate. Truly Best of the Line.

Kent and Judy before his last flight as the B-2 stealth bomber chief test pilot at Edwards AFB, CA

Let Me Do My Job – 1996

You’ve probably figured out by now that one thing I had to deal with as a pastor and as a chaplain were issues surrounding death and dying.  So, it was not uncommon for me to receive phone calls from parishioners asking me to visit people in the hospital.  The following are two such stories of that particular kind.

The first involved a call from an elderly lady in my congregation up in Hampden, Maine, asking me to visit her older sister who was in the hospital following a heart attack.  Since such requests were not unusual, I agreed automatically.  But then she went on to tell me that I needed to be careful because her sister did not believe in God and got very angry whenever anybody tried to talk to her about God.  I thanked her for that information and headed out to the hospital.

Eastern Maine Medical Center, Bangor

After inquiring about her room number at the information desk, I headed to the room and found Edna easy enough.  I introduced myself and as soon as I told her that I was her sister’s pastor she looked like she was a deer caught in the headlights.  It was quite obvious that she was very uncomfortable with me being there, so after talking for a few minutes about rather innocuous things I said my good-bye and went home.

A couple of weeks later I received a call from the same church lady telling me the same sister was back in the hospital after another heart attack asking if I would visit her again.  I said I would and headed back out to the hospital all the while asking God what in the world I was going to say to Edna this time around.

I found out her room number and this time as soon as she saw me, she was again the proverbial deer caught in the headlights.  We talked for a couple of minutes about nothing and then out of nowhere I asked Edna if she would do me a favor.  She asked what favor and I proceeded to tell her that since she was in the hospital for the second time in two weeks with a heart attack, I would consider it a great favor if she would please just let me do my job … at which point she very simply said yes.

At that point I began to explain to her about how God loved her, and He wanted her to be able to know for sure how she could go to heaven if she were to die of her next possible heart attack.  I explained how Jesus died on the cross for our sins and about the promise of God the Father that whoever believed in Jesus should not perish but would have everlasting life.  I then asked her if she would like to receive the forgiveness that Jesus promised and be able to have the assurance of heaven … to which she said yes.  I prayed with Edna and when we were finished, she had tears running down her cheeks and she thanked me profusely for coming to see her.  Following this, Edna recovered quite well and began attending church with her sister for a number of years afterwards.

**************

The second story also started with a phone call from a younger woman named Kate asking me to visit her brother who was in the hospital dying of emphysema.  When I agreed to visit him, she told me he was a Vietnam veteran and suggested that perhaps if I wore my Maine National Guard chaplain uniform it might help break the ice.

 

Maine National Guard Patch & U. S. Army Chaplain Corps Patch

 I agreed and went home to change and then headed out to the hospital.

U.S. Army Chaplain Uniform

After asking for the room number, I found the room and was surprised to walk in and find a man simply sitting on the edge of his bed looking up watching television.  He had absolutely no tubes or IV’s or anything.  He was just sitting there with his feet dangling down looking up at the TV.  Thinking maybe I had the wrong room, I asked if he was Kate’s brother and when he said he was, I then introduced myself as her pastor.

For about a good half hour we proceeded to talk about Vietnam and where we had been assigned and we talked about all kinds of other things as well.  Eventually when the conversation began to slow down, I asked if I could tell him a story.  He agreed quite easily so I then began to tell him the story about the little old lady named Edna mentioned above.  That story had become a favorite of mine since it became a very easy way for me to break the ice about spiritual things with someone I didn’t know well.  I would simply tell the story and then ask whomever if they would please, like Edna, let me do my job.  So, this is what I did with Kate’s brother dying of emphysema.

He readily agreed so I shared with him just as I had with Edna that God loved him and wanted him to know how he could be sure that if he died, he would go to heaven.  In his case I asked him if it was true what Kate had said that he was dying of emphysema.  He said that is what he had been told by the doctors.  I asked him how could that be since he had no tubes or IV’s or anything.  He said he didn’t quite know anything other than that’s what the doctors had told him.  So, like with Edna, I asked him if he would like to receive the forgiveness that Jesus promised and be able to have the assurance of heaven … to which he said yes he would.  I then prayed with him and when we were finished, he had a big smile on his face and he thanked me for coming to see him.  It was about 4:00pm so I said my good-bye and said that I would be back the next day to check in on him and see how he was doing.

Later that evening about 8:00pm I received a phone call from Kate saying that her brother had died.  Like the thief on the cross … it was simply one more reminder that it is never too late to take the time we have to get right with God.

RIP Edward McCann, USA – Vietnam

Off to Guam – Twice

Beale AFB, northern California

There I was going into the squadron for a night training flight in a B52 G Model. I had completed 12 months of pilot training, 3 ½ months of B52 school and sundry other USAF required schools/training. I was in month 1 of my required 4 months of local check out before full certification as a co-pilot of the B52G model. Upon arrival at the squadron for mission preflight, I was immediately approached by the squadron operations officer who said “Lt., pack your bags you are leaving for TDY Guam in 72 hours as a co-pilot for Crew R-12”.  Of course, I saluted and replied, “Yes, sir”.

Heading to Anderson Air Force Base, Guam

Journey to Guam

72 hours later, I met Crew R-12 for the first time (pilot, radar navigator, navigator, Electronic Warfare Officer, tail gunner).

Crew R-12 (Scott 2nd from right) in front of B52 G front landing gear, prior to mission. Anderson AFB, Guam, (note useless .38 caliber survival pistols!)

We constituted a 3-aircraft cell assigned to ferry 3 B52Gs to Guam and remain there to conduct combat missions as directed by 8th Air Force. Our B52 had a maintenance malfunction and was 4 hours late departing. The other 2 aircraft left on schedule and we would fly as a lone aircraft. Immediately after departure, we conducted aerial refueling from a KC135 just outside San Francisco over the Pacific. It was my first solo, co-pilot aerial refueling. Aerial refueling is generally regarded as one of the most difficult/dangerous tasks in military flying. There are two large aircraft about 75 ft from each other (B52 and KC135 – Boeing 707)) connected by a long metal tube (boom) which pumps jet fuel from the KC135 to the B52 under high-speed pressure. The danger of a midair collision is omnipresent. The pilots of both aircraft must fly by hand as autopilot flying was not an option. 17 ½ hours non-stop later, we could see Guam (about 30 miles long and 12 miles wide) on the distant horizon. Now, I understood what Naval aviators must feel like when they spot their aircraft carriers! The runway at Anderson AFB, (our destination) was a little over 2 miles of the island’s 30 miles.

Looks Like an Aircraft Carrier – Guam

Guam

After arrival in Guam, we had about 7 days before our first mission. For the first mission only were we accompanied by an experienced combat pilot. The rest of the missions only included our crew. The average mission was about 10-11 hours, non-stop, depending on what part of Viet Nam was our target. We normally flew in 3 aircraft cells. KC-135s were strategically placed along the 5000-mile round trip route in case we needed any additional fuel. Creature comforts on the aircraft were pretty much non-existent. Our seats were thin foam on top of a survival kit mounted on an ejection seat.  Therefore, we had to wear helmets, oxygen masks, parachute harness, etc. Ejection seats were triggered by an explosive charge which literally blew the seat out of a hatch in the top of the aircraft (the top hatch was triggered to blow a few milliseconds before the seat ejected through it). The seat traveled at close to 30Gs (30 times gravity) therefore almost assuring some form of spine injury. When on the ground the explosive charge was protected by a safety pin. The seat safety pin was removed prior to takeoff and replaced after landing. Heaters, air conditioners and coffee pots were low maintenance priorities so almost never worked. These were the Arc Light designated missions in support of ground troops. (Operation Arc Light was the code name for the B52 participation in the Vietnam war. Operation Arc Light ran from 1965 to 1973). The missions were mostly in South Vietnam, but I think we occasionally drifted into Cambodia and North Vietnam. Not sure if we had any missions in Laos. I completed 28 Arc Light Missions.

B52-G Ready for Taxi to Take-off from Guam

Most South Vietnam missions were uneventful but occasionally we would pick up a MIG searching for a target or very rarely a radar ping by a SAM (surface to air missile). The EW (Electronic Warfare Officer-managed all electronic defensive systems for the aircraft) would commence radar jamming defensive measures which were effective. The SAMs and the MIGs were all Russian.

Scott and his Radar Navigator, Pre-flight Completed, Waiting on Revetment for Scheduled Take-off – Guam.

The most difficult B52 missions came right before war end during the Paris peace talks. Kissinger used the B52s based in Guam and U-Tapao, Thailand as serious negotiation tools/threats. I was in Guam on my 2nd TDY as an Air Staff Officer for 8th Air Force, so was able to see the big picture from an operations view.  As the Paris negotiations ebbed and flowed, we were required to launch a maximum surge (all available aircraft) to target Hanoi.  These were the Linebacker II missions.  (Operation Linebacker II was the code name for the massive 11 day bombing campaign conducted primarily by B52s over Hanoi in support of the Paris peace talks). A number of B52s were shot down over Hanoi by SAMs (using effective Russian radar and MIG positioning). We launched about 4 maximum surges. After peace was concluded in Paris, it took about 6 months to wind down the B52 operation in Guam and in Thailand.

Bomber Stories Over Vietnam

“This is the Sign of the True Professional – To March to the Sound of the guns.” For those of you who have not looked in a while, this is the quote by General Westmoreland on the inside cover of the Class of 1969 yearbook.  I tried to let these words guide my career.

     After graduation leave, I wound up in pilot training at Vance AFB, OK with Dick Jarmanas my roommate.  It was a fun and challenging year.  Afterwards, we both went to Castle AFB, CA for Combat Crew Training School – Dick in KC-135 tankers and I in B-52s.  Then, on to my first duty station at Dyess AFB, TX. 

Paul’s B-52

     At the time, each B-52 unit was deploying about three crews to Southeast Asia flying combat sorties out of U-Tapao Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand.

 I quickly volunteered to go thinking the war might soon be over and I didn’t want to miss my chance.  That didn’t happen but by volunteering I became quite popular with my fellow co-pilots; they had all been there several times.  Each “short tour” was 180 days, sometimes a little less.  Flying six missions a week allowed me to get pretty comfortable with my job.  I volunteered to go back after each tour – in all I went six times for a total of two and a half years in theater, 232 total sorties, 32 of them over North Viet Nam.

     For my ground-pounding classmates, I’m sure it wasn’t at all like your tours in Viet Nam.  We returned to base after each mission, ate in the Officer’s Club, and slept in air-conditioned trailers.

     I didn’t get credit for my first mission up north.  I flew with Dick on a refueling mission. (https://thedaysforward.com/global-air-adventure-1971-73/)  Although he was supposed to orbit over Laos refueling fighters that had missions over the North, an F-4 Phantom called saying he would run out of gas before he could reach the tanker.  Dick and his crew, with no hesitation or discussion, turned into North Viet Nam.  They made the rendezvous look entirely normal and routine.  I doubt they even got credit for the “save.”  Dick flew one mission with me, but it wasn’t nearly as exciting – just a routine bombing mission over the South.

      As I mentioned, I got the opportunity to go North a few times.  Those were a little more interesting.  Even though we were at 30,000 feet, we experienced AAA (100mm anti-aircraft artillery),

KS-19 100mm Anti-aircraft Artillery that Menaced Paul

quite a few surface-to-air missiles (SAM), and one fighter attack.  One night over Hanoi, as usual, we were being barraged with SAMs.  One was a little more interesting than most.  With the gunner in the tail giving us continuous updates as he tracked the SAM visually, it exploded almost under our wing but fortunately just short – maybe a bad proximity fuse – but close enough to make my aircraft commander flinch.

Danger over North Vietnamese SAM’s

As to the MIG attack, I’d like to thank the F-4 pilot that put a missile up his tail pipe before he got off a shot at us.

      One war story:  you may remember the press reported that the Cuban embassy in Hanoi was bombed by mistake one night.  That was us.  The bombardier missed a step in his checklist and failed to close the release circuit disconnect, a manual safety feature.  When we reached the bomb release point, nothing happened and when you’re dropping 108 500# bombs, you can definitely feel it.  Panic at the bombing/navigation station until they quickly (certainly less than 30 seconds) figured out the problem.  They closed the circuit and released the bombs.  As luck would have it, I’m not sure if it was good luck or bad, we hit the Cubans.  At any rate, nothing much was ever said to us about the incident.

Paul Goes North to Hanoi

     Just as a footnote, 20+ years later, on my promotion recommendation to colonel, the first line read “232 combat sorties over Viet Nam; 32 over North Viet Nam.” All something I had done as a lieutenant/captain while marching to the sound of the guns.

Inspiration from the Class of 1969 Yearbook, the Howitzer

Air War

    My path into USAF from West Point was due to my dad. Army policy at the time allowed graduating cadets to be commissioned in another DoD branch if they were connected by way of a parent who was a career officer or NCO or if they were prior enlisted in that branch. My inspiration was my Dad’s story from an Oklahoma farm to commanding a heavy bomber crew in WW2 to flight testing the first swept wing jet bomber (B-47) on the planet to Mach 2 in an F-4. Those of us that went to AF pilot training were pipelined into the system with newly commissioned USAFA grads so most of our student pilot classmates were zoomies. AF policy at the time was to not send newly graduated pilots to front line tactical fighters… F-100s and F-4s at the time. I ended up as a KC-135 copilot as did many others. Once in the system, it was common to move us around to seemingly unrelated parts of the Air Force.

KC-135

    After pilot training at Reese AFB, TX, I became a KC-135 copilot at Dyess AFB, TX. It was a pretty typical first assignment at the time.  In 1971, I began what would be most of my flying was out of U-Tapao Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand and Kadena Air Base in Okinawa. U-T missions were mostly fighter support over North and South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. One that sticks in my memory was a night mission into southern China with 4 F-4s in formation carrying only air-to-air missiles and no external fuel tanks. My KC-135 tanker was for all practical purposes the “external fuel tank” for those 4 Phantoms. As a result, we were continuously “passing gas” as they took turns on and off of the refueling boom to keep topped off with jet fuel. A few minutes after passing the Plain of Jars in Laos my navigator exclaimed “Do you guys know where we are?” Yes, we did. The Plain of Jars, known in French as PDJ, located in central Laos, was constantly fought over, and changed hands frequently.

Where They Were
Plain of Jars

Ancient Laotian culture buried their dead in large clay pots there, hence the modern name. At the time “Plain of Bomb Craters” would have been more appropriate.  Our F-4s dropped away and we did a couple of big circles and they returned after a bit with a lot of missiles missing. All done in radio silence; we then headed south back into Laos and then our bases in Thailand. One of 2 times I actually put on my parachute in the KC-135. A useless gesture since the airplane did not have ejection seats for high speed and high altitude.

Okinawa, Site of Kadena Air Force Base

      Kadena flying was mostly B-52 support. The other time I actually put on my parachute in the tanker was when we came back to Kadena one night on fumes into a driving rainstorm dropping the visibility down to PAR (precision approach radar) minimums, the runway ankle deep in water, and maximum crosswind. Normally, a radar controller with a very precise 3-dimension radar talked airplanes all the way down to touchdown. A quarter mile visibility was usually our minimum acceptable, but if there is no Plan B, you’ll take anything! Enough fuel for one shot at the runway and then bail out into Naha Bay. After landing it felt as if we were water skiing down the runway.

    While at Kadena, I was assigned to flying an OV-10 Bronco at the 56th Special Operations Wing at Nakhon Penom Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand.

OV-10 Bronco

 The OV-10 was designed as a counter-insurgency aircraft. It had two turbo-prop engines, long landing gear struts, and was armed with various bombs, rockets and 4 M-60 machine guns. It could operate out of small airfields as needed. It was flown by one pilot but had a rear cockpit for an occasional observer. The other airplanes in the wing were CH-53s, HH-53s, AC-130s, MC-130s, HC-130s, and EC-47s. The C-7s, A-37s and A-1s had already been transferred to the Vietnamese Air Force. Like the special operations forces in the other DoD services, we were USAF’s swiss army knife in Southeast Asia. Perfect job for a bachelor too dumb to know that his 25th birthday was not guaranteed. One engagement (out of a lot of options) of note was an all-day running gunfight outside of a Cambodian provincial capitol under attack by the Khmer Rouge. Another of our OV-10s had been over head since sunup and had done a great job of setting up the fight that was rapidly building. Rick (later the USAF chief test pilot on the B-2 program) gave me a detailed briefing on the tactical situation and I set about dodging .51 caliber heavy machine gun fire, mapping out the attackers’ positions, and telling the Airborne Command and Control Center (a highly modified C-130) to send me tactical fighters (an assortment of F-4s and A-7s as it turned out) with general purpose bombs on board. A couple of MK-84 (2000-pound bomb) Laser Guided Bombs from an F-4 took out (vaporized actually) an observation post on the 2nd floor of a former schoolhouse. Another F-4 put a string of 6 unguided MK-82s (500-pound bomb) within 50 meters of the friendlies. Scared the hell out of me but the translator said to keep it coming; we had caught a company plus in the open and there would be no survivors. And so, it went for a while; the good guys were winning. After a couple of hours my relief arrived, and I handed off the situation to him. By the time I landed back in Thailand, he was KIA. One of our helicopters picked up the body the next day. First Distinguished Flying Cross for me…not too sure I deserved it. 

    Post war, I got an assignment as an instructor pilot in USAF pilot training. Thus, began my tenure in the post-war peacetime Air Force. Probably about as frustrating to me as my Army classmates while political correctness overcame common sense. My dad’s example from Depression Era farmer to WW2 combat pilot to flying what was then leading-edge technology jet aircraft was inspirational to me even if I didn’t always grasp it growing up. Airplanes seemed like a natural part of my life and they fascinate me still.