I can make some observations about E-Model 54-536 crashed off the N departure at Spang, Oct 9,’69. It was my crew. Pilot Capt Ken Kelly and recent EWO 1st Lt Tony Holly just back from Thailand year tour (any call him by first name John didn’t ever know him). I was off TDY ferrying the Bitburg Goon to Davis-Monthan for salvage. Was sitting at the duty desk 2nd week Sept when.  Smiley Pomeroy, Asst Ops came in and said. “Phillips, get out your dancing shoes, you’re flying home”. USAFE was retiring all C-47s, Base Ops flyers, usually, for either conversion to Puff Gunships in FL or bone yard salvage. Computer had spit me out as most experienced celestial, trans-ocean Nav qualified with B-52 time. Met my crew, pilot Chief Ops and Training Spang, a Major returning to US, Co-pilot 1Lt Airfield Mgr Spang, a mechanic crew chief and a radio operator for briefing and test hop. I was issued a bubble sextant and pilot had a little plexi window cut on skin by the nav table. Fri Sept 19 we left for a RAF base refueling RON at Lossiemouth RNAF carrier base N Scottland. I tied a sun line mid- cannel but found it was an astro-compass bubble dome and me and the sextant didn’t fit. I made a smaller hook from a coat hanger but the off balance sunline fell back in Germany. No problem, our other Goon assigned us to follow  had Loran. Turned out with weather holds we flew alone  after  2  days Lossie to Iceland 2 days. I tried  Shoran, count  bleeps and  silences  from  Norway but  made  no sense  so used  low  freq  AM radio direction  finder  to track in after  4 hours dead  reckoning  after  Tacan ran OUT  100  DME. Just  used   a down wind  land  fall, exactly like  Colombus. (and  Lindberg) all the  way home  the  entire  week ,  Sondestrom Greenland 2 days  weathered after  severe clear  air   iced   up wings  off  Keflavik  on way  to Greenland ice  cap. Suddenly getting  hit  with ice balls:   BANG BANG BANG!   2 Wright engines  whined and  dropped  5K feet  in  30 seconds. WHEW!   Spent  another 2 days at  Sonde. where  we played run around leading edges    and  who  ice  falls on  first buys  drinks. Think was  me  but  was  pure pleasing to be out  of  N Atlantic  that  night. in warm  O Club and BOQ!

Crossed  to  N America Canada  at Goose on my 32nd birthday. Sept 24. Next day we landed at Dow for fuel and McGuire where we were diverted to FL not AZ. Meant me and rhe radio were finished. Next day I 2 hopped all way to LAX on VIP T-39s. after a long month’s leave I was on my way back hop stopping with friends at Shaw. THAT was when I was told Ken and Tony were dead! Dumb as rocks sgdn never checked my Emergency Data info ( recall that thing in case you die?) and tried to find a Mrs Philips in Salinas. My mother was a Fletcher since 1950! Leave form said “self, home of record. Ken had been my student AT Shaw and we’d agreed to crew up at Spang that May Terry Kelly was one super lady from the time I saw her drive in from Kansas in their red and black Austin-Healy. She’d asked for me as escort officer with her to Arlington but they did not locate me at all.I can never bring myself to forgive them that! My real replacement that day was Lt Col Frank Fucich our Exec, no matter what silly people claim. Tough old bird survived 6 moths burn ward in Wiesbadden and we became close friends. We bonded as he was in MY seat Oct 9th and knew it. After he retired on disability in ’73 became My best advisor when I was disabled out at Wilford Hall in 1777. We’d both bought retirement lots in Cameron Park CA while he was at Mather Nav Bomb Tng Sqdn CO and me just back from SEA in B-57s. Dorly and I’d stop and visit each time through CA to Texas where I retired to be near neurosurgery department follow up. I can still recall Ken banging that elevator every run up that spring and summer. We ferried a bird across from Shaw day after we watched Armstrong step on the moon. That Oct day the bell crank broke and froze in place and they went off the Alert Facility end with a telephone pole light  standard  cutting Kenny in half then right through Tony. Frank was sitting in my Nav radar  position  back left side and fell out a tear by the  # 1 engine.

Later in Dec  1971  I became Information Officer in new 52nd TFW and responded immediately in  Wing   Safety  truck  to the Aug  28, ’72 C model  54-0386  crash where good friend Dan Craven, (Dorly sold them their Audi at Capitol Motors in early ’70) aborted take off.  All crews since my and Ken’s had spoken of what to do IF, and our plan was  pilot raise the gear and pull hard right that  departure.  Much worse odds to S with Armament  storage to left   and  Trier-Bitburg  highway corner   to  right  with  steep drop off  past base  golf  course  pro shop.  “FORE!”

Don Harding, IP,  on  Dan’s  check ride felt he could have trimmed it off into the  air (was  about  enough electrical  motor angle  mvt  to  get that much elevation input without  mechanical)  but  is a  fighter pilot  trick not  taught much to heavier bombers and   while  some were  hospitalized  long, all survived .  Called  in air  for a low  altitude ,   4  EWO downward  ejection and  no fun there! We watched Don, bruised  but  unhurt seriously , crawl across the top and drop down inside  compartment to get Bobby Sherman out badly injured with crushed  lower  legs . I was busy hugging Dan with all my strength.  Smelled  like  smoke  and  JP4.  Fire  crew mishandled  foam with crew out  and  allowed  fire to slowly  burn under it  to destroy  the  ship as  we  watched . Same cause, seized, long abused,  spiral bell crank. Later I was assigned as Air Field manager 73-75 but could never get myself to drive down the decline where Ken died and  Frank “crawled  to the light”.  Spent a summer ’74 exercising , first time ever, Wing Safety  and I found  really  hard  to believe  when we  asked them, a bomb damage repair group up  in heavy  semi trucks convoy  from Baumholder Base leveling the rough terrain both B-66s ran across. My contribution to Ken’s memory. Once  even C-141’s  delivering  nukes  needed a  runway turn around for my  safety approval. Now  C-5 and  C-17’s  can enter large  hill top parking  areas  so is now the USAFE base alternate  airfield.

During  Summer  1995 on a visit to Dorly’s mom in Trier I parked on  perimeter  road, walked  down  and  picked up a rock for both of us.  He thanked me as he’d never  gone back   down there  himself and displayed it on the mantle.  Frank died in Jan 2004  just  about 34 years late.