[Mustard]

In the spring of 1975 as the Vietnam war was winding down I was a young USAF loadmaster, and we were evacuating orphan refugees out of Vietnam. I was flying C-141's but we got word in the middle of the mission that a C-5A went down out of Tan Son Nhut. Everybody was freaking out that it was a Viet Cong sapper that got onboard to sabotage the aircraft but it wound up being a rapid decompression due to faulty locks that blew out the pressure door. All three loadmasters, pilot and a flight engineer died in the crash along with half of the orphans and many civilian USAID personnel who ran the orphanages and refugee program.

American military personnel die every day in training and relief missions in an effort to make this world a little more secure and safer. Along with those who have given the ultimate sacrifice to this country in time of war, this Memorial Day I also honor all those who gave their lives on routine training and relief missions in service to this country.

RIP Airmen

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[bitt]

thanks, ..

[zot]

Thank you for your post #5. I also remember those who died in air crashes during the Cold War. They aren’t often mentioned anywhere.