A man among men. Rest in peace, hero.
Jeremiah A. Denton Jr., a retired Navy rear admiral and former U.S. senator who survived nearly eight years of captivity in North Vietnamese prisons, and whose public acts of defiance and patriotism came to embody the sacrifices of American POWs in Vietnam, died March 28 at a hospice in Virginia Beach. He was 89.
The cause was complications from a heart ailment, said his son Jim Denton. Adm. Denton was a native of Alabama, where in 1980 he became the state’s first Republican to win election to the Senate since Reconstruction.
More with video @ The Washington Post
I believe he attended Bob Lilly's wedding in Dallas. Back around 77 or 78. Bob married Jill (formerly) Snow. Her ex had died in a B-52 belly flop at Carswell are few years earlier. I'm pretty sure he was there. RIP
ReplyDeleteThanks and I appreciate the information.
DeleteI shouldn't have used the word "ex". She was widowed. John (Snow) had also spent three tours over there. Heck of a man in his own right.
ReplyDeleteThanks and I looked briefly for John Snow, but didn't find anything......?
DeleteHe was air force. All on board were killed. Check out Carswell AFB around 77-78(?) Did you find Bob?
DeleteI think this must be it. I can't believe that I'm that far off on the date. Time! It's getting away. No?
DeleteThe Carswell accident was on March 13, 1972 and the aircraft was 58-0048. Evidently they caught a wingtip while doing touch and go’s. I would like to find the names of the crew other than the Boomer who was A1c Bruce Klaverkamp.
Comment by John Stevens | May 10, 2013 | Reply
I actually witnessed this crash. I was in 5th grade at Theodore Willis Elementary, which was located by the runway. I can still vividly see it in my mind. As it came in for the landing, the right wing dipped and hit the ground. It was about a 60-70 degree dip, and when the wingtip caught, it basically cartwheeled.
Comment by Will | June 15, 2013
After getting checkrides, the crew brought the Carswell AFB KC-135 back to base and let the 2 evaluators off. They resumed flying in the pattern. During a practice landing, the right wingtip struck the ground and the airplane crashed and exploded.
Causes and major factors:
Injuries: The 5 crew onboard perished
Crew killed:
A/C: Maj Charles N. Ventimiglia, 46, Brooklyn, NY
Co: 1Lt Alexander E. McCarthy, 25, Phoenix, AZ
Co: Capt John C. North, 26, Enid, OK
Nav: Maj John L. Snow, 40, Springfield, MO
BO: A1C Bruce J. Klaverkamp, 19, St Cloud, MN
Comment by DrHr | November 4, 2013 | Reply
That crash was the result of a “steep idle power approach” and when they tried to arrest the sink rate, the airspeed dropped so much so fast the airplane stalled and hit the ground. I remember that crash as being the reason unit “Training Flights” were started. Prior to that, local upgrades were often done by staff IPs who didn’t fly that much. The idea was to have a dedicated cadre of IPs that did all the in unit upgrade training. Kind of like a mini CCTS at the unit.
I did have a friend who visited the site. The crew was actually killed by smoke inhalation. That's what the AF was saying, anyway.
The crew was actually killed by smoke inhalation.
DeleteThanks and I assume they couldn't get out for some reason......?
I honestly don't remember more than that. I assume they were disabled from the impact and could not egress. That friend of mine? He still had his security clearance to get on site. I thought they were in the B-52, which evidently they weren't. That's what John flew in Vietnam. It was hard to find him on line! I checked out Lilly a year or two ago, and found out that he's passed too. Bob had a really really hard time adjusting back into the world. The last time I saw him was at his wedding, but I kind of stayed up with him for a while afterwards.
DeleteThanks and we were evacuated to the Philippines initially and while there, some of the ladies who were helping out had husbands who were B-52 pilots. They told us that they were eager to resume the bombing if only they could get orders to do so.
DeleteYeah, those pilots were (mostly) crazy. As in 'institution crazy'. At least fighter pilots. That's how they seemed to me. But then, everyone called everyone else crazy. Nobody wanted to accept that diagnosis for themselves, so they deflected it onto everyone else. I'm sure people referred to you, too, using that word. :) SOG's caught a lot of that. But then, if the show fits...
ReplyDeleteI meant 'shoe'!
ReplyDeleteClose enough for government work! :)
DeleteI wonder if McSongBird the lying/traitor and killer of 168 plus fellow Americans
ReplyDeletein a deliberate wet-starting incident attended Jeremiah Denton's funeral.
Or was he too ashamed.
Humbleness is not one of McCain's traits, that's for sure.
Deletehttp://www.namsouth.com/viewtopic.php?t=108&highlight=lee+humble
The forbearing use of power does not only form a touchstone, but the manner in which an individual enjoys certain advantages over others is a test of a true gentleman.
The power which the strong have over the weak, the employer over the employed, the educated over the unlettered, the experienced over the confiding, even the clever over the silly—the forbearing or inoffensive use of all this power or authority, or a total abstinence from it when the case admits it, will show the gentleman in a plain light.
The gentleman does not needlessly and unnecessarily remind an offender of a wrong he may have committed against him. He cannot only forgive, he can forget; and he strives for that nobleness of self and mildness of character which impart sufficient strength to let the past be but the past.
A true man of Honor feels humble himself when he cannot help humbling others.
Robert E. Lee
Thank you. Went to the NamSouth.com site. Very informative unlike the biased
ReplyDeletehistory.
Thank you and we pale in comparison to those men who went before us.
Delete