Remembering MAFFS 7: Memorial service held for crew killed in C-130 crash while fighting South Dakota wildfire

By Air Force Staff Sgt. Kyle Richardson

North Carolina National Guard

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Airmen gathered here Tuesday, joined by Air Force Gen. Raymond Johns, USAF Air Mobility commander, who led support by military leaders and Family, friends service members and community leaders and supporters gathered here to remember four airmen of the North Carolina Air National Guard’s 145th Airlift Wing who died when a modular airborne firefighting system equipped C-130 crashed July 1 while fighting a woodland fire in southwestern South Dakota.

North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue led the tributes during a memorial service for Lt. Col. Paul K. Mikeal of Mooresville, N.C., Maj. Joseph M. McCormick of Belmont, N.C., Maj. Ryan S. David of Boone, N.C., and Senior Master Sgt. Robert S. Cannon of Charlotte. Declaring that the men are heroes, she reminded the audience of about 1100 attendees, that included crews from other MAFFS partners in Cheyenne, Wyo., Colorado Springs, Colo., and Channel Islands, Calif., that they knew the risks and the rewards.

“They did it for their families. They did it for me, for you, and for the state and this nation,” Perdue said. Recognizing the valiant protection all of our service men and women have volunteered to provide, she continued saying, “Unfairly, they don't always come back. Today, we remember and honor them.”

The simple military ceremony featured airmen closest to the departed who shared their most memorable qualities. Lt Col. Jim Pearson said Mikeal “exuded excellence in everything he did.” Adding that Mikeal “inspired me to be a better aviator who lived life in the moment.”

Pearson related that his friend was passionate, with a calming spirit.

Maj. James Bodolosky said McCormick was the most honorable man, whose word was his life. Bodolosky explained that McCormick could find something positive in every situation. About his family, Bodolosky said McCormick was totally in love with his wife and thought she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. He added that he was in love with their newborn (one month old at the service) daughter long before he ever met her.

For Maj. Toshio Sameshima it was David’s positive positive spirit is what he said he’ll remember most. “You could always count on Ryan’s continuous smile and a laugh.”

With a more reverent tone he added that thinking of Major David’s character would “remind me of how I should live life - as if there were no bad days.”

All four individuals’ stories seemed connected by a common thread. They died doing what they loved. Following the service a second ceremony was held, with a military fly-over, to retire the aircraft, last known with the call sign “MAFFS-7.”

The crew and its aircraft, along with two other C-130s from the 145th AW and three dozen airmen, flew from Charlotte to Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., Saturday, June 30, to assist with fighting forest fires in the Rocky Mountain region. The crash, the first in MAFFS history, occurred around 6:30 p.m. near Edgemont, S.D., as the crew assisted with battling what is being called the White Draw fire. The cause of the crash is unknown and under investigation. Two other airmen remain hospitalized, recovering from injuries sustained in the crash.

 Gov. Perdue presented the widows of the fallen with flags that had flown over the state capitol, embracing each one as she greeted them.

MAFFS is a joint Department of Defense and U.S. Forest Service program designed to provide additional aerial firefighting resources when commercial and private air tankers are no longer able to meet the needs of the forest service.

 According to Forest Service records, the agency has been working with the North Carolina Air National Guard on fire suppression missions since the early 1970s.

After six decades, Volk Field renders final respects for namesake

By 1st Sgt. Vaughn R. Larson

Wisconsin National Guard

More than 61 years after 1st Lt. Jerome Volk's F-80 Shooting Star fighter jet was shot down over the skies of North Korea, the Wisconsin Air National Guard base bearing his name held a formal memorial ceremony July 11 for his family and guests.

"He was my stable friend. He meant a lot to me," said Don Volk, 85, Jerome's younger brother and next of kin who kept alive the hope that Jerome's remains would someday be recovered and returned. After all these years, that day has yet to come.

"We waited nearly 62 years to find out whatever was going to happen," Don continued. "It's hard for me to talk about -I know we're never going to get anything back. I just decided, I'm 85, not in the best of health anymore … I want to close it out."

Jerome was born March 17, 1925 in Harvey, N.D., and after his family moved to Milwaukee, he graduated from Rufus King High School in 1943. Shortly after graduation he joined the U.S. Army's enlisted reserve corps and began air cadet training June 22. Six months later he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and flew P-51 Mustangs during the remainder of the war. Now a first lieutenant, Jerome joined the Wisconsin Air National Guard's 126th Fighter Squadron in January 1949, and was called to active duty with his squadron two years later.

Jerome's final flight - a strafing mission against communist Chinese forces in North Korea - began shortly after 3 p.m. on Nov. 7, 1951. About two hours after departing the U.S. Air Force Base at Suwon, South Korea, Jerome reported that his tip tanks - fuel tanks positioned at the wingtips - were not working and that he would return for repairs when he was down to 150 gallons of fuel. About seven minutes later the right napalm bomb was damaged, spraying napalm everywhere. Less than two minutes later the entire tail section came off, and the F-80 Shooting Star rolled uncontrollable at an estimated 200 mph. He was the first Wisconsin Air National Guard pilot killed in the Korean War.

"The other members of the strafing mission only witnessed a fiery ball," Kevin Barry, Jerome's great-nephew, said at the ceremony. Kevin wrote a 10-minute speech about his great-uncle when he was in fifth grade, drawing from official military documents his grandfather provided. Now a college graduate, he updated the speech for the July 11 memorial.

Jerome was unable to position his wounded aircraft to eject, and the jet struck the ground at an 80-degree angle. After years of searching, he was presumed dead on Dec. 31, 1953.

The Wisconsin National Guard rededicated the part of Camp Williams used by the Air National Guard as Volk Field. The following year, the Wisconsin legislature officially approved the name change.

But the base is not Jerome's only namesake - Don named his daughter, who goes by the name Jerri, after the fallen Airman.

"My dad has relived to me the day he came home from work and his dad was standing in the big glass window - sobbing, shoulders shaking - and the military had just been there with the news that [Jerry] was missing in action," she recalled. "I think [my dad] will find a sense of peace with this. It means a lot to him to really honor his brother."

Kevin, Jerri's son, agreed.

"I think [this memorial] means a lot to my grandpa," he said. "I think it's coming to peace with the fact that we probably won't find his remains but that we don't really need to - this base is named after him and the Air National Guard clearly hasn't forgotten about it. I think his sacrifice has been immortalized."

Jerome's memorial marker joins the headstones of Pvt. Robert Williams, Lt. Col. Charles Williams and Brig. Gen. Hugh Simonson, as well as the memorial marker for Col. Jack King, in Memorial Cemetery at the foot of Long Bluff near the main gate.

Col. Gary Ebben, Volk Field commander, said he was honored to host the ceremony.

"It's certainly a personal event for them. It appears to have met a real need for them," Ebben said. "It's just a privilege and an honor to be a part of it."

Don said he would give the flag from the July 11 ceremony to his youngest daughter. His oldest daughter has the flag from the ceremony when Volk Field was renamed.

"The name will go on forever," he said of the Air National Guard base being renamed for his brother. "It meant something to my father - he was military, too. He was in World War I. He was a corporal. It meant a lot to him and my mother."

Kevin said that, despite never having the opportunity to know his great-uncle, he feels well acquainted with Jerome Volk.

"It is very evident that his spirit lives on through the efforts of both my grandfather and the Wisconsin Air National Guard," he said.

Airmen Missing from Vietnam War Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of six servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, were recently identified and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

Air Force Col. Joseph Christiano of Rochester, N.Y.; Col. Derrell B. Jeffords of Florence, S.C.; Lt. Col. Dennis L. Eilers of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Chief Master Sgt. William K. Colwell of Glen Cove, N.Y.; Chief Master Sgt. Arden K. Hassenger of Lebanon, Ore.; and Chief Master Sgt. Larry C. Thornton of Idaho Falls, Idaho, will be buried as a group in a single casket representing the entire crew on July 9 in Arlington National Cemetery.  On Dec. 24, 1965, the crew was aboard an AC-47D aircraft nicknamed “Spooky” that failed to return from a combat strike mission in southern Laos.  After a “mayday” signal was sent, all contact was lost with the crew.  Following the crash, two days of search efforts for the aircraft and crew were unsuccessful.

In 1995, a joint United States-Lao People’s Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) team investigated a crash in Savannakhet Province, Laos.  Local villagers recalled seeing a two-propeller aircraft, similar to an AC-47D, crash in December 1965.  A local man found aircraft wreckage in a nearby field while farming, and led the team to that location.  The team recovered small pieces of aircraft wreckage at that time and recommended further investigative visits.

Joint U.S.-L.P.D.R. investigation and recovery teams re-visited the site four times from 1999 to 2001.  They conducted additional interviews with locals, recovered military equipment, and began an excavation.  No human remains were recovered, so the excavation was suspended pending additional investigation.

In 2010, joint U.S.-L.P.D.R. recovery teams again excavated the crash site.  The team recovered human remains, personal items, and military equipment.  Three additional excavations in 2011 recovered additional human remains and evidence.

Scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command used dental records and circumstantial evidence in the identification of their remains.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO website at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call 703-699-1420.

National Guard mourns loss of four Airmen

By Army National Guard Sgt. Darron Salzer and Air Force Lt. Col. Robert Carver

National Guard Bureau

ARLINGTON, Va. (7/3/12) – The 145th Airlift Wing of the North Carolina Air National Guard is mourning the loss of four Air National Guard Airmen, and the serious injury of two others, after their C-130 Hercules crashed in southwestern South Dakota approximately 6:30 p.m. Mountain time July 1.

Paul K. Mikeal

"We are deeply saddened that four of our outstanding Airmen lost their lives while battling wildfires over the weekend in South Dakota," said Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley, the chief of the National Guard Bureau. "Our thoughts and our prayers go out to the family members and friends of those who were lost, and we wish a speedy and full recovery of those who survived this tragic event.

" The aircraft – equipped with a U.S. Forest Service-owned Modular Airborne Firefighting System – was assisting with the White Draw wildfire near the town of Edgemont, S.D., when it crashed. The cause of the crash is currently under investigation

The men who lost their lives are Air Force Lt. Col. Paul K. Mikeal, a pilot from Mooresville, N.C. with the 145th AW; Air Force Maj. Joseph M. McCormick, pilot from Belmont, N.C.; Air Force Maj. Ryan S. David, a flight navigator from Boone, N.C.; and Senior Master Sgt. Robert S. Cannon, a flight engineer from Charlotte, N.C.

Joseph M. McCormick

"Words cannot express how much we feel the loss of these Airmen," said Air Force Brig. Gen. Tony McMillan, the 145th AW commander. "Our prayers are with the families, as well as our injured brothers as they recover."

In a statement July 2, President Barack Obama said he knows that Americans across the country share in his concern for the well being of the surviving crewmembers and deep condolences for the families of those who lost their lives.

"They are heroes who deserve the appreciation of a grateful nation," Obama said.

Ryan S. David

Mikeal was assigned to the 156th Airlift Squadron as an evaluator pilot and had more than 20 years of service. He leaves behind a wife and two children. McCormick was an instructor pilot and chief of training for the 156th Airlift Squadron. He was married with four children.

David was an experienced navigator and was also assigned to the 156th. He joined the North Carolina Air National Guard in 2011 after prior service in the active-duty U.S. Air Force. His wife and one child survive him.

Cannon had more than 29 years with the 145th AW and was a flight engineer with the 145th Operations Support Flight. He was married with two children.

The names of the injured have not been released. Both of the injured Airmen remain hospitalized.

Robert S. Cannon

The crew and its aircraft, along with two other 145th C-130s and three dozen Airmen, flew from Charlotte, N.C. to Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., June 30 to assist with fighting forest fires in the Rocky Mountain region. They were due to move to a base in Cheyenne, Wyo., on Monday.

"The support of civil authorities during natural disasters is a key and unique mission of the National Guard," said Army Maj. Gen. Gregory Lusk, the adjutant general of North Carolina National Guard "The MAFFS mission is probably one of the seminal missions of the Air National Guard, representing interagency coordination between the Guard and the U.S. Forest Service, the Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Defense organizations to suppress the fires."

According to Forest Service records, the agency has been working with the North Carolina Air National Guard on fire suppression missions since the early 1970s.

North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue declared that flags be flown at half-staff today.