I did a lengthy internet search and was able to confirm Ron Clisby flew C-130s in the same squadron as my father. Then, I found his phone number. I was hesitant to call, but as soon as he heard my last name he immediately started talking about my Dad. He confirmed he was the aircraft commander on the C-130A emergency landing in Da Nang on 07/07/1966 (there is a film in the National Archives we're trying to get a copy of.) Hearing the entire story from Ron filled in a lot of gaps about the event and he said he still had the accident report and would send me a copy. He is the only person I've ever spoken with that flew with Dad back in the day.
With my father having passed away the day before, it was very uplifting to spend a few minutes on the phone with someone that that remembers that time in his life. We were little kids living back in Okinawa and had no idea what he was really doing when he'd leave for weeks at a time.
As far as I know, Dad never flew again except one time with me in an Agusta 109 I needed to do a maintenance flight on. While cruising along over the Everglades, I handed him the controls and it was like he was still in the T-34 in Bainbridge...steady and smooth, eyes on the horizon like he had never stopped flying.
Last edited by AKAAB; 28th July 2013 at 13:57.