Missing Pilot - Update
For those of you wondering, the pilot that was killed in the mid-air collision over Iraq was not my friend. The military is still searching for the other pilot. His identity and status are still unknown.
My prayers go out the family of Maj. John C. Spahr.
My prayers go out the family of Maj. John C. Spahr.
posted by Sherri at 2:57 PM
2 Comments:
Leaving the Gulf in '93, I spent a midwatch in CIC listening to the progress of a Search-And-Rescue following the unexplained loss of a destroyer-based helicopter. There are no words to describe how heart-rending a SAR mission is, even when you don't personally know those you're searching for.
SAR missions can be insanely dangerous, more dangerous even than the conditions flown into by the lost, amplified by an overpowering sense of urgency, hope and dread.
My boss served in Deep Submergence Research Vehicles, and told me a story about a terribly stormy night when he and his crew made a 10,000 foot dive to recover the remains of three aviators from the bottom of the ocean. The squadron commander personally flew through the storm to bring the bodies home for their loved ones.
Heroic? No. Just part and parcel of what our servicemen and women do, when the need arises.
As of four hours ago, they found the other pilot. No name released yet.
Sad.
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