arizona wing - jul 2009

8/9/2019 Arizona Wing - Jul 2009

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Progress through LeadershipVolume 7, Issue 7 July 2009

Office of Public Affairs 1Lt Rob Davidson Capt J. Brandon Masangcay

Wing PAO Assistant Wing PAO

WingTips Editor-in-Chief

WingTips is published monthly by the Arizona Wing Civil Air Patrol, a private, charitable, benevolent corporation and

Auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of CAP or the U.S. Air Force.

WingTips welcomes manuscripts and photographs; however, the Arizona Wing Civil Air Patrol reserves the right to edit or

condense materials submitted and to publish articles as content warrants and space permits. Please send all

correspondence to WingTips Editor-in-Chief, Capt J. Brandon Masangcay, 150 W. Sheffield Ave, Gilbert, AZ 85233,

call 480.620.1942 or e-mail: [email protected]

In This Issue

Commanders Desk 2

Chaplains Corner 3

Safety Tip 4

CAP Presentationat APS

5

LBCS 501 PilotHonored

6

WCS 304 Cadets 7

Group I Cadets

F16 Simulators

8

MSIP at ASU 9

SHCS 301 Cadets 10

AZWG Cadet TopHonors at NM En-campment

11

History Snippet 12/ 13

Promotions 14

Upcoming Events 15
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Volume 7, Issue 7Page 2

Wing Commanders DeskCol John M. Eggen

Ar izona Wing

It is my pleasure to report the successful completion of the 2009 Cadet Summer Encampment. This year theencampment was held at Marana, Arizona and hosted by the Evergreen Maintenance Center, a subsidiary ofEvergreen International Aviation, Inc. The facilities provided by Evergreen were top notch and plans havealready been made to use them next year, along with the possibility of holding a Winter Encampment.I would like to recognize and thank Captain Marilee Taylor, Encampment Commander and her exceptional staff

of Seniors and Cadets who worked so hard to ensure this encampment was an outstanding success.Additionally, I would like to acknowledge those cadets and one senior member who distinguished themselves byachieving awards for outstanding performance.

2009 Encampment Staff and Awards

Senior Member Staff:

Capt Marilee TaylorEncampment Commander

Capt Jean HurleyAdvisor to the Commander

Capt Joel CosmanoCommandant of Cadets

Capt Jeremy CochranSenior TAC Officer

Maj Cliff OwensTAC Officer

1Lt Eleanor AndrieuTAC Officer

1Lt June BlanchardTAC Officer

Lt Col Steven RountreeChaplain

1Lt Walter ProkopowSafety Officer

Capt Ken SmithSupport Staff

ENS Sam Imbriale, USPHSMedical (CAP 1Lt)

ENS Zack Smith, USPHSMedical (CAP 2Lt)

Cadet Staff:

C/Maj Laura Beck Cadet Commander

C/Col Matthew Bricker Cadet Deputy Commander

C/Maj Serena Wedlake Cadet Executive Office

C/Capt Corey Fields Squadron 9 Commander

C/SMSgt Katherine Andrieu Squadron 9 1st Sergeant

C/Capt Cody Stapp Alpha Flight Commander

C/SSgt Bren Blanchard Alpha Flight Sergeant

C/2Lt Kyle Corales Bravo Flight Commander

C/CMSgt Jacob Christman Bravo Flight Sergeant

C/Maj Kristin Ruesch Squadron 10 Commander

C/CMSgt Anthony Petonic Squadron 9 1st Sergeant

C/2Lt Matthew Karnes Charlie Flight Commander

C/MSgt Steven Cesare Charlie Flight Sergeant

C/CMSgt Jacqueline Shortridge Delta FlightCommander

C/MSgt Tessa Andrascik Delta Fligth Sergeant

Cadet Support Staff:

C/Maj Jonathon JohnsonOfficer in Charge

C/2dLt Jeremy HookLogistics

C/TSgt Kenneth SilverwindLogistics

C/MSgt Zachary Dieman

Logistics

C/CMSgt Justina WilkisonAdmin and Medical

C/MSgt Richard Drennan - Admin

C/TSgt Jacob Elledge - Admin

C/SSgt Mathew Culley - PAO

C/TSgt Alex Fields - PAO

C/1Lt Jacquelyn Taylor

Cadet Chaplain

C/CMSgt Alexander PatocsCadet Chaplain


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Page 3Volume 7, Issue 7

Fourth of July --- FREEDOM

The Fourth of July is our celebration of the adoption of the Decla-ration of Independence. It is the day we celebrate with parades, fire-works, barbeques, beer drinking, and in general having a good time.Here in Arizona many in Phoenix and Tucson use this holiday as an ex-

cuse to escape to the high country where it is cooler.

Tubing down the Colorado above Yuma, fishing up by ForestLakes on the rim, or gambling in one of the many Indian casinos we areprone to enjoy the freedom won for us by generations of our ancestors many of whom gave their lives to win that FREEDOM from the originalbattle against the King to win our Independence through the many since,like the war of 1812, the battles of Teddy Roosevelt in Cuba, WWI (myfather), WWII (two older brothers), Korea and Nam (me both ) - to thepresent battle in Afghanistan (my grandson) to preserve that freedom.

As we enjoy our many any freedoms on the great nationalholiday, remember that we are the only nation in this world that has such freedom. AND, be aware that some

may be trying to change that. I used to be able to go to Mexico or Canada with only my drivers license.NOW, to get back into the USA I have to have a passport. Times are changing. The Second Amendment ofthe US Constitution states the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed. That is beingattacked.

It is our duty now to be sure that we the keep the hard won freedom won for us by our ancestors many atthe cost of their lives. Who paid any attention to June 6th D-Day?

When many of our ancestors stormed Omaha Beach under relentless enemy fire and the day was saved byUS Navy destroyers scraping their keels on the bottom to destroy the cannon that the air force had missed intheir bombardment.

Enjoy your holiday. But always remember:

The Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident,That all men are created equal,That they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable Rights,Those among those are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.


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Safety Tipby

Lt Col Daniel F. Myers

AZWG Safety Officer

DRINK! DRINK! DRINK! ( NOT ALCOHOL)

Weve seen too many CAP Form 78s (mishap notification) and CAP Form 79s (mishap in-vestigation) where a CAP member has become ill from a phenomenon known as dehydra-tion.

Yes, weve talked about this before but some pearls of wisdom bear worth repeating as weapproach the mid-point of our 101 Critical Days.

Dehydration is a pronounced lack of body fluids, caused most commonly by sweating, ex-cessive vomiting, diarrhea, or evaporation of fluids from the lungs. Signs of dehydration in-clude extreme thirst, dark yellow to brownish urine, headache, dizziness, very drycottonmouth, difficulty in speaking coherently, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, drowsi-ness, and fever.

Treatment for dehydration includes avoidance of energy loss and replacement of fluids andsalt. Get the victim out of a hot environment, and urge him/her to drink fluids.Depending on the severity, and if you are uncertain about the assessment, get professionalmedical help ASAP.

Some tips:

1. Drink all the water you need, even if you are not thirsty and always when thirsty. Someexperts recommend six to eight glasses per day under normal circumstances.2. Drink water while eating. Do not skip meals.3. Maintain good physical conditioning.4. Dress for the environment. Light colored cotton clothing with a wide brimmed hat for ex-tended outdoors exposure.5. Carry light loads.6. When endurance is going to be a problem, cut down on unnecessary talking. Ration

your water.

Do not keep your emergency water supply in plastic bottles which are subject to heat con-tamination and or mold. Rather, use stainless steel bottles. Lots of them available on thecommercial market.

Last but not least, moderate or do not smoke tobacco products or drink alcoholic bever-ages. These substances rob your body of needed nutrients.


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Volume 7, Issue 7 Page 5

APS Retirees Learn

About CAP MissionArtic le and Photo by

Lt Col A. Peter Feltz

Director of Aerospace Education

On June 12th at the APS Communications Center, Lt Col Peter Feltz gave a CAP presentationto the retirees of APS at their regular monthly meeting. There were about 45 in attendance,most with some military background. The presentation was well received and included a cou-ple videos available at National Headquarters; "Performing Missions for America" and "CAPJournal". For those interested in External presentations, there are a number of Video Presen-tations available at the National site, http://www.capchannel.com/video . They are easilydownloadable and can be saved on your computer or CDs.

You never know when an opportunity will present itself. This lead came from one of my wife'sfriends at church who knew I was a CAP member and inquired if I was interested in making apresentation. We all should be trying to promote CAP and what we do. With Homeland Secu-rity being foremost on most people's minds it's easy to bring it up in most of your circle offriends, churches and other organizations. I find it easy to discuss CAP with parents who havechildren and are looking for ways to help them progress. Aerospace is a real hot button withstudents at schools in our neighborhood and teachers are always looking for ways to keeptheir classes interesting. If you are successful at making a connection and are not willing tomake the presentation or feel uncomfortable in doing so, contact me and I will be glad to help.
http://www.capchannel.com/videohttp://www.capchannel.com/video


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London Bridge Composite

Squadron 501 Pilot

Receives HonorArt icle and Photo by Maj George Molitor , LBCS 501

Captain Shannon Hicks (pictured left) and local Lake Havasu Pilot

Pam Rudolph were recently inducted into the "International Forest ofFriendship" in Athoson Kansas, the birthplace of Amelia Earhart.Capt Hicks is an airman check pilot/instructor for Civil Air Patrol andis a member of London Bridge Composite Sq 501.

Both ladies are very active pilots and long time membersof the "Rio Colorado 99's" in the Lake Havasu City/Bullhead Cityarea.


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Willie Composite Squadron 304

Cadets undergo

Small Arms TrainingArtic le by C/Amn Nick Br ansonPhoto by 1Lt Jayne Abraham, WCS 304 PAO

Capt Kenneth Conteen of Willie Composite Squadron 304, brought seventeen cadets tothe Rio Salado Sportsmens Club shooting range. All Cadets participating received fourhours of safety instruction, and hands on experience firing the 22 caliber small bore rifle atAR5 targets 50 feet away. Every cadet fired in excess of 150 bullets and earned the NRAMarksman rating, while a handful of cadets achieved the NRA Sharpshooter rating.


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Group I Cadets

Fly High and FastArtic le by Lt Col Bob Anderson, SCCS 101

Photos by 1Lt Debra Blais, TCS 105/CC

On Saturday, 6 June, cadets from Group 1 flew the F-16 simula-tors at the 162nd Fighter Wing, Arizona Air National Guard, basedat Tucson International Airport. The activity was organized bySquadron 105, and Squadrons 109 and 101 joined in the fun. Thesimulators, described by one instructor pilot as ten million dollarvideo gamesthat dont take quarters!, are the same ones used

by the 162

nd

s pilots. The cadets from Tucson and Nogales thor-oughly enjoyed the experience of flying these high-tech trainersand the excellent food at the 162nd dining facility that capped off avery memorable day.


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Aerospace Education

on SteroidsArtic le and Photos by

Lt Col Bob Anderson, SCCS 101

History was made in earlyJune, when members offour Arizona units cametogether to participate inthe Mars Student ImagingProject (MSIP) at ArizonaState University (ASU)the first CAP team ever doso. Organized as a Group1 activity, Squadrons 101,105, and 109 took part andwere joined by Lt Andrieu(the female chaperone) and

cadets from Squadron 305,making the CAP MSIPteam a Group 1 + 1 effort.The Air Force Associationwas a key partner in theequation, too, providing a$250 CAP Unit Grant thathelped defray s significant portion of thecadets food cost.

The 14 cadets hit the ground running.The evening before the ASU programstarted officially, the team was alreadyhard at work, discussing the geologicfeatures of Mars and potential topics the

team could develop into an interestingscience question upon which they couldfocus their research. They also foundtime to design a team logo that repre-sented their unique team.

The first day of the three-day programbegan with ASU instructors concentrat-ing on helping the team develop its sci-ence question. The team was particu-larly interested in the Tharsis Bulge, thatregion of Mars that contains OlympusMons and other volcanoes. The teamalso decided that understanding moreabout wind patterns in that region couldbe important scientifically and could havean impact on selection of future landingsites. The specific question the teamdeveloped was: How do wind patternschange within the Tharsis Bulge region?

The next step was to research this ques-tion using existing imagery from theThermal Emission Imaging System(THEMIS) camera onboard the Odysseyspacecraft that is orbiting Mars. Theteam focused on wind streaks, yardangs(deeply-etched erosion patterns), sanddunes, and dust devil tracks. These fea-

tures are visible on the imagery and canprovide some data with regard to winddirection and speed and the relative ageof the features. The team analyzed sev-eral images from throughout the TharsisBulge region and recorded the data.

Near the end of the second day and after

the team had worked with existing im-agery, an ASU scientist helped the teamtarget the THEMIS image they wantedto obtain. The team examined the orbitalpredications for THEMIS coverage forthe next few days and compared it to theexisting THEMIS data base. The teamspecifically looked for areas that THEMIShad not covered, but areas which heldgood potential for finding wind features.

The team found just such an area. Fromthe lower resolution MOLA coverage,they saw an area that contained a num-ber of small craters that appeared tohave wind streaks behind them. Theythen completed the program that pro-vides the engineers with the image pa-rameters to be loaded into the taskingdeck for the satellite. Within about threeweeks, the image will be taken, downlinked, processed, and made available tothe team. With the higher resolution ofthe THEMIS camera (18 meters), it isquite possible the teams image will re-veal details of Mars surface that havenever yet been seen.

The final day of the program was a busy

one. The team compiled thedata they had collected intheir imagery analysis anddisplayed it on graphs. Theteam then compiled a presen-tation that included thegraphs, THEMIS imagery,and other slides to summarizethe project and the conclu-sions the team reached. Thispresentation was the cap-stone of the MSIP program,and the team presented it to

an audience of ASU spacescientists and responded totheir questions.

This was a unique experiencefor the cadets. Very few stu-dents can say they have done

such authentic scienceor actuallytasked a satellite on orbit! The cadetsused their time wisely in the evenings, aswell. They took part in aerospace educa-tion activities they could take back totheir units, such as MarsBound, anexercise in which teams develop a sys-tem (booster, payload, guidance, etc.) for

space exploration. Three of the cadetswho had already earned their rocketrybadges also served as instructors, andas a direct result, all the other cadetspassed the three written exams for theirrocketry badges. In addition, several ofthe cadets passed aerospace moduleand leadership tests, taking them closerto completing their achievements andearning their next stripe.

What is the next step? Judging from thefeedback from the cadets (and parents!),the activity was a strong success. ASUis willing to expand the scope to do awing-wide MSIP team of 15-20 cadetsnext summer. There is some potentialfor this to evolve into a NCSA at somepoint. In addition to MSIP, ASU is devel-oping a similar program focusing on theMoona Lunar Student Imaging Project.LSIP could also be an interesting excur-sion for CAPs budding space scientists.In all, the participants benefited signifi-cantly, and a mutually beneficial founda-tion has been established between ASUand CAPa true win-win situation.


10/15

Sky Harbor Composite

Squadron 301 Cadets Receive

History LessonArt icle and Photos by Sgt John Horne, SHCS 301 PAO

1Lt Steve Hoza, AZWG Historian briefs cadets

Sky Harbor Composite Squadron 301 cadets and seniors were given a lesson in Arizona history by 1LtSteve Hoza, Arizona Wing Historian. Lt Hoza told a fascinating tale about German Prisoners of Warheld in a Papago Park POW camp during World War 2 who staged a daring Great Escape in Decem-ber, 1944. He has written and published a book on this event, PW: First-person accounts of Germanprisoners of war in Arizona, which contains this story as reported by both prisoners and guards in-volved in the incident.

During World War 2 Arizona was the site of numerous large and small POW camps for German prison-ers of war. Generally POWs were loosely guarded and often allowed to work outside the camp in agri-cultural jobs to offset the labor shortage due to US soldiers away fighting in the war. Frequently POWcamps were limited to members of one branch of the German military to prevent friction between differ-ent service groups. The POW camp at Papago Park on the border between Tempe and Scottsdale waspopulated largely with U-Boat sailors. Between September and December, 1944 prisoners dug a tunnel178 feet long leading outside the camp. On December 23rd of that year twenty five prisoners escapedthrough the tunnel. Three of them had built a small collapsible boat based on a blue line representingthe Gila River that they had seen on a map. Unfortunately upon arrival at the Gila they found it was dryas any local resident could have told them at the time. These three prisoners lost heart at the sight ofthe dry riverbed and gave up to local authorities. Over the next few days various escapees surrendered

or were caught. Most never got much further than the Phoenix area. However, several men actuallyhiked to within 30 miles of the Mexican border before being captured. On January 8 th only six of theoriginal twenty five escapees were still at large. Capt Jurgen Wattenberg, a captured U-Boat captain,and two crewmen hid in a cave in the Arizona desert. One crewman was later captured sneaking backinto the POW camp and another was taken while trying to pick up some food that had been left for him.The last escapee, Capt Wattenberg, held out for over a month before he was retaken asking directionsafter sleeping in the lobby of a Phoenix hotel finally ending the Arizona Great Escape.

Lt Hoza included many stories from first hand interviews he had done with guards and escapees in-volved in the incident. Cadets and senior members of SHCS 301 were surprised to learn that the Phoe-nix area was the site of such a large German POW camp. Powerpoint slides of the individuals involvedin the event helped to bring this exciting tale of escape and recapture to life.



11/15


Arizona Wing Cadet takes

Top Honors at New Mexico

Wing EncampmentArt icle and Photos by Lt Col Michael Daly, SF103

Three cadets from the local Civil Air Patrol unit recently completed a week of training at the NewMexico Wing, Civil Air Patrol summer encampment held at the Army National Guard Headquarters inSanta Fe, New Mexico. Cadet 2Lt Marissa Peasnall, Cadet Senior Airman Dalton Bachant, and CadetSenior Airman Kevin Schulz were three of four Arizona cadets participating in a week of military drill,class room instruction, Drug Demand Reduction training, team building, a day on the confidence course,introduction to the military weapons simulator, a short ride in a Humvee rollover simulator, and manyother activities designed to complete the mandated course requirements for graduation. Cadet 2Lt Ma-rissa Peasnall served in the cadet staff position of Executive Officer. Her duties involved close interac-tion with the encampment command staff to accomplish the many behind the scene activities that werenecessary for the encampment to be successful. An interview with the Encampment Commander, MajorDonna Bracken yielded high praise for Cadet Peasnall in the execution of her duties. Both Cadets

Bachant and Schulz were attending their first encampment as encampment candidates. The successfulcompletion of the encampment is a requirement for advancement to cadet officer rank and a prerequi-site if either wish to return to a later encampment as a member of the encampment staff, a very prestig-ious and trusted position.

Events leading up to the final day of encampment culminated in an awards ceremony and cadet

pass and review. On hand for the event were parents, relatives, the National Guard Commander, and

Command Sergeant Major for New Mexico, New Mexico Civil Air Patrol Wing Commander, as well as a

representative from the office of Senator Udall. During the awards ceremony. Cadet Senior Airman Dal-

ton Bachant received one of four top honors with the receipt of the "Warrior Award". Cadets were judged

on a wide criteria that included but were not limited to, attitude, willingness to help others, dormitory ar-

rangement, wear of the uniform, drill and ceremonies, and general esprit de corp. The competition for

the four top awards was very competitive and extremely close in the final tally. The award was pre-sented to Cadet Bachant by the New Mexico Army National Guard Command Sergeant Major.

C/SrA Dalton Bachant

C/SrA Kevin Schultz C/2Lt Marissa Peasnall


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Page 12 Volume 7, Issue 7Volume 7, Issue 7Page 12

History Snippet

By

1Lt Steve HozaAZWG Histor ian

Was it reallymurder, a case of reck-less flying or just a tragic accidentdue to the stress of accelerated war-time aviation training? This bizarre-but-true story is almost unknown inthe annals of Arizona history. Butfirst, some background to the story.

During the Second WorldWar, Arizona trained more aviation

personnel than any other state. Withits almost year-round flying weatherand vast stretches of relatively flat,unpopulated land, it was the ideallocation to train the pilots and air-crew that would fight the war in theskies of the European and PacificTheaters of war.

Arizona had some of thelargest bases of its kind in the coun-try (and the world). Marana Army AirField near Tucson was the largestbasic flying school in the world. Theschools operated by Southwest Air-ways (Thunderbird I, II, Falcon Fieldand the Sky Harbor Cargo Division)trained more pilots, flew more milesand logged more hours than anyother single aviation training facilityin the country. Kingman Army AirField graduated more aerial gunnersthan the population of Phoenix atthe time (over 33,000).

Aviation training during thewar was stressful and dangerous. Itwas greatly accelerated from thekinds of training a pilot (military or

civilian) would receive in peacetime.Young men and women, some noteven twenty years old, were flyingthe most modern bombers, transportaircraft and fighter planes in theworld. Many saw themselves as theelite. The uniform was romantic.Everyone strove to be a pilot. Manybelieved they were indestructible.

Because of this hurry-up

training regimen, fatal accidentswere all-too common. In the conti-nental United States between De-cember 1941 and September 1945,nearly 15,000 men and womenwere killed in aviation training acci-dents. Wartime readers of newspa-pers such as The Arizona Republicsaw headlines weekly that reported

such mishaps. But many readers ofthe Republic were astonished toread the front-page headline on themorning of June 23, 1944:

Airplane Kills Man At Wheel ofAutomobile

Luke Army Air Field (todayLuke Air Force Base) lay to the westof Phoenix, near the base of theWhite Tank Mountains. During thewar, it was the largest single-enginemilitary flight school in the nation. Ithad two sub-bases and eight auxil-iary landing fields. In 1944, cadetstrained in the North American AT-6,then transitioned to single-enginefighters at the base.

On the evening of June 22,1944, just as the sun was about todisappear below the horizon, motor-ists traveling along Highway 60 be-tween Wickenburg and Phoenixwere startled to see an AT-6 fromLuke Field flying down the center ofthe road, its landing gear extended,

scarcely six feet above the pave-ment. Investigators would later findcut marks in the asphalt where thepropeller had struck the ground.Several cars swerved to avoid acollision with the aircraft. One auto-mobile was not as fortunate.

The left wing tip of the planestruck a car driven by 67-year-oldEarl Nepple, killing him instantly.

The aircraft, with its left wing tipmissing, managed to make it backto Luke Field. Nepples son, Rich-ard, who was in training in the armyin Mississippi at the time, said in a2005 interview what his motherMarie had told him of the accident:

[When I first saw her] shewas pretty much still in a state of

shock. She said that they were go-ing along the highway from Wicken-burg going into Phoenix to visitfriends over in Apache Junction ontheir way back to Los Angeles. Theyhad taken the Wickenburg Highwayinto Phoenix. All of a sudden, therewas this plane coming towardsthem. My dad said Oh, God! andhe swung the wheel to the right justin time to get the car over farenough so that the wing tip wentthrough the windshield right in frontof him but missed my mother whowas sitting on the other side of theseat. A hitchhiker who they hadpicked up previously was in theback seat and he was not injured.But dad was killed instantly. The carwent out across the desert and mymother didnt know how to drive sothe hitchhiker they had picked uptold her to put her foot on thebrakes. So she reached over andput her foot on the brake andbrought the car to a stop. It wasquite a ways out in the desert by

that time. They got out of the carand mom went to help dad and thehitchhiker told her Dont do any-thing. Hed dead. So then theywalked to the highway, both cov-ered with blood, and tried to haildown cars and many cars went by.They were out there an hour or twotrying to get a car to stop.

Continued on next page


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Volume 7, Issue 7 Page 13Volume 7, Issue 7 Page 13

Continued from previous page

The pilot of the plane, Second Lieu-tenant Howard Stittsworth, and thepassenger, Second Lieutenant DeanFundingsland, were immediately ar-rested and ordered to stand trial inNepples death, in violation of flyingregulations. Both were flight instruc-tors at Luke.

Justice was swifter some 60years ago. The trials of both menwere set up only one day after theaccident. A coroners jury in Wicken-burg heard testimony from the twosurvivors in the car, plus other wit-nesses on the road. They returned averdict of death in his car by an air-plane. Army Air Force officers thatwould comprise the judicial boards inthe two trials were summoned frombases in Arizona, New Mexico andCalifornia. Both trials were heldwithin one month of the accident.

Richard Nepple and his sis-ter attended both trials:

The mother of one of them wrote tomy mother and asked her to ask forleniency for her son. My mother re-plied. She was quite upset to receivesuch a letter. She was a mother her-

self, of course. She replied that shehad nothing to do with that, whetherthey received leniency or not.

In a trial lasting only twodays, Stittsworth was convicted ofmurder in the death of Nepple. Offi-cers of the court were quoted in thepress that they believed that this wasa case without precedent in the legalhistory of the air forces, that a mur-

der charge resulted from a fatalityinvolving US Army Air Force aircraft.The trial was held at Marana ArmyAir Field just north of Tucson, Ari-zona. Stittsworth was sentenced to

life at hard labor.In a separate trial held a fewdays before Stittsworths, Fundings-land was found guilty of permittingwillful neglect and damage to gov-ernment property and violation offlying regulations. He was dismissedfrom the service.

The mission for the two flierson that fateful day was a routineflight to check auxiliary field lightingequipment prior to night flightsscheduled for cadets at the field. Athis trial, Stittsworth claimed that he,

after taking off from an auxiliary fieldto the north of the highway, had trou-ble retracting the landing gear andhad no idea that he was flying solow. He also stated that the settingsun was in his eyes. Fundingsland,in the back seat of the aircraft at thetime, also testified that it appearedthat Stittsworth was having troublewith the gear knob. He said that, atone point, he had hunched low in thecockpit, apparently trying to work theknob. They both believed that they

had struck a cactus.

[Note: The author has flown an AT-6from the front seat, and the gear re-tract lever is on the bottom left of thecockpit floor. In order to raise thelanding gear, one has to momentarilylean forward, down and to the left inorder to pull the knob, thus temporar-ily losing the line of sight out of theforward cockpit window.]

Despite this testimony,

Stittsworth was convicted basedlargely on the evidence of havingbuzzed the highway (i.e. clippedpropeller blade tips, photographs ofgouges in the pavement). Stittsworthhad also been reprimanded beforefor reckless flying. Fellow studentpilots and instructors noted on sev-eral occasions that he had demon-strated dangerous and reckless ma-neuvers. One report said that Stitts-worth liked to try to clip the wings of

aircraft around him while flying information.

Richard Nepple voices manyof the sentiments of the court martialboard:

I think he [Stittsworth] knew what hewas doing. He was buzzing the high-way and he saw the car in front ofhim. He thought he was going tofrighten the driver into going off theroad and he didnt have enoughsense to pull up. All he had to dowas pull up just a little bit and avoidthe thing. I think he thought he wasgoing to frighten the driver into run-ning off the road. Thats my personalopinion. So I dont have much sym-pathy for him.

These feelings were not feltby all. After the verdicts were handeddown, a petition began to circulate inPhoenix protesting the outcome ofthe trials. The petition, signed bymore than 1,300 residents, was sentto President Franklin Roosevelt inthe hope of getting Stittsworth re-leased, or at least his sentence re-duced.

On November 18, 1944,President Roosevelt did commute Lt.

Stittsworths life sentence to threeyears at hard labor at Fort Leaven-worth, Kansas. After his release, heworked in the aerospace industry inCalifornia until his death from cancerin 1989. The government gave Mrs.Marie Nepple 5,000 dollars compen-sation for her husbands death. Thehitchhiker, George King, received2,000 dollars. Mrs. Nepple wouldlater suffer a nervous breakdownfrom the incident.

Earl Nepple in a photograph taken approximatelyseven months before his death

A news photograph taken at the trial of HowardStittsworth at Marana Army Air Field.


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Page 14 Volume 7, Issue 7

Ar izona Wing

Promotions and Awards


Jason B. Brookham, Sq. 304

Nikolas A. Dowling, Sq. 304

Michael C. Blanchard, sq. 304George T. Jones, Sq. 304

Logan M. Shamoon, Sq. 304

Charles Massey, Sq. 501

Cody Staff, Sq. 501

Courtney Murphy, Sq. 501

Alethia E. Patocs, Sq. 302Dustin Kopp, Sq. 501

Zachary Dieman, Sq. 302

Tanner C. Matheny, Sq. 302

Billy Mitchell, Sq. 501Daniel Pida, Sq. 501

Edgar Magana, Sq. 101David Robledo, Sq. 101

Anthony J. Costabile, Sq. 302

Michael Dewett, Sq. 501Patrick A. Feeney, Sq. 302Sebastian C. Shehi, Sq. 302


15/15

Page 15Volume 7, Issue 7

Upcoming Events

July 2009

1

Wednesday

2

Thursday

Sq 304

[06:30 PM-09:30

PM] Squadron

304 Meeting

3

Friday

4

Saturday

AZWG HQ

Holiday

5

Sunday

6

Monday

7

Tuesday

Sq 305

[06:30-09:00] Sq.

305 Meeting

8

Wednesday

9

Thursday

Sq 304

[06:30 PM-09:30

PM] Squadron304 Meeting

10

Friday

11

Saturday

12

Sunday

13

Monday

14

Tuesday

Sq 305

[06:30-09:00] Sq.

305 Meeting

15

Wednesday

16

Thursday

Sq 304

[06:30 PM-09:30

PM] Squadron

304 Meeting

17

Friday

18

Saturday

AZWG HQ

[09:00 AM-

11:30 AM] AZ

Wing Staff meet-

ing

19

Sunday

20

Monday

21

Tuesday

Sq 305

[06:30-09:00] Sq.

305 Meeting

22

Wednesday

23

Thursday

Sq 304

[06:30 PM-09:30

PM] Squadron

304 Meeting

24

Friday

25

Saturday

AZWG HQ

AZ Wing OPEX

26

Sunday

27

Monday

AZWG HQ

Sqn 308 SUI Work-

sheet due

28

Tuesday

Sq 305

[06:30-09:00] Sq.

305 Meeting

29

Wednesday

30

Thursday

Sq 304

[06:30 PM-09:30

PM] Squadron

304 Meeting

31

Friday

Sq 305

FTX

arizona wing - jul 2009

Documents