Enrique DANNY Padilla

Santa Rosa (NM)

Killed In Route To Vietnam (1965) 

Santa Rosa's First Casualty

El Toro Marine Air Station, CA Air Disaster Kills 84, June 1965

Posted December 10th, 2007 by Stu Beitler 

JET CRASHES NEAR EL TORO.

84 DIE IN CALIFORNIA'S WORST AIR DISASTER.

PLANE FAILS TO MAKE LEFT TURN.

Marines Believed Bound for Viet Nam.

El Toro Marine Air Station, Calif. (UPI) -- A mililtary jet transport,

unaccountably failing to make a scheduled left turn, plunged into

a fog-shrouded mountain and exploded after takeoff early Friday,

killing all 84 men aboard -- including 72 Marines believed bound for Viet Nam.

There were no survivors in one of the worst military air disasters in peacetime

history. It also was California's worst air disaster.

The C135 air transport, military conuterpart of the commercial

Boeing 707 jetliner, smashed into a mountain 4 1/2 miles directly

north of the end of the runway from which it took off moments before.

Turn Scheduled.

But Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) inspector ELMER PARKS said the flight plan

called for the Air Force jet to have made a left turn two miles after liftoff.

In aq news conference late Friday, PARKS would not disclose whether the tape

recording of the final conversation between tower and pilot indicated why the

airman did not make the specified turn.

The pilot, Capt. WILLIAM F. CORDELL, JR., was a veteran of

3,000 hours flying time.

PARKS also declined comment on whether any sabotage was suspected.

He said an investigation would be completed within 10 days.

"There was no indication the pilot didn't know the flight pattern," PARKS said.  Below Normal Altitude.

Under normal conditions the aircraft would have been at an altitude of 4,000-4,500 feet about 4 1/2 miles from takeoff.

A Marine officer, declining to be identified, said if the plane "lacked power, and went into its bank it might have wiped out a part of Orange," a suburban community near El Toro. He speculated the pilot might have tried to avoid such a disaster by keeping the plane on a straight course.

Orange County Coroner DR. RAYMOND BRANDT said all 84 bodies have been recovered. Ten had been positively identified by late afternoon.

The powerful jet "completely broke up: when it hit the mountain at the 1,500-foot level, about 75 feet below the summit.

The largest single piece of wreckage was the flattened out cockpit area, about 10 feet in diameter. The pilot's body lay inside.

Loma Peak Turned Into Nightmare.

El Toro Marine Base -- The sun heated fog clung to the human and airplane debris littering the mountain top.

Boots, some of them with feet, were scattered about.

Papers, technical manuals, some with singed edges, personal letters, cards, and official envelopes containing travel orders lay in disorder in the mesquite that covered the top of Loma Peak except where it had been burned by the explosion of 8,000 gallons of plane fuel.

Scattered pieces of uniforms tallied with the report that 72 of the 84 victims were U. S. Marines en route to Okinawa, staging point for South Viet Nam. The other 12 were the Air Force plane crew.

The first man at the scene, Sgt. BILL HASTINGS of the Marine Air Rescue Squadron from El Toro, said his first reaction was to radio for salvage crews to clean up the wreckage.

"I just felt that no one could have survived this one ... it was just that bad ... When I walked up from where the chopper landed me, and into that scene I felt as though someone had kicked me in the stomach ..."

Sortly before noon Gen. HOWELL M. ESTES, commanding general of the Military Air Transport Service (MATS) at Scott Field, Ill., arrived by jet. When he stepped from the T-39 sabreliner, he was wiping his tear-stained eyes. He looked hard hit.

"Those guys were the greatest," he said, "I'm just sick." He was visibly shaken when he returned from the crash scene.

In the bustling flight operations office at the Marine air field at El Toro, a girl, obviously not more than 20, appeared distraught.

A sergeant was talking to her. She looked down most of the time, but glanced up to say, "But they haven't notified me ....."

The sergeant looked away.

She asked, "What should I do?" She appeared ready to faint.

The sergeant called another Marine, "Get the chaplain."

The girl stared dazedly at the sergeant, "I love him and now, I know he's ... d .... gone. What'll I do? ... Yes, I know he was on the plane because he left late last night, and he was in the Third Marine Division ..."

The sergeant took her into the secluded recess of the weather station. As she went with him she nervously twisted the new rings on the third finger of her left hand.

Crew of 12 on Tragedy Plane Listed.

McGuire Air Force Base, N. J. (UPI) -- Air Force officials Friday identified the 12 crewmen aboard the military transport jet that crashed near El Toro, Calif.:

The commander, Capt. WILLIAM F. CORDELL, JR., 27, lived on the base here with his wife, JEAN.

First Lt. JOHN A ZIETKE, JR., 27, first pilot, lived at this base.

First Lt. GARY M. RIGSBEE, 23, second pilot, lived at the base.

M/Sgt. BILLY H. MEREDITH, 34, a flight engineer, lived at the base.

T/Sgt. MARTIN W. TATEM, a flight engineer, lived at Pine Lane Farm, Jobstown, N. J., with his wife, MICKEY, and one child.

Airman 3/C ELWOOD C. VAN NOLE, JR., 19, a loadmaster, lived at the base.

Airman 1/C CHARLES A. REIVES, 23, flight traffic specialist, lived at the base.

Cadet GARY L. ZIMMERMAN, 20, class of 1967, United States Air Force Academy, lived with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Marlin E. Zimmerman, in Halifax, Pa.

Capt. JACQUES G. SENECAL, 32, a navigator, lived with his wife, HUGUETTE, Bordentown, N. J.

First Lt. ROBERT H. K. SHANNON, 29, a navigator, lived on the base with his wife, DELORES, and three children.

S/Sgt. JAMES E. BURNS, 29, a flight engineer, lived on the base with his wife, LINDA, and three children.

S/Sgt. BOBBY L. CALHOUN, 28, a loadmaster, lived on the base with his wife, WILFREDA, and three children.

Passengers Dead In Crash:

Cpl. TUCKER R. BURT, son of William A. Burt, Mt. Vernon, Ohio.

Pfc JERRY GRIFFITH, son of Mrs. Katherine Griffith, Jackson, Miss.

Pfc RUSSELL J. BABCOCK, JR., son of RUssell Babcock, St., Tomkins Cove, N. Y.

Cpl. EMERSON K. BROWN, husband of Nancy B. Brown, Kent, Wash.

Pfc ROGER J. BEITER, son of Richard Beiter, W. Seneca, N. Y.

Pfc. DICKIE L. GLOVER, son of Mrs. Freida Belle Glover, Muskegon, Mich.

Cpl. MICHAEL J. MANDO, JR., son of Mrs. Agnes Mando, Tayler, Pa.

Cpl. ANTHONY E. NELSON, brother of John C. Nelson, 910 1/2 Morine Ave., Wilmington, Calif.

Cpl. MICHAEL A. PALMIERI, husband of Irene Palmieri, Elmira, N. Y.

Pfc ROSCO FORD, husband of Devon Ford, Miami, Fla.

Cpl. GEORGE C. BURROW, nephew of George Burrow, Norman, Ark.

Cpt. VICTOR M. GIRODENGO, husband of Maria L. Girodengo, San Diego, Calif.

Lance Cpl. GAIL K. HANING, son of Rev. M. Haning, Albany, Ohio.

Pfc HARRY R. HAWK, son of Flora M. Hawk, Oberlin, Penn.

Pfc. JERRY G. HAWKINS, son of Mrs. J. E. Hawkins, Mableton, Ga.

Sgt. JAMES LEE, husband of Ardett Lee, 2104 Wayside, Compton, Calif.

Pfc. JOSEPH D. MAGELINSKI, son of Joseph Magelinski, Greenfield, Mass.

Cpt. EDWARD M. MOREHEAD, brother of Anthony Morehead, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Lance Cpl. WILLIAM B. BREEN, son of Rufus M. Breen, Bellefonte, Penn.

Cpl. JAMES H. BROCK, son of John C. Brock, Birmingham, Ohio.

Lance Cpl. JOHN G. BRUSSO, JR., son of John G. Brusso, Ontario, N. Y.

Lance Cpl. DOUGLAS D. EVERETT, son of Donald C. Everett, Allentown, Pa.

Cpl. RICK G. PACHECO, husband of Leora M. Pacheco, Portland, Ore.

Lance Cpl. ENRIQUE D. PADILLA, son of Alfonso Padilla, Santa Rosa, N. M.

Lance Cpl. ALFRED E. PATERSON, husband of Susan F. Peterson, Littleton Commons, Mass.

Cpl. EDWARD P. RAY, son of Beatrice Lu Billebahl, no hometown listed.

Pfc ROBERT J. RHODES, son of Sarah Rhodes, Paterson, N. J.

Pfc JERRY W. ROSS, son of Bern Ross, no hometown listed.

Pvt. ROBERT S. SHEDIS, son of Bruno Shedis, Calumet Park, Ill.

Pfc JOSEPH B. SHEPPARD, son of Edna Sheppard, Philadelphia, Pa.

Pvt. JERRY SKIDMORE, husband of Dora Skidmore, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Lance Cpl. CHARLES L. STEVENS, husband of Linda K. Stevens, Cambridge, Ohio.

Cpl. HARRISON WALLACE, husband of Annette B. Wallace, Clemens, Ala.

Cpl. JAMES V. MATARUSKI, son of Valentine Mataruski, Johnson City, N. Y.

Cpl. PAUL T. CHAPIN, husband of Sharon Ann Chapin, Coranado, Calif.

Lance Cpl. JAMES C. TISCHER, son of James F. Tischer, Hannibal, Mo.

Lance Cpl. DANNY E. HOLDER, son of A. R. Holder, Nashville, Tenn.

Pfc FRANKLIN NEWMAN, son of Charlotte Newman, Loomis, N. J.

Pfc. RONALD R. RICHERT, son of Mrs. L. C. Richert, Pontiac, Mich.

Cpl. THOMAS B. GLADSTONE, son of Mrs. R. Gladstone, Largo, Fla.

Cpl. GEORGE E. COLLEGE, husband of Betty J. College, Davisburg, Mich.

Cpl. CHARLES HARMAN, husband of Jean Harmon, Eatill, S. C.

Sgt. JAMES C. MOULTRIE, husband of Toyo Moultrie, Moza City, Okinawa.

Lance Cpl. ROBERT E. HARVEY, son of Roy Harvey, Upland, Calif.

Pfc JAMES T. KITCHENS, son of Mrs. J. A. Kitchens, Madleton, Ga.

Pfc ARTHUR SLAUGHTER, son of Ethel Slaughter, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Cpl. WILLIAM R. KITTEL, husband of Kathleen P. Kittel, Sulsun City, Calif.

Lance Cpl. HOWARD D. HALT, son of Hazel Grant, Winfield, Kan.

Lance Cpl. BRIAN MARTIN, son of Phillis Martin, Minersville, Pa.

Cpl. TIMOTHY M. TREEWEEK, husband of Rosita Treweek, of Los Angeles.

Pfc LAWRENCE R. VANNESS, son of Alsetsa Rose Wilder, Rochester, N. Y.

The Independent Pasadena California 1965-06-26

Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!