I was asked on Thanksgiving Day by MG Bond, our Air Force Commander in Thailand, "to find him help on a serious and urgent radio frequency interferrance problem". He knew he had in Vietnam a crack RFI team, of which SMSgt. Earl Burns was a member. I sent word to alert the team at Tan Son Nhut. On Saturday, November 26, I flew in a C-47 tail number 574, with several way stops, from Thailand to Tan Son Nhut Airbase, where I was to disembark and continue through Vietnam. The plane was then to return to Thailand. When I landed, SMSgt. Earl Burns and MSgt. Ray Lanzone were waiting for me. They had been selected for the job. When the pilots and other passengers arrived, we all shook hands and Earl and Ray boarded the C-47. Although I did not reboard, I know they strapped themselves in amid the inevitable freight. There were 25 people, baggage, and a full gas load aboard when they taxied out. The rest of the story is reconstructed from radio logs and from witnesses for I did not see it.

   The C-47 made a normal take off and climb. About 5 minutes out, the pilot radioed radar control that he had a rough number 1 engine and was turning back to Tan Son Nhut. He received a vector course to steer. Shortly there after, the pilot reported he had to feather #1 engine. Soon, he reported the field in sight and was cleared for a straight-in down-wind approach.  Next, he called the control tower reporting he could not get his landing gear fully down and locked. A witness later said only the left gear was down. This gear trouble undoubtedly added severely to his unsymetrical drag and his control problem. The tower first saw the plane slowly turning left away from the field at very low altitude, to stall, wing over and suddenly plunge to earth. Witnesses saw a steep, violent, crushing impact followed instantly by a fierce fire. The time was 1850 hours on November 26,1966.


Written in part by:
Col. Carl Walter
       to
   Mrs. Lanzone
   December 15,1966

25 Airmen lost their lives in the crash of USAF C-47 tail number 44-76574 on a flight returning to Thailand from Ton Son Nhut due to mechanical failure.

Those men were:
Lawrence Barcklow, A2C
Troy Bealin, A1C
Hardy Bell, CMSgt
Earl Burns, SMSgt
Charles Faulkner, 1st Lt
Harold Graves, Lt Col
Carroll Hogeman, Capt
John Humphrey, Capt
Edward Kerr, A2C
Marchelle Lanzone, MSgt
William Lynch, Lt Col
Norman McRobie, A1C
James Oxley, 1st Lt
Adrian Purnell, 1st Lt
Alden Riley, CWO
Alan Steffen, SSgt
Walter Sukar, Maj
Joe Trickey, Capt
James Webb, Lt Col
Paul West, SSgt
Bobby Williams, SSgt
Dennis Wright, A2C

Burns, Earl Kenneth, Jr., SMSgt