Remembering Demon 51

Jan. 16, 2009

Air Force officials dedicated a memorial Jan. 13 at the Museum of Military History in Jacksonville, Ark., to the six airmen who perished in the crash of an Arkansas Air National Guard C-130 transport during a training flight June 8, 1988. The aircraft, assigned to the 189th Airlift Wing at Little Rock AFB, Ark., went down near Greenville, Miss., killing Maj. Andy Zwaan, 2nd Lt. Mark Brandt, 2nd Lt. Thomas Leece, MSgt. Ed Smith Jr., MSgt. Danny Holland, and SSgt. David Bingham. About 150 family members, friends, and current and former military members were on hand for the dedication to the crew of the aircraft, which had the call sign Demon 51. The memorial includes a plaque with the six airmen’s photos and a single propeller blade from one of the aircraft’s engines. (Jacksonville report by MSgt. Bob Oldham)

Related Content

USAF, Boeing Finalizing Overhaul Design of Troubled RVS System

Nov. 25, 2020
The Air Force is finished evaluating the proposed “interim” fix for the KC-46’s troubled remote vision system, and is moving toward finalizing the design of the “2.0” overhaul of the system. The Air Force is more focused on the 2.0 overhaul, and “we’ve completed nearly every aspect of the design”…

New Kirtland Lab to Explore How to Build a Better Spacecraft

Nov. 25, 2020
A new space materials laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., is now open for business. The Air Force Research Laboratory’s space vehicles directorate opened the $4 million Deployable Structures Laboratory (DeSel) on Oct. 29. It plans to begin testing hardware in the next few months. “We're one lab and…

Home for the Holidays: Kentucky Airmen Wrap Mideast Deployment

Nov. 25, 2020
More than 90 citizen-Airmen from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Airlift Wing returned from a four-month Middle East deployment on Nov. 18, according to a wing release. The wing’s aircrews completed nearly 5,000 combat sorties, moving 15,000 people and over 10,000 tons of supplies within the U.S. Central Command…

USAF Wants to Base C-130Js in Georgia, Kentucky, Texas, and West Virginia

Nov. 25, 2020
The Air Force on Nov. 25 publicly announced plans to house C-130Js at Air National Guard wings in Kentucky, Texas, West Virginia, and Georgia pending environmental impact analyses. The tentative basing decisions were shared with Congress a day earlier, Air National Guard spokesperson Lt. Col. Devin T. Robinson told Air…

Tankers Likely the First Aircraft to Receive ABMS Upgrades

Nov. 25, 2020
The Air Force’s aerial refueling fleet could be the first platform to adopt new technologies developed under the Advanced Battle Management System effort, integrating pods complete with advanced communications and data links to feed information, along with gas, to combat aircraft as early as next year. “If we try to…

Air Force Academy Looks to Become a Place for Space

Nov. 25, 2020
The U.S. Air Force Academy has long been the training ground for cadets headed for careers in military space. But with the creation of a Space Force, the Colorado school is looking to expand the opportunities available to space-minded students. USAFA's new Space Force detachment is creating mentorship and work…

Pentagon Begins Transition to Biden Administration

Nov. 24, 2020
Defense Department officials have started meeting with President-elect Joe Biden's representatives after the Government Services Administration on Nov. 23 made government resources available to begin the transition. Washington Headquarters Services Director Thomas M. Muir, in a Nov. 24 briefing, told reporters that while the initial meetings between the agency review…

USAF’s Rapid Capabilities Office to Oversee ABMS Development, Procurement

Nov. 24, 2020
The Air Force's Rapid Capabilities Office will serve as the program executive office for the Advanced Battle Management System, which looks to connect sensors and shooters in real time. The move means the Air Force is ready to move toward buying systems and proving that its ABMS strategy is working,…