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ERLE L BJORKE
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HONORED ON PANEL 28E, LINE 7 OF THE WALL

ERLE LAWRENCE BJORKE

WALL NAME

ERLE L BJORKE

PANEL / LINE

28E/7

DATE OF BIRTH

05/30/1939

CASUALTY PROVINCE

QUANG TRI

DATE OF CASUALTY

10/15/1967

HOME OF RECORD

NEW BRIGHTON

COUNTY OF RECORD

Ramsey County

STATE

MN

BRANCH OF SERVICE

AIR FORCE

RANK

CAPT

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LEFT FOR ERLE LAWRENCE BJORKE
POSTED ON 2.4.2025
POSTED BY: Tim Brady

Learning to fly the C-130

Erle and I graduated pilot training together (Class 67E) although at different bases: he at Del Rio and me at Lubbock Texas. We were both ex-navigators and both entered pilot training at the same time. We wound up together at C-130 training when we were both on the same training crew. We also both were posted to CCK AB, Taiwan. I got there first because Erle's wife was pregnant at the time so he was deferred for a few months. I was assigned to the 50th TCS and in a couple of months, Erle arrived and was assigned to the 776 the TCS. I was shocked and heart broken when I learned that Erle had lost his life on a drop mission to Khe Sahn. I'm now 85 and I still think of him. I want his family and particularly Kristine to know how much his life meant to me. I wish I could call him but this will have to do.
Tim Brady
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POSTED ON 8.5.2021
POSTED BY: john fabris

honoring you....

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. The remembrance from your daughter Kristine is especially poignant. As long as you are remembered you will always be with us....
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POSTED ON 5.30.2021
POSTED BY: Dennis Wriston

I'm proud of our Vietnam Veterans

Captain Erle Lawrence Bjorke, Served with the 776th Tactical Airlift Squadron, 314th Tactical Airlift Wing, 7th Air Force.
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POSTED ON 12.20.2018

Final Mission of CAPT Erle L. Bjorke

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On October 15, 1967, a United States Air Force Lockheed C-130E Hercules (#64-0548) from the 776th Tactical Airlift Squadron crashed and burned during a ground-controlled approach for airdrop at Khe Sanh Combat Base in Quang Tri Province, RVN. Five USAF and one Army personnel died in the incident. There was only one survivor, the pilot. The aircraft was attempting to deliver a load of sandbags by flying low and slow over the runway and pushing them out the back. The sandbags were needed as part of a major reconstruction program at the base and had to be airdropped as the runway was being rebuilt. The weather was poor at the time with a low cloud base. The accident was believed to have been due to pilot error rather than enemy action. The lost crew included co-pilot CAPT Erle L. Bjorke, navigator 1LT James R. Hottenroth, flight engineer TSGT Edward Mosley, and loadmasters A2C John H. Snyder, SGT Charles L. Baney, and A1C Lawrence A. Berneski. Berneski survived the crash and was medically evacuated to the Naval hospital ship USS Repose (AH-16) off the coast of South Vietnam where he died the following day. Baney was from the U.S. Army’s 109th Quartermaster Company. He was on the flight to assist with the intended cargo drop. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, aviation-safety.net, c-130.net, wikiwand.com, and baaa-acro.com]
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POSTED ON 1.23.2018
POSTED BY: Bob Ahles, 2/27 Wolfhound, St. Cloud, Minnesota

WE REMEMBER - BURIAL SITE

Captain Bjorke is buried in the Mountain View Memorial Park, Tacoma, Washington.
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