THE WALL OF FACES

A butterfly lights beside us like a sunbeam
And for a brief moment its glory
and beauty belong to our world
But then it flies again
And though we wish it could have stayed...
We feel lucky to have seen it.

Dear Msgt Joe Castro,
Thank you for your service as an Optical Instrumentation Technician. It is important for us all to acknowledge the sacrifices of those like you who answered our nation's call. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness. Rest in peace with the angels.

Master Sergeant Joe Castro, Served with the 1369th Photographic Squadron, 405th Fighter Wing, Pacific Air Forces (PACAF).

At 4:03 PM on April 3, 1975, a U.S. Air Force C-5A Galaxy military transport aircraft, serial number 68-218, of the 60th Military Airlift Wing lifted off the runway at Tan Son Nhut Air Base near Saigon, bound for Clark Air Base in the Philippines. As the initial mission in "Operation Babylift", the C-5 carried Vietnamese orphans enroute the United States. The aircraft commander was CAPT Dennis Traynor, the co-pilot CAPT Tilford Harp, and there was a crew of 15 others, including a 10-person medical team. The C-5's troop compartment contained 145 orphans and seven attendants, most of them civilian volunteers being evacuated from Vietnam. The cargo compartment held 102 orphans and 47 others. Twelve minutes after takeoff, while the aircraft was passing through 23,000 feet, the rear loading ramp's locks failed, leading to explosive decompression and massive structural damage to the aircraft as the pressure door, most of the rear loading ramp, and the center cargo door departed the airframe. Control cables to the rudder and elevators were severed, leaving only one aileron and wing spoilers operating, and two of the four hydraulic systems were out. Using engine power changes, the functional aileron, and the wing spoilers, Traynor and Harp managed to regain marginal control of the aircraft and turned back toward Tan Son Nhut. The aircraft had to be maintained between 250 and 260 knots, with a considerable lag between power adjustments and aircraft response. Traynor anticipated that the minimum landing speed would be somewhere in the range of 250 knots. As the C-5 passed through 4,000 feet while turning to the final approach heading, it became apparent that they could not make the runway. Traynor applied full power to hold the nose up while Harp attempted to maintain a wings-level attitude. Just off the ground, Traynor reduced power to idle and the C-5 touched down in a rice paddy, skidded about 1,000 feet before becoming airborne again, hit a dike, and broke into four parts. The cargo compartment was completely destroyed, killing 141 of the 149 orphans and attendants. Only three of 152 in the troop compartment perished. Five of the flight crew, three of the medical team, and three other servicemen lost their lives, but 175 of the 328 aboard survived. The eleven military personnel who died in or of injuries received in the crash were LTC William S. Willis, CAPT Mary T. Klinker, CAPT Edgar R. Melton, MSGT Joe Castro, MSGT Denning C. Johnson, MSGT Wendle L. Payne, TSGT Felizardo C. Aguillon, TSGT William M. Parker, SSGT Donald T. Dionne, SSGT Kenneth E. Nance, and SSGT Michael G Paget. [Taken from togetherweserved.com]

You gave your life for your country and for this, we Salute You.