Released: March 2, 2001 Intel squadron, grandson remember fallen heroes
By 1 Lt. Travis Tougaw OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. (ACCNS) -- When a U.S. RC-130 was shot down more than 40 years ago, 17 men were lost, but their memories and families continued. The Offutt reconnaissance community commemorated their legacy and the dangers of flying Feb. 23 during a presentation about the Sept. 2, 1958, incident. Members of the 97th Intelligence Squadron listened intently as Bill Grimes described the event and other reconnaissance missions during the Cold War. The presentation was especially significant for Senior Airman John Simpson III, a 97th airborne cryptologic linguist. His grandfather, Capt. John Simpson, was the co-pilot on the RC-130 mission. The aircraft was shot down over Soviet Armenia as it prepared for missions along the coast of the Soviet Union. During a route survey before the operational missions began, the aircraft crossed the Turkish border into Armenia. There are no distinguishing marks to show the Armenian border, Grimes said, so it would be easy for an aircrew to inadvertently cross into Armenia. Four Soviet MiG-17s intercepted the aircraft, flying between the RC-130 and the Turkish border. They fired shots signifying the aircraft should land. "Put yourself in the cockpit, in the minds of the crew," Grimes said. "What are your choices? Be captured or make a sacrifice for your country. They turned back instead of compromising their mission." The MiGs fired on the aircraft. It crashed near the village of Sasnashen, 34 miles northwest of Armenia's capital, Yerevan. The 17 crewmembers were based at Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany, on temporary duty to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. All perished in the crash. "I want to recognize John's grandfather," Grimes said. "He was an American hero. I believe the aircrew sacrificed their lives for their country so they wouldn't compromise the program." Simpson's father was also in the Air Force and was stationed at Offutt where he did ground radio work. Simpson said his father did not get answers to his questions about the shoot down because of its sensitivity. "The fact that these men came down and made public what's been so hush-hush for 40 years is immense," he said. "In years past, this never would have been possible. "It was powerful, seeing pictures of the plane being shot down and seeing pictures of the memorial (in Armenia). I really appreciate everyone making a big effort to give the families closure." Grimes, who flew in the RC-135 aircraft -- today's version of the RC-130 -- at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, and now works at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, outlined the history of the Rivet Joint program. The first aircraft used in the program were RB-50s; they were followed by C-130s. In fact, he said, the RC-130 shot down over Armenia was the first plane to be developed from its beginning as a signals-intelligence aircraft. The 130 program evolved into the RC-135 flown by the 97th today. During the early days of the program, crews often flew what Grimes called "peripheral reconnaissance missions." "The aircraft flew alone, unescorted, over international waters," he said. "Many were engaged by enemy aircraft. There was a period of time when the type of flying you do, as dangerous as it is today, was even more dangerous." Grimes went to Armenia in the early '90s to gather information about the shoot down for a display at the National Security Agency during the 50th anniversary of strategic reconnaissance in 1997. After the trip he worked with a number of contractors to build a replica of the aircraft from another C-130. The replica is now on display in Vigilance Park at NSA's National Cryptologic Museum at Fort Meade, Md. "What we do is dangerous," said Lt. Col. Kerry Taylor, 97th Intelligence Squadron commander. "We need to understand our legacy. We've had a lot of forefathers who went ahead of us. Many of them made the supreme sacrifice for their country." Grimes said Soviets shot down more than 30 U.S. aircraft and 200 crewmembers during the Cold War.
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