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Show Vol. 48 No. 33 D Hill AFB, Utah Aug. 18, 1994 7 lkV " vv In memoriam A granite monument with photos of the crash victims on. one side and the Lord's Prayer on the other was dedicated with military honors. All branches of the military were represented. Photo by Rudy Romero MemraoiriQii dediiceittedtfoir by Valerie Chavez Hilltop Times staff A memorial dedicated to the Army Rangers and Air Force Special Operations airmen who were killed in an Oct. 29, 1992, helicopter crash in the Great Salt Lake was held Aug. 13 at Antelope Island State Park.- ' The ceremony brought together approximately 300 family members and friends who came to honor the memory of the seven Air .Force airmen and five Army Rangers who died during a military training exercise. "These men are no less heros than those who get medals on the battlefield," said Gen. Wayne A. Downing, . 45-minu- te commander in chief of the U.S. Special Operations Command, one of several speakers at the memorial ceremony. "These men knew the risks and that only by dangerous, realistic training would they be ready to meet the chaos, terror and fear of the battlefield when their country needed them," Downing said. After several speeches, including remarks by Lt. Gov. Olene Walker and Davis County Commissioner Gayle Stevenson, the families were asked to move to the entombment area, where each family selected and placed a keepsake to remain at the memorial site. The memorial with its unique design includes two distinct intersecting con-- , crete walks. AF will salvage missile hit by gunfire FRANCIS E. WARREN AFB, The Air Force anWyb. (AFNS) nounced it plans to salvage the damaged stages of a $50 million Peacekeeper missile hit by gunfire while it was being shipped to Vandenberg AFB, Calif., from here. The Peacekeeper, a 195,000-poun- d, four-stag- e intercon- tinental ballistic missile with a range of over 6,000 miles and capable of speeds up to 16,000 miles per hour, was part of the Air Force's Follow-o- n 131 NSID Operational Test and Evaluation program. It departed here June 15 in unmarked railcars and arrived at Van- approximately 120 miles northwest of Los Angeles, June 20. The damage was discovered June 23, during a routine inspection. denberg, "Due to the surrounding circumstances, we feel this is an isolated incident," , said Capt. Lee Volker-Cox- , 20th Air Force spokesman. "Several railcars on the train, including two car Lyles surprised ..................2 Energy conservation program planned 3 12 wh died One resembles a city sidewalk, said Frank Mishak, whose son, Sgt. A. Blaine Mishak, was one of the Rangers killed in the crash. "It represents the path of life, the one most traveled," said Mishak. The second is triangular and bears the names of the men who died. It is made of coarse concrete and ends abruptly. This path represents the: path least traveled, a path the Rangers .and airmen took whose goals and lives were cut short, said Mishak. To conclude the ceremony, a firing detail composed of Army Rangers stood at the end of the jagged path. There, a flagpole intersects a granite memorial that the includes names and pictures of each of rying Peacekeeper stages, were damaged. Although this will not impact our test program, the damage to federal property is a serious incident and we are committed to finding the people responsible. The Air Force is cooperating fully with the FBI's inves- tigation." The Peacekeeper's damaged stage one and stage two were sent to Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill AFB. Two replacement stages were shipped to Vandenberg from Ogden ALC. "Preliminary engineering evaluation results indicate we won't be able to return the two stages to flight-worth- y status," said TSgt. Barbara Fisher, Ogden ALC spokeswoman. "However, we anticipate the first stage and second stage will be used in our aging and Fire circaslhi e the men who died. A 21 was fired by the detail to honor those who perished. The solemn sound of taps then played while three helicopters approached from the distance. A Black Hawk and two Apache helicopters from the 1st. Battalion of the 211th Aviation Regiment of the Utah Army National Guard slowly flew in front of the crowd and off into the west. "This is a dream come true," said Mishak. "We buried Blaine in December 1992, and came out to the crash site. I asked if it would be all right to build a memorial out here to help heal the hurt of what happened. This is a fitgun-salut- ting place." surveillance program, where we monitor the effects of time on our ICBMs." "As part of resource conservation programs, we looked at alternative uses for stage one and stage two," said Tucker Fagan, 20th Air Force vice commander. "The good news is that we can swap them with similar parts in other ICBM test programs, resulting in no net loss of assets to the Air Force." The undamaged stage three, four and computer guidance system will be combined with the replacement stages to form a new Peacekeeper. Approximately 110 Peacekeepers were delivered to the Air Force. The 90th Missile Wing at Francis E. Warren AFB operates 50 and the Air Force has test launched 33. CoL 7 ..................16 danger high Airmen of the Quarter recognized iini |