APRIL 1975 -- An hour after this photo was taken, everyone aboard this CH-53 helicopter was killed when the helicopter crashed in a remote area of northwest Thailand. The passengers were all security policemen assigned to the 56th Special Operations Wing, Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, and were to be part of the assault force to recapture the USS Mayaguez and rescue its crew from Cambodian forces on Koh Tang Island. This photo is prominently displayed in the Security Police Museum at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Boyd Belcher)

by Tech. Sgt. Mary Sellinger

AIA/PA

Kelly Air Force Base, Texas

Each Memorial Day, our country pauses to honor and pay tribute to those who have given their lives to defend our beliefs and our way of life, most recently the Khobar Tower bombing in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, where we lost 19 airmen. Many of us have even lost loved ones and know the pain of them not returning home.

This photo was taken by Boyd Belcher, Air Intelligence Agency photographer, about an hour before the entire crew was killed. Dominick Cardonita, chief of media relations in AIA's public affairs office, was also there when the photo was taken.

Since the Air Intelligence Agency began as the U.S. Air Force Security Service, members have made the ultimate sacrifice in the performance of cryptologic service and airborne reconnaissance.

In this issue of the Spokesman, we reflect on those who have lost their lives in the performance of their duties and those who have shared their stories about what it was like for them to serve during World War II, Korean War, Vietnam and being assigned to Berlin during the Cold War and Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

We included the story of one man's quest to have a memorial built in honor of 17 "Cold Warriors" who were shot down over Armenia by Soviet rocket fire Sept. 2, 1958.

The memorial, located within the National Security Agency at Fort Meade, Md., was built to pay tribute to 152 Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force and NSA civilian cryptologists killed in both hostile action and in preserving the peace since World War II.

The memorial in Connie Park at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. was built to honor the crew members of
Yukla 27.

One man shares his feelings while attending the funeral of a comrade who was killed while deployed to a contingency in a foreign country.

To remember those who have served, the public affairs staff and other contributors interviewed veterans, such as a 78-year-old man who visits the Air Force Museum and shares stories about World War II and studying Russian technology.

Also, a World War II army veteran tells how he and his troops survived the hard times; and one man shares what it was like being stationed in Seoul and Taegu near the final cease fire. Three Vietnam veterans share their experiences.

"Flight to freedom" is about how one person felt watching a 14-year-old boy escape from East Berlin, later learning he was sent back because he wasn't 16.

"The rise and fall of the Berlin Wall" shares different people's experiences about what they remember most about Berlin.

A field artillery lieutenant talks about his deployment to Saudi Arabia during Desert Shield/Desert Storm in "Glory at the price of blood."

May Spokesman On-Line