 VP-7 Mishap
1930's
MISHAPs: 05 JAN 38 A/C: PBY-1  Location: Unknown Strike: Yes BUNO: 0159 CAUSE: SECURITY PATROL MISSING AT SEA Contributed by Terry pb4y-2@sbcglobal.net [02APR98]
 "...From 6 to 9 January 1938, she participated in the search for a lost patrol plane from VP-7..." WebSite: Navy History http://www.multied.com/navy/destroyer/AylwinIIIdd355.html [28DEC2005]
"...Crew: Pilot: Lt(jg). T. E. Carpenter, AvCad. P .O. Browning, Amm1c. L. Peace , Acmm1c. E. Anglin, Amm3c. C. C. Creech, Rm3c. J. D. Adair, and Rm3c. G. A. Mills..." Contributed by Terry pb4y-2@sbcglobal.net [22OCT2000]
1940's
MISHAPs: 23 APR 48 A/C: P2V-2  Location: NAS Quonset Point, Rhode Island Strike: Yes BUNO: 39325 Cause: Operational navigation mission. 40-31N 70-34W Analysis: Pilot returning from round trip navigation flight, Quonset Point to Bermuda and returning, at an altitude of 12,000-ft. At approximately 1825R about 110mi. from Quonset Pt., starboard engine manifold pressure dropped from 30" to 25". This drop was followed immediately by engine oil pressure dropping gradually to zero. Fuel flow meter also dropped 200lbs, about a minute later port engine went through the same apparent sequence of events except for initial drop manifold pressure. Gradual loss of power noted on both engines. Extreme vibration occurred in both engines. Pilot shut down engines and feathered both propellers and had crew standby for ditching. Pilot glided towards a tanker from 11,000-ft at 120kts at 1000-ft minimum down. Landing was made into the wind at indicated air speed of 55kts, utilizing no flaps, but using full nose up elevator varicum. Only one impact was felt and nose dug in momentarily. Pilots went out through the overheard escape hatches and rest of crew went through astro-hatch. Hatches had been jettisoned on the way down. Crew was rescued by SS Washington. Crew OK: Pilot Lt Harvey H. Rouzer USNR VP(ML) 7, Ens Phillipe J. Fagan (co-pilot) USN, Ens Sherman P. Dudley (naviagtor), ADC Thomas T. Thurston (plane capt) USN, and ALC William Delligatti (radioman) USN. Contributed by Terry pb4y-2@sbcglobal.net [17FEB2002]
"...The Neptunes Squadron Book - August 1950..." [15MAY2002]
"A Hairy Experience..."
  "...Standing, left to right: LCDR Dahl Pilot of VP-7 search plane; ENS Dudley Navigator of ditched P2V; LT Rouzer Pilot of ditched P2V; LCDR Morrison Pilot of VX-4 PB1W search plane. Kneeling, left to right: Delli Gatti Radioman of ditched P2V; Thurston Plane Captain of ditched P2V..."
At 1220,23 April 1948, a VP-7 P2V, BuNo 39325 tool off from Quonset Point on a routine Navigation training flighl The crew, Lieutenant Rouzer, Ensign Fagan, Ensign Dudley, plan captam Thurston, and radioman Delli-Gatti, will long remembe this day.
The flight ran along smoothly until on the return leg, on hundred miles south-southeast of Quonset Point, trouble wa encountered. While cruising at 12,000 feet the starboard mani fold pressure dropped off, the oil pressure of the same engin gradually dropped to zero, and the fuel flow-meter droPJ?ed tw, hundred pounds. Approximately one minute later the port engin ran through the same sequence of events. Soon after, extrem vibration was encountered in both engines, so they were botl secured, and the propellors feathered.
The crew was ordered to ditching stations, the plane' position was sent out, and emergency procedures followed. Th glide was made directly into the wind, and toward a previousl siqhted tanker.
"Heroic Actions..."
 "...In highest navy tradition - among the joint rescue team who risked their lives to save the pilot and co-pilot of a burning P2 Neptune, three outstanding seamen were cited by CDR R. J. Slagle with a letter of Commendation for their heroic actions. Suffering from second and third degree burns is Charles L. Brill, who attempted to enter the nose of the blazing wreckage. At his bedside is Jay E. Alverson (right) and James J. Heimann (extreme right). The three men are in the squadron's line crew team..."
1950's
MISHAPs: 21 MAY 50 A/C: P2V-4 Location: NAS Quonset Point, Rhode Island Strike: Yes BUNO: 124216 Cause: Hard landing, nose wheel broke & both tires blew Contributed by Terry pb4y-2@sbcglobal.net [03APR98]
MISHAPs: 17 SEP 51 A/C: P2V-4 Location: NAS Quonset Point, Rhode Island Strike: Yes BUNO: 124235 Cause: Single engine landing, overshot rwy & hit sea wall Solo check flight Contributed by Terry pb4y-2@sbcglobal.net [03APR98]
MISHAPs: 24 NOV 52 A/C: P2V-4 Location: Off of NAS Quonset Point, Rhode Island Strike: Yes BUNO: 124242 Cause: Lost at sea with no apparent reason. Contributed by WOODRUFF, William H. (Woody) whw00dy@att.net [20APR2001]
 In Memorial for lost friends "...November 24, 1952 8 Men Lost In Plane Crash..." [Updated 03JUN2006]
MISHAPs: 27 OCT 53 A/C: P2V-5 Location: Ditching off of NAS Iwakuni, Japan Strike: Yes BUNO: 127764 Deaths: 01 Cause: Ditched during hunter-killer exercise. Tail broke off"...Jim O'Reilly gave me the pic at Reunion. It shows HE-4, BuNo 127764, in the act of ditching in the Philippine Sea on October 27, 1953. VP-7 Crew 7 was flying the a/c. The Copilot, LCDR G. R. Essex, was the only person lost. I am trying to get details about the mishap..." Contributed by William H. (Woody) WOODRUFF whw00dy@att.net [22APR2001]
 VP-7 Crew "...VP-7 Mishap crew photo attached. 27 OCT 53 A/C: P2V-5 - NAS Iwakuni, Japan 1953. These men ditched together in P2V-5 27 Oct 1953..." Contributed by David Trojan - Aviation Historian - davidtrojan@earthlink.net [29JUN2022)
MISHAPs: 21 JAN 54 A/C: P2V LOCATION: Hawaii TYPE: Unknown STRIKE: Yes DEATHS: 08 BUNO: Unknown CAUSE: Unknown Contributed by Ken Jongebloed, AT2 kenlogi@aol.com [21JAN98]
"...I have been working on documenting this crash site for many years and have made contact with a family member of crew..." Contributed by Dave Trojan davidtrojan@earthlink.net [14FEB2014]
60 Years Later, Navy Man and Tragic Plane Crash Remembered
By Dave Trojan
Aviation Historian
davidtrojan@earthlink.net
John (Jack) Staples US Navy
Photo courtesy Staples Family
Navy P2V Neptune Patrol Plane
Thanks to the internet, connections with strangers are made, stories shared, and a lost family member is remembered. A message was received via LinkedIn regarding the crash of the Navy P2V Neptune aircraft on Oahu Hawaii in 1954. The message was from Ann Etre regarding her Uncle, John R. Staples. She was interested in learning more about her long lost uncle and wanted more information about the aircraft accident that claimed his life. I research old aircraft accidents as a vocational aviation archaeologist and I'm fascinated by their histories. I had also visited the Navy P2V Neptune crash site on Oahu several times.
I sent her some information and requested more family history about John R. Staples. Ann then put me in contact with her mother, Gladys Joseph, who was John's youngest sister and sixteen years younger than her older brother. She was also very interested in the research as well and they both shared with me much more information than I had hoped for. I learned John R. Staples was born July 25, 1916 in Belmont Nova Scotia, Canada. John was nicknamed Jack and he was the 2nd son of a family of 7 children. The Staples family grew up in Springfield, Mass. During 1936, in the middle of the depression, Jack left home and moved to San Francisco. In 1940, an older brother, Don, who was in the Navy at the time, convinced Jack to join the Navy. Jack was stationed at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked on December 7th, 1941 and he saw quite a bit of action in WWII in the Pacific. He then continued to serve in the Korean War and survived both wars unscathed. Chief Aviation Machinist's Mate Staples was awarded the Air Medal, Good Conduct Medal, two Presidential Unit Citations, and the National Defense Service Medal. The great irony is that after he survived two wars, he died in a tragic peacetime accident. At the time of his death, Jack was married, but had no children. He left behind 4 brothers, 2 sisters, his mother and a number of nieces and nephews.
In 1954, John R. Staples was assigned to Patrol Squadron Seven (VP-7) and based at NAS Quonset Point, Rhode Island, not too far from his family home. His squadron was the only squadron from the Atlantic Fleet to deploy to the Korean War zone and he arrived there less than one month before the armistice on July 27, 1953. The squadron deployed with P2V-5 Neptune patrol aircraft and operated out of NAS Iwakuni Japan. During his deployment, VP-7 patrolled the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea keeping shipping under surveillance. The squadron departed for home in January 1954 and his plane was the last VP-7 plane to leave the area.
Half way home on 21 January 1954, the eight-man crew of BuNo 124874, "HE 10" made a missed approach while trying to land at NAS Barbers Point, Hawaii. The aircraft mistakenly turned left into the center of the island, rather than turn right out over the ocean. The Neptune aircraft impacted the Waianae Mountains at approximately 9:30 pm on a dark, moonless night.
1954 US Navy photo of the crash site in the Waianae Mountains of Oahu
You could consider these men to be some of the last casualties of the Korean War. The eight crewmen aboard were:
LT(jg) Walter J. Hanzo, JR.
Pilot
ENSIGN Gerald Martin Hazlett
Copilot
ENSIGN Wilbur D. Cooper
ADC John Robert Staples
Plane Captain
AD2 Joseph Daniel Beczek
AM2Paul Martin Kohler
AT2 Joseph Michael Maksymon
AT3Richard Knuton Brown
The legacy of the men and their aircraft still remains today. The sad remnants of the P2V-5 Neptune still lie in the Waianae Mountain range on Oahu. Due to its remoteness and its inaccessibility the crash site has been little disturbed for decades. The remains of the crew along with the guns and other equipment have long since been removed by the Navy, but much still remains. The aircraft wreckage rests on a steep, thirty-degree slope. A broken tree stands testament to the tremendous impact forces. Many small trees have grown up around and into the crash site and countless twisted and mangled pieces of metal are scattered around. The tail section is the largest piece still remaining on the site. Evidence of the traumatic crash and fire can be seen on the fuselage parts, but a wing section still bears the insignia of a white star on one side. One of the Wright Cyclone R 3350-30W engines is located next to the fuselage and the other is further down the slope next to a tree.
Star still visible on wing section
Tail Section with engine next to it
The plane wreckage represents the price of war and peace. Many of the people involved have been forgotten and the history lost, but thanks to research and family members we now know much more. The crewmen are not just names in an accident report, they are husbands, fathers, uncles and brothers and we now have a picture of one of them. The life of John Staples and his service to his country is now remembered. The crash of this P2V-5 Neptune aircraft is an important legacy of the Korean War and acts as a silent memorial for those who served and sacrificed in the "Forgotten War".
A virtual online memorial web page for John (Jack) Staples has been created using the "Find a Grave" web site. The memorial page can be found here: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=115308566
This story continues with future plans in the works. The plan is to place the picture of John (Jack) Staples while he was in the Navy inside the tail section of the wrecked plane along with information about the accident as a lasting memorial tribute to the crew members. Research also continues in an effort to search for more information about the other crewmen. Hopefully, we can also obtain photographs of them as well. They are not forgotten.
Relics of Naval Aviation's Past
By Dave Trojan
Aviation Historian
davidtrojan@earthlink.net
The legacy of some Navy aircraft and the crews who flew them remains long forgotten in the mountains of Oahu, Hawaii. As in other remote locations, aircraft that crashed during missions lie untouched and draw the interest of amateur aviation archeologists. The sites can be visited and photographed but they must not be disturbed without a permit from the Naval Historical Center in Washington, D.C., which manages all U.S. Navy historic ship and aircraft wreck sites, on both land and underwater.
The remains of an aircraft that crashed during the Korean War are scattered on one site in Oahu. Navy patrol aircraft flew throughout the Korean area of operations, and participated in the blockade of North Korea, keeping merchant shipping and fishing fleets under surveillance and deterring hostile submarine activity. Patrol aircraft participated in minelaying, dropped flares for air strikes and conducted weather reconnaissance and search and rescue operations.
Patrol Squadron (VP) 7 arrived in June 1953 from Naval Air Station (NAS) Quonset Point, R.I., less than one month before the armistice on 27 July. It was the only Atlantic Fleet patrol squadron to deploy to the war zone. VP-7 was equipped with P2V-5 Neptunes and was based at NAS Iwakuni, Japan, from which the squadron patrolled the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea.
VP-7 departed from the western Pacific in January 1954. On 21 January, the eight-man crew of aircraft HE 10 (BuNo 124874) executed a missed approach at NAS Barbers Point, Hawaii. The aircraft turned toward the center of the island rather than turning out over the ocean, and impacted the Waianae Mountain range at approximately 2130. The crewmen lost in this mishap included pilot Lieutenant (jg) Walter J. Hanzo; Ensigns Gerald M. Hazlett and Wilbur D. Cooper; ADC John R. Staples; AD2 Joseph D. Beczek; AM2 Paul M. Koheler; AT2 Joseph M. Maksymon; and AT3 Richard K. Brown.
Today, the aircraft rests on a steep slope where a broken tree stands testament to the force of the impact. Many small trees have grown up near the site and countless twisted pieces of metal are scattered around. Authorities long ago removed the remains of the crew, along with the guns and some of the electronics. The tail section, including the tail gun turret, is the largest piece of wreckage remaining. The bureau number under the left tail is in perfect condition, almost as if it were painted yesterday. Evidence of the crash and fire can be seen on the fuselage and various parts. A left wing section still bears the insignia of a white star on one surface and the letters NA as part of NAVY on the other. One of the 3,700-horsepower Wright R3350-30W engines sits next to the fuselage and the other is further down the slope. It is believed that a large amount of wreckage was either lost to the post-crash fire or buried in the earth. No excavation at the site is permitted. Even rearranging parts of the aircraft to take photographs is forbidden.
Crash sites like this one have historical and educational value. The Navy emphasizes preservation and minimizes recovery by outside parties. Without a permit, the policy is strictly "Look but don't touch." On public land, there are laws that protect the wrecks. Amateur aviation archeologists should keep in mind that these sites are silent memorials to those who served and sacrificed in both war and peacetime.
See the website of the Underwater Archeology Branch of the Naval Historical Center at http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/nhcorg12.htm for the Navy's guidelines and archeological research permit application on ship and aircraft wrecks.
Story and Photos by AT1(AW) David Trojan, USN (Ret.)
David Trojan retired from the Navy in August 2000 after 21 years of service, including tours with several patrol squadrons. He is a CH-53 communication, navigation and instruments technical representative at the Naval Air Technical Data and Engineering Service Command, MCBH Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Special thanks to Barbara Voulgaris and Wendy Coble of the Naval Historical Center for their assistance with this article.
"...Further information (Marker, Chapel and Memorial and NavAirNews Story) can be found on: VP-7 P2V Memorial Maintenance http://hiavps.com/VP-7%20Memorial.htm..." Contributed by Colin K. Perry ewakahuna@yahoo.com - A Director - Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society http://hiavps.com/ [29OCT2005]
1st Row - Left to Right: Before Restoration, After Restoration, Memorial, Navy News Story Page 1 and 2
2nd Row: Hawaii Navy News Article on the Crash Site
"...There is a memorial marker in back of the base chapel at the former NAS Barbers Point, Hawaii regarding a VP-7 Neptune lost 21 January, 1954..." Contributed by Tim Cislo cislot002@hawaii.rr.com [18OCT2003]
The names inscribed on the marker are:
Walter J. Hano (Jr.). LTJG
Gerald M. Hazlett, ENS
Wilbur D. Cooper, ENS
John R. Staples, ADC
Joseph D. Beczek, AD2
Joseph M. Maksymon, AL2
Richard N. Brown, AT3
Paul M Koehler, AM2
It was dedicated by he officers and men of Patrol Squadron Seven. There is another plaque that says it was redicated on March 17, 1989.
 VP-7 P2 Mishap Photo "...Here is a photo of the sad remnants of P2V-5 BuNo 124874 of VP-7, Modex HE-10, as she lies in the Waianae Mountain range, Oahu. The photo was taken in 2000. The picture is deceiving, as the aircraft rests on a steep, thirty-degree slope. The complete vertical tailplane, with the large "HE" still visible on the tail, lies forty feet below the tail section. The outer wing sections and tip tanks survived intact. The right tip tanks still has the remnants of the Modex in six-inch letters "10HE". The BuNo under the left tailplane is in perfect shape, almost like it was painted yesterday. As Norm Weber indicated, on 7 January 1954, the crew made a missed approach, but turned left into the center of the island, rather than turn right out over the ocean. The aircraft completed approximately 200-300 degrees of the turn (depends on which runway they initially approached), overflying Wheeler AAF in the process, and impacted the Waianae range at night on a heading of 225 degrees. I will send you the names of the crew, as reported in the newspaper..." Contributed by Don Hinton starfire94c@gmail.com [E-Mail Updated 28MAR2003 | 22NOV2002]
VP-7 lost a plane and crew of eight in Hawaii in 1954 while retuning from Iwakuni Japan duty tour. The plane was our hanger queen, and needed an extra few weeks in Japan to get into flying shape; the rest of the squadron was already back at Quonset Pt. It was circling the island in preparation for landing and hit a mountain top in clear weather..." Contributed by Ken Jongebloed, AT2 kenlogi@aol.com [21JAN98]
"...Read your account of the accident, but don't believe the weather was clear. The A/C was on an instrument approach and when reaching minimums and not seing the field, executed a missed approach procedure which called for a climbing right turn. The plane made a climbing left turn into a mountain. The above is to the best of my recollection. I was scheduled to be the copilot gave up my seat to someone who wanted to go. I think his name was Cooper..." Norm Weber navcad@juno.com[11MAR98]
1960's
MISHAPs: 12 DEC 60 A/C: P2V-5 LOCATION: Off coast of Argencia TYPE: Unknown STRIKE: Yes DEATHS: 11 BUNO: 128335 CAUSE: Unknown cause (no survivors), three bodies recovered (fourth entombed in ice and disappeared before recovery) rest lost at sea Contributed by ADC Ron McLaughlin USN (Ret.) via CWO3 Chris Stockner, USNR robert.stockner@edwards.af.mil [13OCT98]
In Memorial for lost friends "...December 21, 1960 VP-7 Neptune Crashes at Sea..." [Updated 27APR2018]
MISHAPs: 00 JAN 61 A/C: P2V-5 LOCATION: NAS Brunswick, Maine TYPE: Unknown STRIKE: Yes DEATHS: 00 BUNO: 131460 CAUSE: Ditched - Engine overtemp, lost gen on other side, no electrical, fire Contributed by ADC Ron McLaughlin USN (Ret.) via CWO3 Chris Stockner, USNR robert.stockner@edwards.af.mil [13OCT98]
"...I was Ron McLaughlin's 2nd Tech on the crew at the time of the Jan '60 mishap. Thanks to the snow that covered the area,we all survived without a scratch.I also have a few black and white photos of some of the crew that parished on Dec '60. We had had a rating party all that day in Nov '60,complete with all the trappings of King Neptune.It ended with a party at the mess hall that night.That is where I got a few pictures.After our crash in '61 it was generally felt that the crew in Dec '60 my have encountered the same failures we did . One difference was that there crash occured after dark approximately 72 miles off the coast of Argentia, Nfld..." Contributed by AX1 Joe Widell USN (Ret) jdw22@ime.net [17NOV98]
MISHAPs: 11 MAY 64 A/C: P2V LOCATION: Rota, Spain TYPE: Unknown STRIKE: Yes DEATHS: 10 BUNO: Unknown CAUSE: Unknown
 VP-7 Memorial "...This is the Memorial for the VP-7 Crew 1 we lost in NS Rota, Spain on 11 May 1964. It sits behind P2V-5F BUNO: 131522 that was in NS Rota, Spain at the same time. The plane was dedicated in remembrance of the lost crew, Memorial Day 2019. Liberty Union VFW 3761..." Contributed by Don Bates debat41@gmail.com [06APR2023]
 VP-7 BUNO: 131522 "...I would like to submit a new picture of P2V BUNO: 131522 that is on display at Liberty Union VFW Post 3761 Baltimore Ohio. The post with the help of many repainted the aircraft and made it a memorial to VP-7 crew one that was lost at sea during our deployment to NS Rota, Spain..." Contributed by Richard Woody sailor64@embarqmail.com [14NOV2019]
"...Here are the names of the 10 men who were killed when their plane crashed off NS Rota, Spain on May 11, 1964: LT George E. Kopp, LT William J. Corrigan, LT(jg) Garland L. Dean, AT1 John W. Stone, AMS1 Class Billy D. Flowers, AE1 John O. Kimberling, ADR2 Joe L. Steed, ATN3 Jack C. Gresham, ATN3 George H. Camerlo and AN David E. McCoy (Airman). This information was provided by ATCS Frank Houle, Retired. He had a program from the memorial service held at NAS Jacksonville, Florida..." Contributed by Steve Corrigan steve.corrigan@savannahnow.com [07MAY2012]
"...My Father, AMS1 Billy Delbert Flowers, died in a VP-7 mishap on May 11, 1964. The only information I have on Dad was from the Casualty Report (96754-A-10-5). I was 3, my sister was 2 and my brother was 2 months old. My Mother passed in 1973 so this is all we know of him. Any help you can give would be great. Thanks for your time and Go Navy!...Robert Michael Flowers kkmflowers@yahoo.com...I'm 52 and still miss him every day..." [Updated 04MAY2012 | E-Mail Updated 24APR2005 | 30MAR2003]
 VP-7 P2 Mishap Photo "...I would like to add a name to one of the men in a crew picture submitted by Patricia (Flowers) Cole. The man in the back row, third from left (shortest one standing) is my grandfather LT William J Corrigan..." Contributed by Charlie Davis AZ2(AW) charlie.r.davis@navy.mil [03MAR2012]
"...I was looking through my old records and pictures and I'm certain T. A. Graham was the CO of VP-7 in NS Rota, Spain when his Crew #1 went in. I have a picture of him giving me my Good Conduct medal in NS Rota, Spain. "Touch And Go" as he was known, picked our Crew #3 to fly him to London to meet with his XO from NAS Keflavik, Iceland as it was a split deployment. P. B. Derr, Jr. was CO prior to our deployment..." Contribute by Don Bates debat41@gmail.com [03AUG2006]
"...I was part of Crew 1 (LB-1) for the split deployment to NAS Keflavik, Iceland & NS Rota, Spain in 1964. Two regular members of that crew did not fly the night that Crew 1 (flying in LB-6) was lost off the Spanish coast in May 1964. Cdr. Phaon Derr, CO of VP-7, was attending an affair at the Spanish Commandant's home and I had just been removed temporarily from flight status two days earlier due to broken bone in my foot (sustained while "barhopping" with the crew in NS Rota, Spain a few days earlier). John Q. Kimberly, AE1 took my place on the doomed flight on May 11, 1964. He had five kids and was within a year of having his 20 years in. He and the rest of the crew perished when they apparently dipped a wing on a searchlight run. Lt. Bishop was a fully qualified PPC and was likely in the left seat that night. No bodies were recovered. It's been over 40 years and I still feel like a guy who just lost his crew. Some feelings never go away...TWARDY, Edward S. etwardy@earthlink.net..." [09FEB2005]
"...VP-7 The Neptune involved in the crash at NAS Rota on 11may64 was 131481. It was, however, struck off charge two days later, on 13may64..." Contributed by Jan van Waarde jwaarde@chello.nl, Navy/USMC/USCG/NASA Updates Editor WebSite: http://www.scramble.nl Dutch Aviation Society / Scramble [01DEC2004]
"....Hi, I am JoAnn Bean, Billy Delbert Flowers who went down in VP-7 of coast of spain in 1964; You wouldn"t happen to have and update on the son and daughters e-mail would you. Billy was my Uncle,and I have lots of info his family that his kids might like to have. Or do you happen to know how I could get in contact with them . I Think the son Richard might of been in the navy. Thinks for your tiime. JoAnn jorussbean@yahoo.com.." [06SEP2004]
VP-7 P2 Mishap Photo "...Here is a picture of the crew lost off the coast of Rota in May of 1964. My father, AMS1 Billy Flowers is on the right of the middle row. Anyone with any further information about him & the crew, please contact me at bnpcole50@msn.com. Thank you. Patricia (Flowers) Cole..." [28JUL2003]
"...Under blue skies and light winds, 150 USN aircrew were inducted into the VP International Book of Remembrance during a ceremony held at the VPI Memorial at CFB Greenwood, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Except for the USN aircrew who died in the Mishaps identified below, we believe that the Book of Remembrance contains the names of all Maritime Patrol aircrew who died during MP flying duties since 1 January 1947. The names of 1602 aircrew are recorded.
We ask all visitors to this site to review these Mishaps and if possible provide us with names so that they may be recorded in the Book of Remembrance:
11 May 64/VP-7/P2V/10 fatalities/ Rota Spain
27 Jul 65/VP-16/P-3/4 fatalities/ Bermuda/BuNo 151380
We have identified two aircrew for the following Mishaps:
27 Jan 59/VP-56/P5M/4 fatalities/ Willoughby Bay, Virginia/ CDR R.J. Murphy
4 Jul 66/VP-19/P-3A/4 fatalities/ Battle Creek, Michigan/BuNo 152172, PE-5/LT W.E.Xiques
Please send any information to Norm Donovan n.don@ns.sympatico.ca, VPI Compiler..." [18OCT2000]
"...Was at NS Rota, Spain in May 64 when VP-7 lost aircraft and all aboard. The crew was crew 1 but their aircrafts radar went down on preflight. They switched to the P2V that I was second mechanic on. The Plane Captain was Yedel Whitehurst. I gave power to the aircraft and was on the flight line as it took off. The Aircraft crashed into the sea approximately 30 miles off the coast and we were told that it had dipped a wing into the water. A spanish fishing boat Captain said the aircraft was on fire but it was later determined that the aircraft was in the rich mixture setting. The aircraft must have crashed just before dawn and what the boat Captain saw the exhaust from the enigines. The aircraft was replaced by Buno 131526 from VP-30..." Contributed by ADRAN Bill Norton captainbillretired@yahoo.com [17FEB99]
"...My father was John Warren Stone and served with VP-7. He died at sea in an accident on 11 May 64. If anyone has ANY information about my father I would very much like to get in touch with you. He died shortly before my birth and we have very limited records of him. Thank you. Rich Mascio Harmony28@juno.com"
"...Rich I has spoken with two men who served with his father and also heard from a gentleman who was 11 yrs old in 1964. He actually lived next door to his Mom and Rock...Thanks!" {15DEC97)
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