[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 14, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H1743-H1744]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            40TH ANNIVERSARY OF RC-135S CRASH IN ALASKA 2020

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Nebraska (Mr. Bacon) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BACON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the anniversary 
of the tragic loss of a 55th Wing RC-135 Cobra Ball aircraft on the 
remote island of Shemya, Alaska.
  Forty years ago last month, Cobra Ball tail number 2664 crashed on 
approach to Shemya Air Force Base, a rugged outpost on the far western 
tip of the Aleutian Islands. Six brave American airmen perished in the 
fiery crash that day, an eternal reminder of the cost of the Cold War 
and the price of vigilance we too often take for granted.
  The RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft--designated Cobra Ball--is 
designed to rapidly collect telemetry and special intelligence on 
ballistic missiles in flight. Throughout the Cold War and to the 
present day, reconnaissance crews from the 55th Wing are dispatched on 
short notice around the world to fly the RC-135 to gather technical 
intelligence on weapons tests that cannot be obtained by any other 
method. This information is used to verify treaty compliance and to 
support the continuous development of America's strategic and theater 
missile defense capabilities.
  Throughout the Cold War, the Strategic Air Command kept the Cobra 
Ball on a continuous 24-hour alert status on Shemya Island in the 
northern Pacific, affectionately known as The Rock. Their job was to 
launch at a moment's notice to keep a watchful eye on Soviet ballistic 
missile tests conducted from the Kamchatka Peninsula.
  On March 15, 1981, the 24 crewmembers on board the RC-135 tail number 
61-2664 were en route to Shemya

[[Page H1744]]

from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, where they had been waiting for 
the weather at Shemya to clear. Blizzard conditions and extreme 
crosswinds were ravaging the small exposed island. This weather was not 
uncommon, just another day at the office for 55th Wing aircrew. 
However, after receiving clearance to land, weather conditions 
deteriorated rapidly.

                              {time}  1045

  Firsthand accounts from crewmembers onboard describe the violent 
buffeting they experienced on descent as like being on the end of a yo-
yo. The belly of the aircraft struck the edge of a cliff on the 
approach end of the runway, shearing off the landing gear. As the 
damaged aircraft slammed into the runway, engines three and four 
exploded and the fuselage broke in half. Flames engulfed the crew 
compartment as the disintegrating aircraft slid 2,000 feet, eventually 
careening off the runway and down a hill.
  The scene was chaotic as crewmembers worked to free themselves and 
their teammates from the burning wreckage while the blizzard raged. 
Miraculously, 18 crewmembers escaped from the flames that day. Their 
bodies burned and broken, they worked feverishly to extract their 
fellow airmen from the fiery wreckage.
  In the end, six men died on that lonely airfield that day. Their 
names were:
  Major William Bennett,
  Captain Larry Mayfield,
  First Lieutenant Loren Ginter,
  Master Sergeant Stephen Kish,
  Staff Sergeant Steven Balcer, and
  Staff Sergeant Harry Parsons, III.
  We honor their service and their sacrifice and commend their spirit 
to the Creator. We pray for their families and loved ones who cherish 
their memory. We also honor the survivors of this tragic crash who will 
forever bear the scars of their service and the memory of that day. May 
we never forget what they gave to the cause of freedom, and that it was 
the dedication of warriors like these that won the Cold War. And may we 
pledge to honor their sacrifice by recommitting ourselves to eternal 
vigilance in the defense of freedom.

                          ____________________