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Sgt Mark Bartovick
to remember
Lorence, Paul Franklin (Karma 52), Capt.
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Contact Info
Home Town Oakland, CA
Last Address RAF Lakenheath, UK
Date of Passing Apr 15, 1986
Location of Interment Middle East Conflicts Wall Memorial - Marseilles, Illinois
Paul Lorence grew up in Oakland, California where he attended Skyline High School and at the age of 17 joined the USAF. After his 4 years of service as an enlisted man, he left to attend San Francisco State University where he majored in History. After receiving his B.A. degree in History (Summa Cum Laude), he attended Officer Training School at Mather Air Force Base in 1981 where he was awarded "Most Outstanding Officer and the title for Flying Excellence." He was then sent out to RAF Lakenheath to begin a career as a F-111 WSO. (It was there that he met his wife to be in 1983 with whom they had a son in 1985).
Major Fernando L. Ribas-Dominicci (pilot) and Captain Paul Lorence (Weapons System Operator) were killed in a combat operations mission on 14-15/ April 1986 over Libya as part of "Operation El Dorado Canyon". They were flying in their F-111F (#70-2389), call sign "Karma-52" when they were shot down and crashed into the Mediterranean. Their bodies were picked up by fishermen. Only the major's body was returned, Captain Lorence remains MIA.
Notes:
Operation El Dorado Canyon Main article: Operation El Dorado Canyon "A 48th Tactical Fighter Wing F-111F being prepared for takeoff on 14 April 1986 at RAF Lakenheath By the mid 1980s the "Red Scare" was not the only American fear for national security; terrorists struck targets from bombing of US Marines in Beirut to Berlin, from Rome to Rotterdam. Some of these attacks were attributed to the Libyan government headed by Colonel Mohmar Qaddafi. In retaliation, U.S. President Ronald Reagan ordered a strike against targets in Tripoli, which were carried out by the United States Navy Sixth Fleet and F-111s of the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing. The F-111Fs from Lakenheath were chosen for their capability to fly long distances and deliver laser-guided munitions with great accuracy.
At approximately 19:00 the evening of 14 April 1986, 24 F-111Fs departed Lakenheath's runway, six of which were airborne spares in the event malfunctions forced any of the primary aircraft to abort. In flights of four, aircrews flew south through the Straits of Gibraltar and began their orchestrated attack shortly after midnight on 15 April. They were targeted on Azziziyah Barracks, the Sidi Balal terrorist training camp, and Tripoli Airport. With the sky lit up from Tripoli's city lights, anti-aircraft tracers, and brilliant surface to air missile detonations, determined 48th TFW crews unleashed 60 tons of munitions, damaging their targets. In spite of the mission's success, the Wing experienced a major loss. As the strike force recovered at Lakenheath, both air and ground crews were given the somber news that Major Fernando Ribas (Utuado, Puerto Rico) pilot, and Weapons System Operator, Captain Paul Lorence, were missing.
The grueling 14-hour flight took its toll. "Those guys were so fatigued, the crew chiefs literally had to pull some of the crews out of the cockpits," recalled CMSgt Richard O'Shaughnessy, then a Master Sergeant and weapons flight supervisor. "Most of them actually lost several pounds from sweating so much. When the guys pulled their helmets off, sweat literally poured down their foreheads and necks".
On 8 September 1986, US Navy Secretary John Lehman personally presented the Navy's Meritorious Unit Commendation to the 48th TFW for its participation in the operation. The 48th TFW is the only Air Force unit to have received this prestigious award. Likewise, General Charles Donnelly, Commander-in-Chief, USAFE, visited RAF Lakenheath on 17 February 1987 and presented decorations to those who participated in the operation. The ceremony ended with a presentation to Captain Lorence's widow Diane, followed by a missing man flyover.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,961284-4,00.html (mission information) Text: William R. Doerner, David Halevy and Bruce van Voorst, "In the Dead of the Night," Time Magazine, Washington Monday, Apr. 28, 1986.
