Worst Moment The day (April 3, 1975) that C5A Galaxy, Serial Number 68-0218 crashed in Vietnam. It occurred at 16:03 hours Vietnam time, 01:03 hours California time. I was driving home on California Highway 680, somewhere after crossing the Benicia-Martinez Bridge and before reaching Cordelia Junction. I was listening to a San Francisco AM radio station when I first heard the news of the crash.
Instead of heading to my home in Vacaville, California I drove straight to the location of my unit, the 22 MAS on Travis AFB, California. This was around 3 AM or so. When arrived there I saw all the lights on in the building and a Security Policeman guarding the front door. I was refused entry and told to come back later.
I had a bad feeling about this and later learned that this aircraft had 313 souls on board of which 144 perished and 169 survived. Of those that perished five were assigned to the 22 MAS and were crewmembers I had flowed with before.
Footnote: Of the three times I have been to Washington DC and the two others time that I had the opportunity to visit a traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall, I always make it a priority to go to the last panel eight lines from the bottom and look for the name of those crewmembers and say a special prayer for them and their families. And no matter where I am in the world I always stop on that day at that hour and say a prayer for those five crewmembers that I knew.
Captain Edgar Robert Melton (Pilot), MSgt Wendle Lee Payne (LM), TSgt Felizardo Cuenca Aguillon (LM), TSgt William Monroe Parker (LM), SSgt Donald Thomas Dionne Sr. (FE)
