The Last Person to See My Father Alive

This was a beautiful recollection. Thanks for sharing.

Daryln, what a great, personal story. Thank you for sharing something that's so close to you. My grandfather flew Halifax bombers out of the then-country of Newfoundland (now a part of Canada) in WW2 on coastal patrol, along with American aviators. I got to see him with his fellow aviators and ground crew and the bond they had was close. It's hard to imagine what it's like for those of us who haven't served. But you have it - and that it's been so beneficial for you and Dick is really remarkable. Thank you again for sharing.

The photograph of the Uyehara family is also itself extremely moving.

Wonderful true story!

What a wonderful story. Brought tears to my eyes. Thanks so much for sharing.

Thank you for sharing this with us, Daryln.

The beauty of this story is that you are still your father's daughter and he would be so proud of you! Here is to our loved ones wherever they are.

Beautiful story. Beautifully written

What a beautiful and truly moving story. Thank you for sharing your journey to know more about your dad's death and thank you for the heroic sacrifice he made for our country. It was wonderful that you were able to connect with Lt. Uyehara, get answers to what were surely difficult questions, and gain some much-needed closure.

I join others below in saying: thank you for a wonderful story. While not important here, out of curiosity - are these military records easy to get for family or is it a complicated process??

Thank you. Life is full of wonderful experiences like this. Sharing yours is a nice way for us to share in a most intimate time between Dick and you. We should all remove the layers of pain, and see what can be seen through different eyes. Peace.

Simply, thank you.

This stirring article reminded me immediately of the great scene in "Saving Private Ryan'' about the crash of a glider plane on D-Day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1xtiuqWFCc http://www.sproe.com/d/dewindt.html

Beautiful

A two-engine jet bomber, I believe based on the Canberra, crashed at the Yuma (Arizona) Air Force Base during the 1950s. The test pilot drowned as it lost power on a low pass over the base and plunged into its water reservoir. A reporter for the Yuma Daily Sun had been with the test pilot, whom I believe was a civilian, in the officers club just before his scheduled demonstration flight. “Don’t touch my drink,” he said as he left the group to board his aircraft. Sadly, of course, he never returned.

Thank you for sharing your story.

my mother's first husband had a 4yo daughter when he took off as pilot in 1944 for his first mission flying a Lancaster to bomb Germany. He never got there. He was shot down over Belgium and all 8 onboard were killed. My half-sister was 'angry' her whole life at her mother's concealment of what had happened to her father. Only when she was invited as guest of honour and flown to Belgium where the local village archeologists had dug up an engine and researched the crew and found she was the only living direct family member of that crew, did she change. Every photo of that event, with the dedication of the memorial with the wrecked engine, government ministers from both Australia and Belgium, a 'broken wing' flyover of a number of jet fighters, showed her beaming with pure joy. Finally some acknowledgement of her missing father !

What a sweet story. I remember seeing and saving a Parade magazine cover as a child that featured the black version of the Canberra. Sure would like to know what it was like to have been a USAF officer of Asian extraction in the 1950s.

I really enjoyed reading this, I can’t imagine growing up with so many unanswered questions. Thank you, Ms. Hoffstot.

This is a very poignant essay.

A moving story that touches your heart.

Dear Ms. Hoffstot, thank you for your article, and please accept my condolences for the loss of your father. You write that you felt "anger toward the Air Force." It will probably come as little consolation, but your father and Mr. Uyehara were treated relatively well. In numerous cases, the the Air Force has not even bothered to recover airmen's bodies, but simply left them at crash sites until souvenir hunters find them (All That Remains by Howard James Stansfield, Air & Space Magazine, November 2002). I hope that your anger will help others to see through the military's lying assurances that they care about each soldier. Again, thank you for sharing your story.

Sad, brave, and beautiful.

Thank you for a moving story.

Thanks for sharing this story! My Dad Capt William A. McMahon was a Marine aviator who died in a training mission in the Pacific Ocean on his 30th birthday. His plane malfunctioned and I always wondered why he didn't eject. They never recovered his body or the plane and he left behind a pregnant 27 year old widow and had three children under 3. My Dad died in an attempt to land on the Bon Ton Richard (sp ?) I'd love to hear from anyone who was on board that day and knew my Dad.

A heart-breaking story, beautifully told. Thank you for your own courageous journey and for sharing it with us.

Ms. Hoffstot. Your story brought tears to my eyes. A few years ago I was able to contact the daughters of the man who died in Vietnam coming to my rescue. Their mother, who had remarried, was also reluctant to talk about their dad who the daughters had only known as toddlers. I was able to tell them , in detail, what a true hero he was and how much I thanked him for my trying to save my life and how very sad I was for not being able to save his. I think that meant a lot to them, I know it meant a lot to me. I hope that you read this and I wish you the very best.

My father was a navigator during WW2 and Korea. We were stationed in Morocco in the mid-50s and I remember as a first grader that one of my good friends, Barbara Powers’ father died in a plane crash. Just like that she and her mother disappeared. It was a fact of life that these things happened. I have often wondered over the last 60 years how she dealt with the loss of her father. Now I have a glimpse. Thank you and may you find peace.

Thank you for the story. I am most amazed by this: “It’s your pilot, Bill’s, daughter,” his wife said, passing the phone when I finally got the nerve to call. After all these years, the people in the Uyehara family's life are still very present. It was said so casually. How wonderful for you to get to connect and get your questions answered.

Very touching story. My Air Force pilot father flew during the Vietnam War. He died in an accident shortly after the war, when I was still very young. Being a military brat, I didn't see him very much during my childhood. Family members, especially his brothers, have told me many stories over the years. I have often wondered if his crewmates would have more to share about him.

My dad was a Marine aviator in the '50s and '60s, and he also noted the risks he and his peers acknowledged to follow their passion. If he had met the same fate as the author's father, I'd have wanted someone like Lt. Uyehara to talk me through it. Good on 'em for being such a good egg.

This story was heartbreaking but life-affirming. I like to be reminded that we can find peace and closure and connection with other people in any circumstance. I'm grateful for the sacrifice that Ms. Hoffstot's father and so many other young men made during the Cold War. It's been said elsewhere in these comments that this conflict had its casualties. If we subscribe to the narrative that our sustained arms buildup from 1945-1991 was necessary for our security—and despite our many missteps during the conflict, I do believe it was—then we owe these men as much of a debt as we do the ones who hit Omaha Beach or Iwo Jima.

I grew up in Wherry housing at Nellis AFB, mid and late 1950s. This was an extremely dangerous time to be a pilot or a back-seater, whether USN or USAF. Fatal accidents were common.

You and Mr. Uyehara honor your father's legacy. I hope that your connection so many years after this tragedy brings you both some measure of comfort. Speaking for your readers, this is a moving reminder of the ties that bind.

Your story was so moving, it really touched my heart. Your father was a handsome and heroic man, and Mr. Uyehara sounds like a man of excellent character. Thank you for sharing.

My father was a naval pilot in the early 50's. Eventually half of the pilots he trained with died in crashes during their careers. It was the Cold War and it was a tough job to land your plane at night on a small rolling aircraft carrier in the Atlantic. My mother explained to me from a very early age that once someone died their body meant nothing to them. ( Most of the time the bodies of pilots were never recovered at sea.) She also explained that while some people were buried in cemeteries and had grave stones the best form of memorializing them was in our minds and our hearts. While my father survived 35 years of service to his country I have never forgotten to think of the pilots and their families who didn't. I also have a pretty pragmatic approach to death and never take the life I have for granted.

Growing up in the 50's on USAF bases, I spent many hours in the officer's club bar listening to pilots talking about their planes and their missions. They kept me busy with 7-Up refills and two handed dogfight explanations, while the closed circuit TV above the bar showed gun camera footage from WWII and Korea. Sometimes, the gun camera footage was from a plane flown by a pilot at the bar. Those guys were remarkable - poised, quick thinkers, they loved flying and they loved their machines. The P51 and the F86 were the main subjects of the films, and the F100, 105 & 106, were the ones they talked about that they were flying at the time. I recall that most didn't like the F104 (not enough wing). I'm sure the author's Dad was just like those guys - calm, self assured, competent - great men who didn't get paid much and gave their all to protect me and everyone else.

Condolences on the death of your father and hoping telling of your loss helps the pain even when the loss seems unbearable. It's a mistake to think that the Cold War meant that no one died. Training and operations took a toll with most aircraft types. These were complex machines and often not fully tested off the assembly line or out of the shop `until those who flew them lifted off. I'm not familiar with Capt. Todd and Lt. Uyehara unit. However, I learned a lot about the B-57 variants reading the monthly history of the 4025th Strategic Recon Squadron. The 4025th helped serve as a transition unit as the USAF acquired its own U-2 fleet in a sister unit, the 4028th SRS. Both squadrons were units of the 4080th Strategic Recon Wing, stationed together along the border with Mexico at Laughliin AFB in Texas. Besides sharing a base, a wing designation, and many missions, the two squadrons also shared a record of sacrifice. Many crew died under circumstances of uncertainty, as the author's father did. Accident investigation was uncertain, too. It was hoped those who died would at least make those who remained safer, but that wasn't certain, either.

what a heartwarming story

A great story, thank you! It oozes humanity. Of love lost and regained. This also tells about the camaraderie of the risk of flying imperfect machines. A pioneering spirit. Bill and Dick assumed the risk of doing what they love. Unlike people now who demand 110% safety without taking any precaution. Or they transfer their own risky behavior to others, like distracted driving etc.

Beautiful telling of a sad tale. Many angles to explore at book-length. It’s a book I’d read.

Daryln, thank you for sharing your story with us. I am so glad Mr. Uyehara and his wife were so welcoming. I hope this gives you some measure of peace.

What a moving story, thank you for sharing.

Thank you for a beautiful and moving story.