Post by Admin on Feb 14, 2005 7:44:49 GMT -6
Fallen Testers Memorial pays tribute to those killed in accidents
Lance Griffin / Eagle Staff Writer February 3, 2005
CAIRNS ARMY AIRFIELD - The sound of rotor blades and gospel hymns provided a fitting background as soldiers presented Mrs. Sharon Petrie with a bouquet of flowers.
It has been almost 13 years since her husband, Maj. Michael Farmer, was killed at Fort Rucker during a helicopter flight test. Thursday, Farmer and 27 other test pilots were memorialized at Cairns Army Airfield during a ceremony unveiling the Fallen Testers Memorial.
Petrie and her sons, along with family and friends of the other pilots, clutched flowers and wiped away tears as an Army band played "Holy, Holy, Holy" and "God Be With Us 'Til We Meet Again." Overhead, helicopters buzzed around the busy field.
"This memorial will forever represent their courage, conviction and sacrifice," said Col. Christopher Sullivan, Commander of the U.S. Army Aviation Technical Test Center (ATTC) at Fort Rucker.
The band played "Amazing Grace" as the names of the fallen testers were read aloud during the solemn ceremony. They were hailed as pioneers, heroes and soldiers who wrote aviation history.
Farmer left behind a wife and three sons on July 16, 1992, when the aircraft he was testing abruptly rolled to the right and entered an inverted flat spin. Farmer and Department of the Army Civilians William Abbott and Robert Robbins were killed on impact. The names of the three pilots and 25 others who lost their lives in support of experimental flight testing are engraved on a stone monument near the entrance to Cairns.
Mrs. Petrie, who lives in Ozark, said her husband passed away doing what he loved.
"He loved to fly, he loved the Army and he loved his country," she said. "This is such a special tribute, a great way for him to be remembered."
Brig. Gen. James R. Myles, Commander of the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command, said the fallen testers "took aircraft to its limits and beyond."
"If you want to see the true memorial, look up over the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan," Myles said. "Battles are being won today because of the sacrifice of these test pilots."
The idea for the Fallen Testers Memorial was pushed by Col. David Cripps, former Commander of ATTC from 2001-04. The accidents included on the monument occurred between May 1964 and July 1992 and each individual was either participating in flight testing or testing-related missions.
Lance Griffin / Eagle Staff Writer February 3, 2005
CAIRNS ARMY AIRFIELD - The sound of rotor blades and gospel hymns provided a fitting background as soldiers presented Mrs. Sharon Petrie with a bouquet of flowers.
It has been almost 13 years since her husband, Maj. Michael Farmer, was killed at Fort Rucker during a helicopter flight test. Thursday, Farmer and 27 other test pilots were memorialized at Cairns Army Airfield during a ceremony unveiling the Fallen Testers Memorial.
Petrie and her sons, along with family and friends of the other pilots, clutched flowers and wiped away tears as an Army band played "Holy, Holy, Holy" and "God Be With Us 'Til We Meet Again." Overhead, helicopters buzzed around the busy field.
"This memorial will forever represent their courage, conviction and sacrifice," said Col. Christopher Sullivan, Commander of the U.S. Army Aviation Technical Test Center (ATTC) at Fort Rucker.
The band played "Amazing Grace" as the names of the fallen testers were read aloud during the solemn ceremony. They were hailed as pioneers, heroes and soldiers who wrote aviation history.
Farmer left behind a wife and three sons on July 16, 1992, when the aircraft he was testing abruptly rolled to the right and entered an inverted flat spin. Farmer and Department of the Army Civilians William Abbott and Robert Robbins were killed on impact. The names of the three pilots and 25 others who lost their lives in support of experimental flight testing are engraved on a stone monument near the entrance to Cairns.
Mrs. Petrie, who lives in Ozark, said her husband passed away doing what he loved.
"He loved to fly, he loved the Army and he loved his country," she said. "This is such a special tribute, a great way for him to be remembered."
Brig. Gen. James R. Myles, Commander of the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command, said the fallen testers "took aircraft to its limits and beyond."
"If you want to see the true memorial, look up over the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan," Myles said. "Battles are being won today because of the sacrifice of these test pilots."
The idea for the Fallen Testers Memorial was pushed by Col. David Cripps, former Commander of ATTC from 2001-04. The accidents included on the monument occurred between May 1964 and July 1992 and each individual was either participating in flight testing or testing-related missions.