A  LASTING  LEGACY  AFTER

AN  UNFORTUNATE  DEATH

On March 16, 1970, Aviation Electronics Technician Third Class Ralph Scott Purdum was one of thirty-one crewmembers aboard EC-121M Super Constellation electronic surveillance aircraft BuNo 145927, designated PR-26, assigned to Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron One (VQ-1) stationed at Da Nang, Vietnam, which was returning to Da Nang following a flight to Tainan, Taiwan.

During the flight one of the four engines had to be shut down due to mechanical difficulties.  At the time, the first 1,000 feet of the De Nang runway was closed undergoing repairs and the combination of the two factors dictated an out-of-the ordinary landing approach.  As PR-26 was on short final almost to the ground, another aircraft unexpectedly taxied onto the active runway, forcing PR-26 to attempt an aborted landing.  As power was applied to the engines the aircraft banked and a wingtip hit a shelter causing the plane to cartwheel, break into three pieces, strike a hanger destroying the hanger and an F-4 bomber inside, and then burst into flames.  The tail section, the only part to not burn, landed on an unoccupied softball field and miraculously one survivor emerged from the tail and walked away uninjured.  Unfortunately, twenty-three crewmembers, including ATN3 Purdum, were killed and the remaining seven were hospitalized with serious injuries.

Review of readily available historical records disclosed that ATN3 Purdum was born on August 21, 1948.  It has been reported that this was his first flight with VQ-1, that he was removed alive from the plane’s wreckage but died of head injuries before he could be transported to a hospital.  He is buried at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and was survived by his parents and four sisters.  His name is inscribed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.

During 1969, during a change of duty trip, ATN3 Purdum reportedly stopped at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport service center run by the Travelers Aid Society and thought it would be fitting to have a similar center in his hometown at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.  He enlisted the help of his mother to get the project moving but did not live long enough to see his dream come true.  In one of his last letters to his mother he wrote, “Mom, don’t give up on the room, it’s so needed.”  Following her son’s death his mother vigorously spearheaded the task, recruiting funds and volunteers, and in November 1970 the Armed Forces Service Center at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport became a reality.  The facility continues to operate 24-hours a day, every day, and has never closed since its opening.  Although his mother died in 2003 the facility continues to serve the military community, and over a million visitors later ATN3 Purdum’s legacy is still alive.

                                    EC-121M  -  BuNo 145927  -  I N FLIGHT

Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)