SAUKAITIS-JOSEPH

AN  UNFORTUNATE  DEATH

Aviation Electronics Technician Second Class Joseph Stephen Saukaitis was born September 8, 1949, in Kulpmont, Pennsylvania.  Readily available historical records report he was a National Honor Society student, graduated from high school in June 1967 and soon thereafter joined the Navy.

On March 16, 1970, ATR2 Saukaitis 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 almost on the ground on short final, 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 ATR2 Saukaitis, were killed and the remaining seven were hospitalized due to serious injuries.

Historical records report that ATR2 Saukaitis was not a regular crewmember of PR-26 but was aboard the flight because he had volunteered to replace a regular crewmember who was unable to fly that day.  He was survived by his parents, two sisters and a fiancé who he possibly planned to marry in late 1970.  He had expressed a desire to attend college to study computer science upon completion of his military service.

The body of ATR2 Saukaitis was recovered and is buried next to his parents at Saint Marys Cemetery in Kulpmont, Pennsylvania.  His name is inscribed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.

               

                                    EC-121M  -  BuNo 145927  -  I N FLIGHT

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