Air National Guardsmen of the 212th Rescue Squadron at Kulis ANGB, Alaska, responded to a search-and-rescue call to find survivors from a small airplane that crashed on Jan. 2 in the Bear Lake Glacier area. The Anchorage Daily News reports that an HC-130 tanker and HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter circled the area for hours waiting for a weather break, which finally came as both aircraft ran low on fuel. With only 20 minutes to spare, the Pave Hawk lowered two pararescuemen—TSgt. Dave Johnson and SSgt. Ben Walker—who retrieved two men—father and son—and their Labrador dog. Both men were seriously injured, and, unfortunately, the son was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Clearing jungle and laying asphalt in tropical heat may not sound like fun to most people, but it’s a way of life for Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers (RED HORSE) Airmen, who have spent the past year or so restoring World War II-era airfields on the Pacific…