Col. Wilfred B. Crutchfield and Lt. Col. Ivan E. O’Dell received full military honors at their burial in Arlington National Cemetery on Dec. 7—37 years after their T-33 Shooting Star crashed into Mount Rainier on a flight back to McChord AFB, Wash., on April 15, 1968. The wreckage was embedded in a glacier, which over time slowly melted as it moved down the mountain. In 2004, hikers discovered wreckage debris. The colonels were both Air Force veterans, with Crutchfield flying in three wars and O’Dell the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bronze Star.
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…