The remains of CMSgt. John Quincy Adam, whose C-130 went down May 22, 1968, on a mission over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Vietnam, were buried in his hometown of Kansas City, Kan., July 27, 2009. Adam, an airman 1st class at the time his cargo aircraft went down, and the aircraft’s entire crew were listed as missing in action since 1968. After the airborne command and control aircraft lost contact with Adam’s C-130, call sign Blind Bat 01, another C-130, Blind Bat 02, flew over the target area and spotted a large fire, which USAF later believed was the wreckage of Blind Bat 01. It would take another nearly 40 years before remains were positively identified. (According to the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office record, Adam’s remains were identified on March 13, 2009.) Among members of Adam’s family at the military burial was his nephew, SSgt. Adam Blankenship, a member of the 436th Security Forces Squadron at Dover AFB, Del. (509th Bomb Wing report by SrA. Kenny Holston)
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.