Adam Mattocks, pilot aboard the B-52 that crashed on Jan. 24, 1961, in eastern North Carolina, last week gathered with crash witnesses and first responders at the mishap scene to remember the three airmen who perished that day. Five airmen survived, including Mattocks; he’s the only one still alive after all these years. The B-52, carrying two Mk 39 nuclear bombs, was on an alert mission along the US East Coast that fateful day when it experienced a massive fuel leak, reported WNCT, eastern North Carolina’s TV news station 9. The bomber went down in Pikesville as the aircrew attempted to land it at Seymour Johnston Air Force Base, just outside of Goldsboro in the eastern part of the state. The Air Force recovered one of the two nukes; but the second lodged itself deep in the swampy earth, preventing its recovery. (See also Goldsboro’s News-Argus report)
How Miss America 2024 Took the Air Force Somewhere New
Dec. 20, 2024
When 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh became the first ever active service member crowned Miss America on Jan. 14, top Air Force officials recognized a rare opportunity to reach women and girls who otherwise might not consider military service as an option.