Everglades National Park Press Release, February 12, 2013

With special thanks to Everglades N. P. Public Affairs Officer Mary Plumb.

http://www.nps.gov/ever/parknews/50-years-ago-today-remembering-northwest-orient-flight-705.htm

20130212_EvergladesNatPkPressRelease

Here’s to Jack-

Fifty years later, we all gathered in your honor. What a day.

Your wife, our mom. All six of your kids. Six grandchildren (. . . who stood in for the other five) and a great-grandchild to boot, (. . . who stood in for the other two.) And a dear representative of the generation that came along after you passed on, our sister from the Oly Peninsula. Not to mention our spouses as well.

Great food. Great memories. Great laughter as we gathered around a long table, for the first time in a long time as your family. First hand stories came spilling out. Tales of your vagabond child, who shall be nameless, who loved to leave home at an early age and strike out on her own. Treacherous car trips across the snowy Midwestern plains in the midst of winter from Seattle to Yankton–with a passel of kids in the back of a station wagon, one having no seat belts or car seats. Hauling a Thermo-King “Demonstration Trailer” across the Rocky Mountains in a blizzard, in a mistaken direction, and doing a bootleggers turn to change course and go back the way we’d come. Those trips between South Dakota and Washington, between your folks, and our home on the Pacific Coast, were epic ones. People, adventures, places that shaped us all. We’re thankful you brought us to this neck of the woods.

Black and white photos, in a digital format now that you wouldn’t have dreamed up 60 years ago, marched across the wall in your honor. Pics of you from youngsterhood to  young adult. Your Coast Guard years, 1941 t0 ’45. Meeting mom. Getting serious. Marriage. Kids. Moves. More kids. Standing in the background of so many photos were our long-gone Midwestern relatives that we hadn’t spoken of in years.  Photos followed by some old movie footage shot by our uncle so long ago. Amazing to watch people and places from sixty years ago moving on screen, to hear my older siblings recall things about our family from before I was born. To see you and mom so young. Just starting out. To see your crazy side, when you were in the backyard at the grill, decked out in a crazy barbeque apron/hat ensemble, and flipping the steak.  To discover that your high school nickname was “Saucy.” Priceless.

It was fun to laugh–to laugh hard–to tease each other. To remember. And especially to hear Mom’s recollections about places and events as each photo brought up memories from long ago. The day ended with a chilly trek outside on a damp February afternoon so we could capture the moment before folks started heading home; we stretch across much of Washington’s northwest corner [and beyond], and it was time to be on our way.

It was good to mark this 50th anniversary milestone with a day like that. What a family you put on this planet sir. Some pretty unique whippersnappers for sure. I’m happy to say it’s trickling down to the next generations.

Here’s to you Dad-

Family visits: February 12, 2013

In Memory of John McWhorter

The story of Flight 705 cannot be told without mentioning the work of the man who led the investigation into the accident, John McWhorter. According to his very close friend, David McDonald, “John was extremely thorough and professional in leading the investigation and left no stones unturned in getting to the bottom of what happened.” From securing the crash site, to ensuring that all parts of the aircraft were retrieved, to the reconstruction of the plane to determine what happened, John was dedicated to ensuring that lessons were learned from the accident that day in February, 1963:  his work figures prominently in the Civil Aeronautics Board report on Flight 705 that is contained on this website under “Newspaper Coverage and Documents.” Below you will find the citation from the Civil Aeronautics Board commending McWhorter for his work on the accident.  19660608_McWhorterCitation_705

John, whose birthday was February 17,  passed away in March 2011, just after this blog was begun. Here’s to your work John, with profound thanks from the Heil family.

John’s obituary is posted here as are three photos of him near the 705 site:

Photo 1: McWhorter with 705′s black box

Photo 2: McWhorter entering a press briefing

Photo 3: McWhorter at press briefing at the Miccosukee Indian School near the crash site. The school served as the CAB [Civil Aeronautics Board] Communications Center, as well as a temporary morgue for the victims.

McWhorterJohn_Obituary

In memory of Lee Younkin

Courtesy of an old friend, George Bodem. With thanks for him for taking the time to recall Lee’s life and share it.

Thanks to you Lee, and the other stewardesses on board that day. You would have been the official Northwest Orient Airlines touchstone to Flight 705′s passengers.

Please read here:  LeeYounkin

Flight 705: To the Women

These women would have been the face of Northwest Orient Airlines to 705′s passengers that day.

In Memory. February 12, 2013. Seattle.