JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH 66th Year • No. 32 • AUGUST 10, 2012

INSIDE ... NEW AF CHIEF OF STAFF APPOINTED, P3 ... WEST NILE VIRUS DETECTED, P4 ... RETIREE SOLVES MYSTERY, P6

A publication of the 502nd Air Base Wing – Joint Base San Antonio

PAGE 3

AUGUST 10, 2012PAGE 2 WINGSPREAD

COMMENTARY

By Kimberly GilmanAir Force Personnel Center Public Affairs

If you have children, especially teen-agers, you already know the harrowing statistics that illustrate the dangers they face in the world today. Daily on the news, we see stories of children left to their own devices after school who have taken the wrong path in life.

Air Force youth programs help combat potentially negative infl uences in our children’ lives by providing healthy, interesting, educational and fun activities where they can channel their creative energy.

Air Force-wide, more than 63,000 children between the ages of 6 and 18 participate in Air Force youth programs including sports, fi tness, arts and technology, leadership op-portunities and outdoor adventures. These children are thriving in an en-vironment focused on enabling them to reach their potential and achieve their personal dreams.

Our adult staff members work to help participants grow and develop into confi dent young adults, artists, athletes and leaders.

Air Force youth program par-ticipants have learned to seize their dreams. From a full scholarship to Marquette University to participation in the Miss USA Pageant, our children

are excelling in their chosen fi elds. More than a dozen Teen Aviation Camp participants have been accept-ed into the Air Force Academy.

Others, as participants in the Youth Employment Skills program, have learned career skills, supported their communities as volunteers and earned cash toward their post-high school academic or training pursuits. While they earned money for their own educational needs, their par-ticipation in YES also earned money for their home base youth programs, enabling them to benefi t personally and pay it forward as well. Many YES alumni today are serving in military leadership roles, pursuing gradu-ate degrees and mentoring others in communities around the country.

This summer, more than 250 instal-lation teens attended an all-expenses-paid trip to participate in Close Up Washington D.C., a nonprofi t program established in 1971 that educates

and inspires young people to become informed and engaged citizens. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the teens who attended and typical of the developmental programs for Air Force youth.

In an increasingly perilous world, Air Force youth programs offer a healthy alternative to the detrimen-tal, self-destructive activities we so often hear about in the news. Under the loving guidance of our staff, your children will make connections with others of similar and varying experi-ences and they’ll have opportunities to stretch their wings, learn about themselves, pursue their gifts and grow into tomorrow’s leaders.

Contact your installation youth programs for further information about local opportunities. For more information about Air Force youth programs and other quality of life programs, visit www.usafservices.com or www.myairforcelife.com.

STRONG YOUTH FOR A SECURE FUTURE

Youth program staff combats negative infl uences"In an increasingly perilous world, Air Force youth programs offer a healthy alternative to the detrimental, self-destructive activities we

so often hear about in the news."

U.S. Army Col. Robert Bridgford, 502nd Air Base Wing vice command-er, congratulates Staff Sgt. Christo-pher Keilman, 902nd Security Forces Squadron military working dog handler, after presenting him with the Bronze Star Medal July 31 at the Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Kendrick Club. For the complete story, see page 3.Photo by Benjamin Faske

ON THE COVER

This newspaper is published by Prime Time Military News-papers, a private fi rm in no way connected with the U.S. Air Force, under exclusive written contract with Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas. This commercial enterprise Air Force newspaper is an authorized publication for members of the U.S. military services. Contents of the Wingspread are not necessarily the offi cial views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. government, the Department of Defense, or the Department of the Air Force.

The appearance of advertising in this publication, includ-ing inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense, the Department of the Air Force or Prime Time Military Newspapers, of the products or services advertised.

Everything advertised in this publication shall be made available for purchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical handicap, political affi liation, or any other nonmerit factor of the purchaser, user or patron.

Editorial content is edited, prepared and provided by the Public Affairs Offi ce of JBSA-Randolph. All photos, unless otherwise indicated, are U.S. Air Force photos.

The deadline for submissions is noon Wednesday the week prior to publication. All submissions can be emailed to 502ABW.pa.wingspread@us.af.mil.

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Randolph AFB, Texas 78150Phone: (210) 652-4410

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Joint Base San Antonio-RandolphEditorial Staff

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Marilyn HollidayChief of Public Affairs

Senior Airman Precious YettEditor

Airman 1st Class Lincoln KorverRobert GoetzAlex SalinasStaff Writers

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WINGSPREADAUGUST 10, 2012 PAGE 3

NEWS

By Airman 1st Class Lincoln KorverJoint Base San Antonio-Randolph Public Affairs

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Christo-pher Keilman, 902nd Security Forces Squadron military working dog han-dler, was awarded the Bronze Star Medal July 31 in correlation with his deployment to Afghanistan with U.S. Army special forces from Aug. 1, 2010 through April 1, 2011.

According to the award citation, Keilman distinguished himself through meritorious service as the military working dog handler for a special operations task force at Kandahar Airfi eld, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

According to the citation, “Keilman conducted over 100 combat opera-tions to capture, kill and disrupt Tali-ban and anti-Afghan forces through-out the Panjwayi District of Kandahar Province.” He was responsible for ensuring all dismounted routes the detachment utilized were swept for mines and improvised explosive de-vices, which led to the discovery and destruction of 24 IEDs.

Before Keilman returned home from his deployment to Afghanistan with U.S. Army special forces, he heard rumors he was being put up

for a bronze star.“Being an E-5, I wasn’t too

hung up on it and I didn’t put too much thought into it,” he said. “The recognition of someone saying ‘thank you’ is good enough for me. I don’t need a pat on the back to do my job; it’s my job.”

The Bronze Star Medal is a U.S. military decoration awarded for he-roic or meritorious achievement. The bronze star is the fourth-highest combat award of the U.S. armed forc-es and the ninth-highest military award in the or-der of precedence of U.S. military decorations.

Keilman was responsible for many different tasks while he was overseas, he said. He worked with military working dogs to detect IEDs, studied informa-tion about the area they were in and briefed his team, helped come up with plans on how to combat situations they were exposed to, trained Afghan partner forces and performed vehicle searches in con-junction with many other tasks.

“It’s an honor my Army team felt strongly enough to put me up for this,” he said. “That was big

for me. At first there was a lack of trust because they didn’t know me, but my willingness to be out there on the front and take a hit if need be

showed them I was willing to sacri-fice my life or my dog’s life to make sure they were able to do what they needed to do.”

Airman receives bronze star for deployment with U.S. Army special forces

WASHINGTON (AFNS) – Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, a 36-year veteran, will be the twentieth Air Force chief of staff, according to a Senate confi rmation vote Aug. 2.

Welsh provided testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee July 19, before the full Senate voted on his confi rmation. Now the president must appoint the general before he can assume his new position.

“I fully accept the responsibility to stand beside Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley and lead the 690,000 active, Guard, Reserve and civilian Airmen who selfl essly serve our nation as part of an unbeatable joint team,” Welsh said.

Pending the president’s appointment, Welsh, who served as the U.S. Air Forces in Europe commander, will assume the po-sition of Air Force chief of staff from Gen.

Norton Schwartz in a ceremony today.In his previous position, Welsh’s com-

mand was responsible for Air Force ac-tivities, conducted through 3rd Air Force, in an area of operations covering almost one-fi fth of the globe. This area includes 51 countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, and the Arctic and Atlantic oceans with a total population reaching nearly one billion people speaking more than 80 languages. He also had adminis-trative control of U.S. Air Forces Africa, providing support, logistics and resources to U.S. Africa Command.

Welsh entered the Air Force in June 1976 as a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Acad-emy. He has been assigned to numerous operational, command and staff positions during his career.

Senate confi rms General Welsh as next AF chief of staffGen. Mark A. Welsh III testifi es before the Senate Armed Services Com-mittee in Washington, D.C., July 19 as part of the confi rmation process to serve as the 20th Air Force chief of staff. Photo by Scott Ash

Photo by Melissa PetersonStaff Sgt. Christopher Keilman, 902nd Security Forces Squadron military working dog handler, trains military working dog Ccharles on a bite maneuver Aug. 3 at the Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph military working dog facility.

“Being an E-5, I wasn’t too hung up on it and I didn’t put too much thought into it,” he said. “The recognition of someone saying ‘thank you’ is good enough for me. I don’t need a pat on the back to do my job; it’s

The Bronze Star Medal is a U.S. military decoration awarded for he-roic or meritorious achievement. The bronze star is the fourth-highest

award of the U.S. armed forc-

Keilman was responsible for many different tasks while he was overseas, he said. He worked with military working dogs to detect IEDs, studied informa-tion about the area they were in and briefed his team, helped come up with plans on how to Staff Sgt. Christopher Keilman, 902nd Security Forces Squadron military working

AUGUST 10, 2012PAGE 4 WINGSPREAD

Chief Master Sgt. Jose LugoSantiago (right), Joint Base San Antonio and 502nd Air Base Wing command chief master sergeant, presented certificates of appreciation to Airmen from across JBSA July 31 at the 502nd ABW confer-ence room on JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, who scored 90 percent or better on their career development end-of-course tests this quarter. LugoSantiago plans to recognize outstanding Airmen quarterly during the status-of-training brief.Photo by William Gaines

Excellence in AllWe Do

By Elaine Sanchez and Howard GivensSan Antonio Military Medical Center Public Affairs and 559th Aerospace Medicine Squadron

Summer brings backyard barbecues, hiking, camp-ing and increased outdoor activities. It also brings more mosquitoes, and with them potentially serious illnesses from germs some mosquitoes carry.

West Nile Virus is an illness spread by mosquitoes that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tends to flare up in summer and continue into the fall. Since 2002, West Nile Virus has occurred each year throughout Texas and much of the continental United States.

Even though West Nile Virus can cause serious illness, the CDC cautions that most people who catch the virus experience the mild form or no symptoms at all and there are simple prevention measures that people can take to greatly decrease their risk of ill-ness. The Texas Department of State Health Services advises that people use insect repellent every time they go outside, avoid going outside at dawn and dusk – when mosquitoes are more active – and drain standing water from around their homes.

There has been a higher than usual number of hu-man West Nile Virus cases in Texas this year due to the warm winter and recent rains, resulting in better breeding conditions for virus-carrying mosquitoes.

During the past 10 years, 49 cases on average were reported to state health officials, but in 2012 there have been 111 human West Nile Virus cases and one death reported statewide, mostly from the North Texas region.

According to the CDC, milder West Nile Virus ill-ness improves on its own and people do not neces-sarily need to seek medical attention for this infec-

tion, though they may choose to do so. People who develop symptoms of severe West Nile

Virus illness, such as unusually severe headaches or confusion, should seek medical attention immedi-ately. Severe West Nile Virus illness usually requires hospitalization.

Pregnant women, nursing mothers and those with weakened immune systems are encouraged to talk to their doctor if they develop symptoms that could be West Nile Virus.

According to experts, 80 percent of patients bitten by West Nile Virus-infected mosquitoes will have no symptoms; 20 percent may develop flu-like symp-toms such as headache, nausea, vomiting and occa-sional rash on the chest and back; and one percent may develop more severe symptoms of meningitis, encephalitis or paralysis. People typically develop symptoms between three and 14 days after they are bitten by an infected mosquito.

However, experts added that only specific mosquito species can transmit West Nile Virus, so most mosquito bites don’t warrant medical evaluation. The chances any person will become severely ill from any one mosquito bite are extremely small.

Community residents and building managers can take a few simple precautionary measures to ensure every-one’s safety, according to Frank Martinez, 502nd Civil Engineer Squadron pest control unit team leader.

“Many mosquito problems can be reduced by elimi-nating breeding sites of standing water and emptying containers that hold water,” Martinez said. “That is the single most effective measure people can take to elimi-nate the places where mosquitoes breed.”

Other measures include:• Eliminating puddles on lawns as a result of exces-

sive watering;

• Placing tiny holes in the bottom of recycling bins without lids;

• Replacing water in birdbaths;• Getting rid of old tires;• Preventing bottles, tin cans, buckets or drums from

collecting water; • Wearing a long-sleeve shirt or pants if going out-

doors at dawn, dusk or the early evening; and• Spraying insect repellent on clothing and rubbing it

gently on face, ears, neck and hands, especially if out-doors after dusk or before dawn.

West Nile Virus has been detected on Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston.

“Three sample pools of mosquitoes collected recently by Public Health Command South tested positive for West Nile Virus,” Capt. Lyndsay Knob-lock-Fast, San Antonio Military Medical Center pre-ventive medicine entomologist, said. “They’ve since confirmed one human case, one suspected case and no confirmed animal cases of the virus.”

Larviciding, which is mosquito population control, will be performed in specific locations as deemed necessary, officials said. If needed, local authorities will notify ten-ant commands and housing residents of fogging dates and times.

No mosquitoes from Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland and Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph have tested posi-tive for West Nile Virus. Base public health offices con-tinue to monitor the mosquito population and work with base pest control to mitigate local risk.

Please contact the 359th Medical Group Public Health section at 652-2456 for Randolph-specific questions or concerns.

For more information on the virus, visit the CDC and Prevention website at www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dv-bid/westnile/.

Experts detect West Nile Virus on JBSA-Fort Sam Houston

WINGSPREADAUGUST 10, 2012 PAGE 5

By Airman 1st Class Lincoln Korver Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Public Affairs

Now that summer is coming to an end and au-tumn is on its way, back-to-school safety is some-thing all parents should keep in mind.

Whether this is the fi rst time parents are prepar-ing to send their child to school or the 14th time, there are many things to think about in order to en-courage a safe year.

“When my children were younger, I remember the start of a new school year being stressful for both parents and kids,” Marvin Joyce, Joint Base San Anto-nio-Randolph Safety Offi ce operational health special-ist, said. “We found early preparation helped us (par-ents) reduce the stress and helped ensure a smooth transition for everyone getting in the back-to-school routine.”

Some basic safety tips to pass onto children are to make sure they know to always look both ways before crossing the street, wear a helmet when biking and not to talk to people they don’t know. It is also crucial that children are provided a lunch with an appropriately sized healthy snack and enough water and that they know if they are allergic to anything they might come across while at school.

It is important that parents plan for how their child will get to and from school each day, Joyce said.

“Approximately 24 million kids ride the bus to school every day,” he said. “When waiting for the bus, chil-dren should know not to play in the street and to stay far enough back from the curb so they can’t acciden-tally step into the street. Once they’re on the bus, they should quickly fi nd their seats, sit down and put on their seatbelt. Since school buses make numerous stops, it is important for children to remain in their seats until the bus arrives at school.”

Although many children take a bus to school, there are still many who walk, ride their bike, skateboard, get rides from parents and carpool.

“Parents who choose to let their children walk or ride their bike to school should travel the route several times before the fi rst day of school,” Tech. Sgt. Travis Yates, Randolph ground safety NCO in charge, said. “This helps the parents determine the safest route and the travel time it will take their child to get home; also by laying out the route, parents can locate all street crossings and possible danger areas.”

Besides teaching their kids how to travel safely, par-ents should ensure they are safe while in class. In a classroom of 20 or more kids and only one teacher, ac-cidents can easily happen. It’s vital parents teach their kids how to correctly handle sharp objects, glue and other toxic materials.

The way parents go about starting the school year has a big impact on how smooth the transition from a summer to school mindset plays out.

“Anyone with children knows the start of a new school year is stressful,” Yates said. “Buying clothes, getting school supplies, immunizations and everything else will push parents to the edge of sanity, but proper plan-ning and preparation can greatly reduce the stress on everyone.”

Base offi cials give back-to-school safety tips

1. Plan a walking route to school or the bus stop. Choose the most direct way with the fewest street crossings and, if possible, with intersections that have crossing guards and walk the route with your child beforehand. Tell him or her to stay away from parks, vacant lots, fi elds and other places where there aren’t many people around.

2. Teach your child never to talk to strangers or accept rides or gifts from strangers. Remember, a stranger is anyone you or your children don’t know well or don’t trust.

3. Be sure your child walks to and from school with a sibling, friend or neighbor.

4. Teach your kids – whether walking, biking or riding the bus to school – to obey all traffic signals, signs and traffic officers. Remind them to be extra careful in bad weather.

5. When driving kids, deliver and pick them up as close to the school as possible. Don’t leave until they are in the schoolyard or building

6. If your child bikes to school, make sure he wears a helmet that meets safety standards. Research indi-cates that a helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by up to 85 percent.

7. Remind your children to stay seated at all times and keep their heads and arms inside the bus while riding. When exiting the bus, children should wait until the bus comes to a complete stop, exit from the front using the handrail to avoid falls and cross the street at least 10 feet (or 10 giant steps) in front of the bus.

8. Tell your child not to bend down in front of the bus to tie shoes or pick up objects, as the driver may not see him before starting to move.

9. Be sure that your child knows their home phone number and address, your work number, the number of another trusted adult and how to call 911 for emergencies.

10. Give your child some strategies for coping with bullies. He should not give in to a bully’s demands, but should simply walk away or tell the bully to stop. If the bullying continues, talk to the teacher.

(Courtesy of Safe Kids USA)

Back-to-School Safety Tips

Graphic illustration by Maggie Armstrong

AUGUST 10, 2012PAGE 6 WINGSPREAD WINGSPREADAUGUST 10, 2012 PAGE 7

FEATURE

By Alex SalinasJoint Base San Antonio-Randolph Public Affairs

Retired Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Scott Hubbartt and his family transferred from the Netherlands to Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph in 2002, 26 years into his active duty career. Although Hubbartt would retire two years later, it was his involvement in chapel services that led him to the discreet brass plaque mounted on a pillar at Chapel 1, Bldg. 102, which would spark numerous questions, many dead ends and a journey of a lifetime.

The plaque at Chapel 1 serves as a me-mento for Lt. Col. William Sullivan, stating he was commissioned on Oct. 5, 1938, at Kelly Field, Texas, and died in San Juan Bay, Peru, on Sept. 19, 1947, a day after the U.S. Air Force became operational.

Hubbartt noticed the plaque after a Sunday service and began wondering who exactly Sul-livan was. “Why is this plaque here?” he asked himself, considering the offi cer’s death in Peru.

Hubbartt promptly made calls to the base historian’s offi ce for answers.

“No one even knew the plaque existed,” he said. “For the next couple of years, the mystery nagged at me. Every Sunday morning, my eyes would drift to the small brass memorial.”

During these passing years, the retired chief master sergeant decided to take his curiosity elsewhere.

“My search for answers would lead me to dusty archives at the University of Texas at Austin, the Air Force Research Library in Mont-gomery, Ala., and eventually to the remote South American Atacama Desert, one of the driest deserts in the world,” he said.

Hubbartt’s search for information at UT-Aus-tin was another dead end.

“I went through all the Randolph papers from a year before to a year after (Sulli-van’s death),” he said.

“Also, visits to the 12th Flying Training Wing and the Air Education and Training Command historian’s offi ce (at Randolph) proved to be dead ends. No one knew anything about Sul-livan’s whereabouts in Peru.”

In March 2006, Hubbartt decided his quest would best be continued in another country he was familiar with – the same country where Sullivan died.

Hubbartt fi rst visited Peru in 1986 with his wife, a native Peruvian and noncommissioned offi cer in the Air Force at the time, and their 1

½-year-old daughter. Altogether, he has visited Peru a dozen times for various reasons.

Even so, being back in Peru for a mission didn’t mean the answers would fl ock to Hubbartt.

“My visit to San Juan was really a shot in the dark,” he said. “I fi rst spent some time in Lima, visiting the headquarters of their Air Force mak-ing inquiries, which did not pan out. I eventually went to their National Geographic Agency to determine exactly where San Juan was and how I might get there.”

Peru is nearly twice the size of Texas, so pinpointing a site in a country where there are several San Juans took time, Hubbartt said. But with the help of geographers, San Juan de Marcona, located in the far south of Peru on the edge of the Atacama Desert, was selected as a likely spot to investigate.

Near San Juan de Marcona was a naval airfi eld, so Hubbartt took a bus to Nazca, a city famous for a series of ancient geoglyphs, then learned he could get to his destination by a cab. He found one willing to take him to the coastal town with several other people.

“I really felt I was ‘out there’ when I got to Nazca,” he said. “Isolated and far removed from any other Americans, I was really on my own.”

Upon arriving to the naval air base, the base’s commander, a captain who graduated from Lackland’s Inter-American Air Forces Academy, told Hubbartt the base did not

exist until the early 1960s, so Sullivan could not have been stationed there.

“In fact, the captain told me, ‘No one ever comes here,’” Hubbartt said.

The mayor of San Juan de Marcona explained to Hubbartt that the town existed solely to sup-

port a nearby Chinese-owned tin mine and that “hardly anyone” lived there until the 1960s.

“I felt dejected and demoralized,” Hubbartt said. “What a wild goose chase this was.”

Then, “just when I was about to give up, a young boy asked, ‘Have you spoken with Señor Muñoz?’”

The boy informed Hubbartt that Julian Muñoz was an old fi sherman who had been

in the area before the town was built, so Hubbartt was led to the fi sherman’s beach-side home away from the town center.

“Along the way, I kept thinking I might still be able to make the ride back to Nazca that was leaving shortly,” he said. “But, I decided, what the heck? So many miles travelled, hours of research done, scores of nights spent in primi-tive hotels and bone-jarring hours on dangerous buses and scary cabs.

“Here I was at the beach on the edge of the Atacama Desert in southern Peru, knocking on the door of a hut belonging to an ancient fi sherman. I was about to hit pay dirt and I had no clue.”

The 86-year-old Muñoz greeted Hubbartt with hospitality and news that solved a piece of the mystery.

“You got here just in time,” Muñoz said to Hubbartt. “There were four of us that day in my small boat. My three friends are long dead, but my memory is good and I recall that day well.”

Muñoz described a September morning in 1947 when a large aircraft fl ew over the Peruvian coast, caught fi re, exploded and

spun into the sea. Muñoz and his friends rowed out to the

wreckage where they found three bodies – two men and a woman – whom they brought to shore and turned over to offi cials.

“According to Muñoz, a few ‘foreigners’ later came to ask around about the crash, but until my visit no one had approached him about it,” Hubbartt said. “The details surrounding the crash of the lone airplane had remained a mystery to Julian. To this day, the fi shermen in that area casually refer to the beach nearby as El Avion – ‘the airplane.’”

When Hubbartt trekked back to the U.S., he made further inquiries and was able to obtain a copy of an Army accident report with several eyewitness accounts and draw-ings of the aircraft’s path in its fi nal minutes, he said. Also in the report were names of the passengers and crew.

“It was a U.S. Air Force C-54D Skymaster, a four-engine transport aircraft then assigned to Albrook Field, Panama,” Hubbartt said. “The aircraft was en route from La Paz, Bolivia, to the U.S. with a scheduled stop at Lima, Peru.

The aircraft’s mission that day was to transport Col. Juan Rivera, vice chief of staff of the Boliv-ian Air Force, to Washington.

“Escorting him was Lt. Col. William Sullivan, U.S. Air Mission to Bolivia chief,” he continued. “Also on board was a crew of fi ve and seven other passengers. A few hours after departing La Paz, as the aircraft approached the Peruvian coast, a problem developed with one of the en-gines on the right wing. A fi re erupted and from there things rapidly snowballed.

“Five minutes later the aircraft crashed into the sea off San Juan Bay. Sullivan’s body and those of all but two of the Americans on board were never recovered.”

Hubbartt had learned how and where Sul-livan perished, but still wanted to fi gure out the pilot’s connection to Randolph via the chapel plaque, so he visited surviving relatives of the crew and passengers, most recently in 2011.

He found out that Sullivan joined the Army Air Corps in 1938 and attended primary fl ight training at then-Randolph Field, where he moved on to advanced fl ight training at Kelly Field, earning his pilot wings.

Hubbartt said Sullivan served in England dur-ing World War II.

Sullivan was assigned as the U.S. Air Mission to Bolivia chief in 1946 after the war ended, where his wife, Elizabeth, and their two sons, William and Charles, accompanied him.

“Sullivan’s parents, William and Chloe, were in Illinois when they received word of the ac-cident,” Hubbartt said. “Very few details were

available and a body was never recovered. His parents hoped to have a memorial placed at Arlington National Cemetery, Va. However, policy stated at the time that no such stone could be placed without a body to bury.

“A petition was made to President Harry Truman by Sullivan’s parents for an excep-tion to the policy,” he said. “In response through the Department of Defense, a com-promise was made allowing Sullivan’s par-ents to place a memorial to their lost son at any U.S. base. They chose Randolph where he attended pilot training.”

With the mystery solved about the plaque at Chapel 1, Hubbartt still had questions sur-rounding the crash, many about “signifi cant” political unrest that was present in La Paz where the fl ight originated.

Hubbartt’s odyssey was in part personally fulfi lling, but also satisfactory in connecting several family members to the victims of the crash, he said.

“Sadly, our 60-year-young Air Force history is littered with such tragedies,” he said. “Still, we seldom fi nd such mysterious memorials to the victims as in the case of our base chapel.”

Now equipped with a post-graduate certifi cate in Latin American studies inspired from his trav-els, Hubbartt said he will continue his search to uncover more facts.

“We hear a lot about wartime losses, but there are scores of servicemen lost during the postwar years whose story might never be told,” he said.

By Alex Salinas The aircraft’s mission that day was to transport available and a body was never recovered. His

Retiree solves mystery of small memorial plaque in JBSA-Randolph chapelRetiree solves mystery of small memorial plaque in JBSA-Randolph chapelRetiree solves mystery of small memorial plaque in JBSA-Randolph chapelRetiree solves mystery of small memorial plaque in JBSA-Randolph chapelRetiree solves mystery of small memorial plaque in JBSA-Randolph chapelRetiree solves mystery of small memorial plaque in JBSA-Randolph chapel“No one even knew the plaque existed. For the next couple

of years, the mystery nagged at me. Every Sunday morning, my eyes would drift to the small brass memorial.”

“You got here just in time.”

Julian Muñoz86-year-old

Peruvian fisherman

Courtesy photoLt. Col. William A. Sullivan (right) greets his brother, Thomas Sullivan, in England during World War II.

Courtesy photoThe Peruvian coastline where a C-54D Skymaster aircraft with 14 people aboard crashed in 1947.

Courtesy photo

Photo by Rich McFadden

Scott HubbarttRetired Air Force Chief Master Sergeant

AUGUST 10, 2012PAGE 8 WINGSPREAD

Duty titleMilitary Working Dog handlerHometownSan Antonio, TexasHobbiesPlaying basketball, spending time with familyGreatest AccomplishmentWinning the 902nd SFS Airman of the Year in 2010 and graduating from the military working dog handlers CourseGoalsTo be a chief master sergeant in the USAFPersonal InspirationMy grandparents who taught me everything I know

Pet PeeveBeing late to anything Personal Motto“I have learned to use the word 'impossible' with the greatest caution.” Wernher BraunCommander’s Comments “Senior Airman Clinton Patton is a future chief master sergeant in our Air Force. He displays in-credible integrity, puts the mission before himself and consistently excels no matter the task. We’re proud he’s a defender of the Showplace.”

Maj. Greg Bodenstein902nd Security Forces Squadron commander

Senior AirmanClinton Patton

902nd Security Forces Squadron

Photo by Rich McFaddenSenior Airman Clinton Patton with Military Working Dog Ccharles.

NOW SHOWINGat the

Randolph Theater

"The Amazing Spiderman" (PG-13)Andrew Garfi eld, Emma Stone, Denis Leary

Today at 7 p.m., Saturday at 6 p.m.and Sunday at 3 p.m.

$5 for adults, $2.50 for children 11 and under

• CATHOLIC

Monday-Friday

11:30 a.m. - Bldg. 102

Saturday

5:30 p.m. - Bldg. 102

Sunday

8:30 a.m. - Bldg. 102

11:30 a.m. - Bldg. 102

Confession

Saturday

4:30 p.m. - Bldg. 102

• PROTESTANT

Traditional

Sunday Service

8:15 a.m. - Base theater

Contemporary

Sunday Service

11 a.m. - Base theater

Randolph Chapel

Schedule Offi cials issue road closure notice Second Avenue West, the road be-tween the health clinic and the Kendrick Club, is closed through Sunday from Fourth Street West to Third Street West. There will be signage to direct traffic. For more information, contact Peggy Knox at 652-1249.

Chapel and A&FRC to hold retreatActive-duty married couples are in-

vited to attend a Marriage Care Retreat Aug. 24-26 at the T Bar M Ranch in New Braunfels.

To sign up, contact the Airman and Fam-ily Readiness Center at 652-5321.

Committee holds Air Force Birthday Ball

The Air Force Birthday Ball takes place at 6 p.m. Sept. 21 at the Omni Hotel, 9821 Colonnade Blvd., San Antonio, Texas, 78230. For tickets: An e-invite link will be sent to your respective command chief’s offi ce. Each respective organization has an allotted number of tickets.

Red Cross seeks volunteers The American Red Cross seeks volunteers to serve the base community at the Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Medical Clinic. For more details, call the Red Cross desk at 652-6372.

Non-CFC fundraising committees suspended for CFC

The Combined Federal Campaign is currently set to open Sept. 1. Non-CFC fundraising will be suspended Aug. 31 and may resume Nov. 1. For more information, contact a unit project offi cer, Master Sgt. James Rogers at 671-9200 or Master Sgt. James Wooding at 671-2265.

Clinic seeks volunteersThe Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Clinic

is seeking volunteers ages 18 and older to help with the registration process for a new online secure messaging service called MiCare. There will be a one-hour training session with the volunteer segment beginning in September. To volunteer, contact the Red Cross volunteer desk at 652-6372 or Population Health at 652-1707/4028.

Airfi eld access training Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph’s airfi eld is a controlled area, which means anyone who needs access to the airfi eld is required to complete training, as well as be listed on an entry authorization list, unless escorted by someone who already has access. To schedule training and to determine who keeps the access listing for your orga-nization, call Geren Fawver at 652-8166.

WINGSPREADAUGUST 10, 2012 PAGE 9

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH

Tech. Sgt. Keith Hartman

Airman 1st Class Heather Verdoza

Airman 1st Class Heather Verdoza902nd Contracting Squadron

Airman Verdoza ensured more than $23 million in contract close-outs were accurately funded. Verdoza’s invaluable management skills ensured $530,000 worth of supplies and services contracts were awarded and her level of expertise exceeded her pay grade when she served as business adviser and negotiator for a Defense Logistics Agency contract for the Air Force Personnel Center. She also chaired the Holocaust Remembrance Committee, where her leadership provided mo-tivation to the Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph community.

Tech. Sgt. Eddie MartinAir Education and Training CommandStudies and Analysis Squadron

Tech. Sgt. Martin managed a $2 million T-38 aircraft upgrade software program, coordinating with multiple agencies and ensured the operational test met AETC’s strict completion deadline. He diligently coordinated and processed T-6 aircraft anti-chafe paint suitability test data resulting in the reduction of 17,000 mainte-nance hours and $3,300 in material costs for more than 445 aircraft Air Force wide. He also devoted eight hours supporting Habitat for Humanity, during which he built homes for the less fortunate.

The Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Top Three Professional Performer Award program recognizes enlisted members for their outstanding pro-fessionalism in the performance of primary and additional duties, and leadership within the base and community.

Members of the Top Three may nominate members in the rank of E-1 through E-6.

AUGUST 10, 2012PAGE 10 WINGSPREAD

By Gary SheftickArmy News Service

Air Force Reserve Capt. Seth Kelsey fi nished one touch away from a medal Aug. 1 in Olym-pic épeé individual fencing at ExCel Centre.

Kelsey lost his semifi nal bout in sudden-death overtime, 6-5, to the fencer who went on to win the gold medal, Venezuela’s Ruben Li-mardo Gascon. Then he dropped another sudden-death decision in the bronze-medal match to Ko-rea’s Jinsun Jung, 12-11.

Norway’s Bartosz Piasecki won the silver.

Despite Kelsey’s disappoint-ment in missing a medal, he said it felt good to defeat for-mer world-champion Nikolai Novosjolov of Estonia, 15-11, earlier in the day.

“I fenced in the world champi-onships last year, and I lost a very close match by one touch,” Kelsey said. “So I knew I had to challenge him every moment.”

The Air Force Academy gradu-ate began the day ranked 17th in the tournament and made an un-expected run to the semifi nals. His fi rst bout was agaiAnst a soldier in the Chinese Army, Guojie Li.

“We trained specifi cally for that guy,” Kelsey said. “I was very focused.”

Kelsey fenced with aggressive attacks from the beginning and was able to score on the defense. When Li lunged forward, Kelsey was able to effectively parry, re-post and follow up more than once by driving the blade home for a point.

Li, however, held his ground point-for-point and forced sev-eral double-touches, where both fencers scored. Tied at the end of the third period, the match went into sudden-death overtime and Kelsey scored fi rst, winning 8-7.

It was the fi rst Olympic win for Kelsey, despite London be-ing his third Olympic games. His parents, sister and extend-

ed family were jubilant.“He’s worked hard for a

long time,” Susan Kelsey, his mother, who watched from the stands, said. “I’m glad to see him move up.”

His father, Morton Kelsey, said his 6-foot-4, 209-pound son was peaking at the right time.

“He never gives up,” Mor-ton said. “He just pushes and pushes.”

Kelsey’s second match of the day was against Novosjolov, who won the 2010 World Champion-ship in Paris.

“I felt like I had to challenge him every moment, every step, every blade action,” Kelsey said. “You start giving him an inch, and he’s going to take every-thing. So I just wanted to stand up to him – hey, like you’re not going to push me around – and I was able to get a leg up.”

Kelsey pushed his way to an upset with a 15-11 score. He went on to aggressively fence Venezuela’s Sylvio Fernandez for a 15-9 victory, earning a berth in the semifi nals.

Kelsey came back in the eve-ning, however, with a defensive strategy. His coach, Sabastien Dos Santos, said they integrated a relatively new “passivity” rule into their plan.

The rule states if there’s no blade contact for 15 to 20 sec-onds or if opponents are out-side the fencing distance for that long, or if no hits occur for a full minute, then an entire three-minute period of compe-tition could be forfeited.

In Kelsey’s semifi nal bout with Venezuela’s Limardo Gascon, the passivity call was made by judges in the second period, immediately thrusting the match into the third stanza, which ended in a tie, forc-ing sudden-death overtime.

Kelsey and his coach said they prefer the extra period, or “prior-ity” time as it’s called in fencing.

“We are not afraid to put on a lot of pressure,” Santos said.

“He’s usually very successful in that critical moment.”

The strategy, however, back-fi red. Kelsey lunged in and Li-mardo Gascon parried and stuck him for the winning point.

In the bronze bout against Jung – who lost the other semi-fi nal – points went one for one, with the score reverting to numer-ous deadlocks. In the third period, three consecutive double-touches occurred in less than a minute. The score remained tied toward the end of the third period when the fencers forced the passivity rule again.

Jung had to make a move in overtime because Kelsey had pri-ority and would win with a tie. With 20 seconds remaining on the clock, Jung made his move. He lunged forward low and stuck his blade into the tip of Kelsey’s toe for the winning point.

Jung then dropped to his knees and fell fl at onto his back in cel-ebration while Kelsey stood in si-lent disbelief.

Kelsey’s fourth-place fi nish in the event was one of the best in recent history for the United States. Only one American has ever won Olympic gold in épeé: George Calnan at the 1928 Am-sterdam Games.

Mariel Zagunis won two gold medals in women’s sa-ber at the past two Olympics, but she, like Kelsey, finished fourth in London.

There are three disciplines in modern fencing: foil, épée and saber. Epée is the heaviest of the three fencing weapons. Unlike the other two, in épée, the entire body is a valid target area, including the face. Kelsey wears a face mask with the pat-tern of a U.S. fl ag.

Kelsey practices at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Col-orado Springs, Colo. One of his training partners is a member of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program, Cody Nagen-gast, who was in London as Kelsey’s training partner.

Golf course offers Monday Mania

Randolph Oaks Golf Course patrons can golf on Mondays in August for $30. The price includes green fees, cart and a hamburger or hot dog lunch. For details, call 652-4570.

San Antonio Missions to host Military Appreciation NightThe San Antonio Missions baseball team invites service members and their families to its Military Appreciation Night 7 p.m. Aug. 22. Free-admission tickets will be available at the Randolph Informa-tion, Tickets and Travel offi ce one week prior to the game.

Fitness center offers training run

The Randolph Rambler Fitness Center offers an 18-mile training run 6 a.m. Aug. 25 at Eberle Park for all runners training for a marathon. For details, call 652-7263.

Teams forming for Rambler 120

Teams are now form-ing to compete in the seventh-annual Rambler 120 Team Challenge at Canyon Lake, Texas. The competition takes place Oct. 20 and participants will bike, raft and run to the finish line. There will also be a mystery event to wrap up the competition.

To sign up a team or for more details, call the Rambler 120 project offi cer, Steve Knechtel, at 267-7358.

SPORTS - HEALTH - FITNESS

AF reservist fi nishes fourth in Olympic épeé fencingSportsSportsSportsBRIEFSBRIEFSBRIEFS

Photo by Tim HippsAir Force Reserve Capt. Seth Kelsey (left), challenges South Korea's Jinsun Jung during the bronze-medal match at the 2012 Olympic Games in Lon-don Aug. 1. Jung went on to win the sudden-death match, 12-11.

WINGSPREADAUGUST 10, 2012 PAGE 11

Graphic by Lino Espinoza