The White Falcon - 26.01.1973, Blaðsíða 2

Pilot dies in F-102 crash
Tragedy struck at the NATO
base early Monday evening, when
an F-102 from the 57th Fighter
Interceptor Squadron crashed in
the ocean, 17 miles north of the
base.
Major John E. Cronin, 34, was
the pilot, and after a 24-hour
air-sea rescue operation. Defense
Force and Icelandic officials
concluded their search for the
major and the plane.
The F-102, which was on a
training mission, had experienced
radio trouble and was flying for-
The
WHITE FALCON
U.S. NAVAL STATION
KEFLAVIK, ICELAND
capt. jack h. McDonald
Commanding Officer
LCDR. C.R. HESS
Public Affairs Officer
JOCS JERRY FULLER
Information Chief
The Staff
EDITOR
J03 Luke Griffin
REPORTERS
J02 Sandra Thoen
SN Gerard Campbell
SN David Crowe
PHOTOGRAPHER
PH3 Tim Kelly
Vol. XVI, No. 4
January 26, 1973
The White Falcon is pub-
lished weekly on Friday in
accordance with NAVEXOS
P-35, revised July 1958,
for free distribution to
personnel of the Naval
Station, Keflavik. It is
printed at the Naval Sta-
tion printing plant with
non-appropriated funds at
no cost to the Government.
Views and opinions expres-
sed are not necessarily
those of the Department
of the Navy.
mation with another F-102 while
returning to the base.
Maj. Cronin's plane disap-
peared in cloud cover at 6:18
p.m., and Major Kennel Owen,
flying formation with the troubl-
ed craft, reported seeing fire on
the water.
Taking note of the location,
Maj. Owen enabled the ground
control approach team at Keflavik
Airport to plot the plane's posi-
tion on radar.
Detachment 14, the base air
rescue unit, NATO base aircraft,
the Icelandic Coast Guard, 35
Icelandic fishing vessels and a
coast line search party began
operations soon after the report.
Increasingly bad weather, in-
cluding overcast skies and rain,
hampered the search effort. The
vessels did pick up some debris,
including the pilot's helmet.
At daylight Tuesday, the
search operations began again,
and searchers found the plane's
life raft; however, no other
signs of the plane or the pilot
were found.
Cause of the crash has not
been determined. The 57th FIS is
conducting an investigation. It
was the third F-102 crash in ten
years of operation in Iceland.
Maj. Cronin, a 12-year veteran
of the Air Force, was a native of
West Roxbury, Mass. He served as
the 57th FIS' training officer
and flight commander. He had
been in Iceland since September,
1970.
He is survived by his wife
Tabita, a daughter Marian and a
son John.
Major John E. Cronin
Entering the Air Force from
the Aviation Cadet program in
1960, Maj. Cronin attended the
Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
nology, Boston University and the
University of Alaska. He al:
attended Interceptor Weap
School, Squadron Officers Sch
and Air Command and Staff Col-
lege .
Maj. Cronin served with Air
Force units in Alaska, the Repub-
lic of the Philippines, Vietnam,
Thailand and Iceland.
Awards and medals include the
Distinguished Flying Cross, the
Air Medal, the Air Force Commen-
dation Medal and the Combat Read-
iness Medal.
9
Nixon announces cease-fire
From the wires of
United Press International
Here are the words of Presi-
dent Nixon's formal statement to
the nation:
"The following statement is
being issued at this moment in
Washington and Hanoi.
"At 12:30 Paris time today,
January 23, 1973, the agreement
on ending the war and restoring
peace in Vietnam was initialed by
Dr. Henry Kissinger on behalf of
the United States and Special Ad-
visor Le Due Tho on behalf of the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
"The agreement will be formal-
ly signed by the parties partici-
pating in the Paris conference on
Vietnam on January 27, 1973, at
the International Conference Cen-
ter in Paris. The cease-fire
will take affect at 2400 Green-
wich Mean Time, January 27, 1973.
"The United States and the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam
expressed the hope that this a-
greement will insure stable peace
in Vietnam and contribute to thi
preservation of lasting peace
Indochina and Southeast Asia."