5 December 1956 – A Northrop XSM-62 Snark, 53-8172, N-69D test model, fitted with a new 24-hour stellar inertial guidance system, launches from Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex, Florida. It wanders off-course, ignores destruct command, disappears over Brazil. It is found by a farmer in January 1983. The Day They Lost the Snark By J.
Lt. Colonel Dick Arnold was born on August 10, 1940, in Pulaski, New York. After graduating from high school, he attended Purdue University and entered the United States Air Force as an Airman Basic.
During his Air Force career, Dick received his navigator’s wings as a commissioned officer, completed pilot training, and received his bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from the State University of New York, master’s degree in aviation management from Embry-Riddle University, and master’s degree in political science from Auburn University.
He had a distinguished 26-year career with the United States Air Force as a pilot, flight instructor, and educator. He received many Air Force awards during his career including the Distinguished Flying Cross.
After retiring from the Air Force, Dick and his family moved to Bryan, TX, where he served as the Associate Director of Aviation for Easterwood Airport and later as an instructor at Blinn College.
Dick was an active member of First Presbyterian Church of Bryan and served as a Deacon and an Elder. He was also involved with the AOPA, serving as the liaison for Coulter Field, and was active in Civil Air Patrol. He followed his life-long passion for aviation and flew his beloved Bonanza at every opportunity. Dick was also a life member of the American Legion and a member of the Veterans of Foreign War. He also had a love for hunting, shooting, and bowling.
