30 November 1957 – Capt Benny Lacombe is killed when he unsuccessfully attempts to bail out of Lockheed U-2A, 56-6704, Article 371, 13 miles SE of Laughlin AFB. Ejection seats had not yet been fitted to U-2s at this point. The history of the U-2 program is fraught with fatalities and crashes. “CIA pilots Wilburn S.
“Life is a form of magic! you never know what will happen next. For me, even when it’s bad, it’s been very good.”
Kile Berg enlisted in the U.S. Air Force on April 11, 1958, and entered the Aviation Cadet Program of the Air Force on December 10, 1958. He earned his commission and pilot wings at Greenville AFB, Mississippi, on March 18, 1960.
After completing Gunnery School and F-100 Super Sabre Combat Crew Training, Lt Berg served as an F-100 and F-105 Thunderchief pilot with the 7th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Spangdahlem AB, West Germany, from March 1961 to March 1965, followed by service as an F-105 pilot with the 563rd Tactical Fighter Squadron at McConnell AFB, Kansas, from March to April 1965. Capt Berg then deployed to Southeast Asia with his unit, and was forced to eject over North Vietnam and was taken as a Prisoner of War on July 27, 1965.
After spending 2,758 days in captivity, Maj Berg was released during Operation Homecoming on February 12, 1973. He was briefly hospitalized to recover from his injuries at March AFB, California, and then received an Air Force Institute of Technology assignment to the University of Washington, where he received his master’s degree in Accounting in March 1976. Col Berg’s final assignment was as a C-141 Starlifter pilot and Assistant Operations Officer for the 4th Military Airlift Squadron of the 62nd Military Airlift Wing at McChord AFB, Washington, from March 1976 until he retired from the Air Force on June 1, 1978.
(source: Veteran Tributes Https://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=1023)
