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.
After graduating from Woonsocket High School in 1960, he enrolled in ROTC at South Dakota State University to pursue his dream of being a USAF aviator. He completed his BS in Agriculture Ops and was commissioned in 1966.
He attended various flight training schools before completing his tour in Southeast Asia. He flew the F-100 with the 175 TFS/114 TFG with the SDANG out of Joe Foss Field.
Mark completed over 200 combat missions as an F-4D pilot and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. After an assignment in Germany he then joined the South Dakota Air National Guard in 1973. In 1978, he then transferred to the Georgia Air National Guard where he retired in 1984.
Mark continued his education at Augustana University and received his BA in Business Administration in 1986 and MS in Human Resources in 1987. He became a Therapist/Counselor for special needs children for 11 rural school districts before retiring in 1998.
