Gerald A. “Jerry Cashman F-4E Fatal Accident 1972

From the KY Courier-Journal, September 15, 1972 … ANKARA, Turkey (AP) Two U.S. Air Force pilots,…were killed last Friday when their F-4 Phantom jet fighter crashed into the Mediterranean off southeast Turkey, the American embassy disclosed Wednesday.

The pilots were Lt. Col. Gerald A. Cashman, 40, of Holton, Kan., and Capt. Ronald L. Bewley, 31, of Radcliff, Ky. Their families live in Torrejon, Spain, the embassy said. The plane was on a training flight from an airbase at Incirlik, southeast Turkey, officials said. They said contact with the plane was lost an hour after takeoff. Bits of aircraft debris and a one-man life raft were sighted 11 miles off the coast but there was no sign of survivors. Officials said the cause of the crash was not yet known.

Prior to his F-4 assignment, Jerry flew the F-100 with the 614TFS out of Torrejon, Spain.