Opaque Lucidity

Six Degrees Or Less

The newest episode of Matt's Today in History (see below) deals with the crash of a C-5A Galaxy cargo aircraft in April, 1975. The aircraft was carrying orphans and their escorts to a new life in the United States; half the people on board died. I mentioned that the plane's pilot, Captain Dennis Traynor, and his crew did a remarkable job in an almost impossible situation.

This morning I went to check my e-mail as usual. At the top of my inbox was an e-mail from Colonel Traynor, USAF, Retired. He said little; he mainly just thanked me for keeping the memory alive. A friend of his listens to the podcast and sent him the .mp3 to listen to.

Wow. I e-mailed him back, thanking him for his service and telling him that no one mentioned in one of my shows has ever written (most of them are long gone). I told him I have about a million questions about his career, etc., but that I didn't want to take up his time. I would love to do an interview with him, but I didn't think it would be appropriate to ask. After all, the memories of that day are probably still painful and a man like Colonel Traynor probably believes he could have done more, even though he pulled off a miracle by doing the flying he did. If nothing else, I would love to just talk to him.