Sporkmaster, Warren, I just ran across your RFI on this site while searching Google for this very same incident! I might be able to fill in a couple of gaps in your story, as Lt Col Maynard T. Swartz was my dad. As most veterans of his era, he didn’t discuss his military record much, but he did talk about this incident with me and had an original copy of your Dec ’52 Fight Safety Magazine. He spoke highly of your Great Uncle and, believe it or not, almost named me “Tom” after him! My dad’s bends were caused by a slow pressurization leak in his RF-80 cockpit, and he essentially went blind. Bailout was not an option as the sea survival rate was only a few minutes off Keflavik, so Lt Temple stayed glued to him and skillfully talked him all the way down to short final, where mobile control took over to touchdown. Your Great Uncle was written up for a DFC, but for some reason or another, the USAF powers didn’t award it to him, which my dad was upset about. Cleary, his actions were heroic. My dad left the Reserves in ’53 and returned to Omaha, NE, where he was in the commercial printing business until he passed in ’95, while I was stationed in London. Incidentally, per your comment, he was actually one of the first C-47s over Normandy, in the early morning hours of D-Day, as he dropped Pathfinders for the invasion… where he also realized that he had eaten and swallowed an entire cigar he had in his mouth during the sortie! So, thanks to your Great Uncle saving my dad’s life, I just happened to have been born in ’54, graduated from Annapolis in ’78, produced a couple of daughters and retired from the Navy as a CDR/P-3C pilot in 2003. Since then, I’ve been employed as a defense contractor down in Tampa at HQ, USCENTCOM. From my family to yours, a special thanks will always be given for the skill and professionalism of Lt Thomas H. Temple! Best regards, Jerry Jerry… Read more »
Sporkmaster
9 years ago
Thank you for taking the time to write this. I am happy to say thatm my Great Uncle Tommy is still around. I have forwarded your email to may Aunt Teri, his daughter.
Sporkmaster, Warren, I just ran across your RFI on this site while searching Google for this very same incident! I might be able to fill in a couple of gaps in your story, as Lt Col Maynard T. Swartz was my dad. As most veterans of his era, he didn’t discuss his military record much, but he did talk about this incident with me and had an original copy of your Dec ’52 Fight Safety Magazine. He spoke highly of your Great Uncle and, believe it or not, almost named me “Tom” after him! My dad’s bends were caused by a slow pressurization leak in his RF-80 cockpit, and he essentially went blind. Bailout was not an option as the sea survival rate was only a few minutes off Keflavik, so Lt Temple stayed glued to him and skillfully talked him all the way down to short final, where mobile control took over to touchdown. Your Great Uncle was written up for a DFC, but for some reason or another, the USAF powers didn’t award it to him, which my dad was upset about. Cleary, his actions were heroic. My dad left the Reserves in ’53 and returned to Omaha, NE, where he was in the commercial printing business until he passed in ’95, while I was stationed in London. Incidentally, per your comment, he was actually one of the first C-47s over Normandy, in the early morning hours of D-Day, as he dropped Pathfinders for the invasion… where he also realized that he had eaten and swallowed an entire cigar he had in his mouth during the sortie! So, thanks to your Great Uncle saving my dad’s life, I just happened to have been born in ’54, graduated from Annapolis in ’78, produced a couple of daughters and retired from the Navy as a CDR/P-3C pilot in 2003. Since then, I’ve been employed as a defense contractor down in Tampa at HQ, USCENTCOM. From my family to yours, a special thanks will always be given for the skill and professionalism of Lt Thomas H. Temple! Best regards, Jerry Jerry… Read more »
Thank you for taking the time to write this. I am happy to say thatm my Great Uncle Tommy is still around. I have forwarded your email to may Aunt Teri, his daughter.