Oxcart Legacy Tour: Paying Tribute

Saturday, the Roadrunners were honored and paid tribute to fallen A-12 pilots at CIA headquarters-- Today a visit was made to the final resting places of two A-12 program personnel at Arlington National Cemetery-Major General Douglas Nelson and Col. Ray Schrecengost.

Ray's daughter Cynthia Miller and her husband Ed continues to support and honor the legacy of the Roadrunners attended the IMAX  A-12 Oxcart theatre event at the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia on Friday.

Roadrunner President and Director of the Nevada Aerospace Hall of Fame (NVAHOF) was joined at Arlington by Connie Pardew, Director of Northern Nevada Communications for NVAHOF and Mike Schmitz, Roadrunner photographer on a overcast day where they walked among the rows and rows of gravesites.

"We shared the feelings of loss and the appreciation of their contribution to our country and the legacy of the Oxcart program," said Barnes. 'It was our mission today to pay our respects."
 
Nelson who passed away in 2005 was inducted into the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame in 2004.  Among his many achievements, Nelson was assigned in November 1961 to Headquarters U.S. Air Force with duty station in Las Vegas, Nev.   Nelson was Chief of Operations of an Air Force Unit supporting the Oxcart (A-12) program.  Amid the wildlife, tumbleweeds and desert winds of southern Nevada a new system was to be tested that could go higher and faster than the U-2.  The A-12, a sleek Mach 3, highly swept delta-winged aircraft would set the stage for swift reconnaissance over hot spots around the globe during the Cold War.

Nelson spent three years there during the program. Nelson flew in the A-12 trainer. He had said once it was a different world in that aircraft.  Nelson went on to be the first Wing Commander at Beale Air Force Base in California for the SR-71. Nelson and Col. Ray Haupt ferried the first SR-71 trainer to Beale in January, 1966.

Schrecengost was  Chief of Operations and Training of the 1129th Special Activities Squadron (A-12 unit) north of Las Vegas, While performing duties as Chief of Training, Ray was promoted to Lt. Col. in February 1966, and shortly thereafter was moved into the Deputy Commander for Operations job.

The three also visited the resting place of Francis Gary Powers. Powers was a U-2 pilot for the CIA and was shot down and captured by the Soviets on May 1, 1960. He spent 2 years in prison before being exchanged  in a 'spy swap' with KGB agent Rudolf Abel, a Soviet colonel who was caught by the FBI and put in jail for espionage.

"Anyone who has a chance should visit Arlington," said Pardew. 'It is overwhelming when you see the thousands upon thousands of final resting places.---all who have served their fellow man."

Submitted by Connie Pardew
Photos by TD Barnes

.