Photo By David Perry | Veteran Spotlight: Lynn Walker is a U.S. Air Force veteran, having served in the...... read more read more
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HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah – Today’s spotlight is U.S. Air Force veteran Lynn Walker.
Walker grew up in southwestern Wyoming. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1968, serving 20 years before retiring in 1988.
While in the Air Force, he worked as a loadmaster on C-124s in Alaska and participated in search and rescue operations on an HC-130.
He also spent three years in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War and participated in many different missions, working on several different aircraft. Walker worked for a year on C-47s, a year on C-119s and a year on C-130s.
One of his most memorable military experiences happened while stationed in Alaska. Walker was part of a search and rescue operation in the middle of winter. Working aboard an HC-130 with refueling capability, he was sent with two helicopters to search for a group of 12 civilian snowmobilers who were reported lost in the central Alaskan wilderness.
“After an extensive initial search, we were able to find the lost snowmobilers,” Walker said. “However, by that point all of our search aircraft were very low on fuel.”
The two helicopters were forced to land and wait with the lost group, while the HC-130 returned to Eielson AFB in Fairbanks to refuel.
“The temperature was so cold,” Walker said. “We didn’t dare shut down the engines for fear they would not start again. We had to get authorization from the wing commander to ‘hot fuel,’ which at that time, with these aircraft, was not a normal procedure. We then were able to return to the helicopters and snowmobilers, refuel the helicopters and safely evacuate all involved.”
Walker now resides in Roy, Utah, and enjoys volunteering at Valley View Elementary School in Roy, tutoring students who need help with reading skills. He also volunteers at the Hill Aerospace Museum and enjoys gardening in his personal time.
Thank you for your service, Lynn Walker!
| Date Taken: | 11.03.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 12.06.2018 14:53 |
| Story ID: | 300106 |
| Location: | HILL AIR FORCE BASE, UTAH, US |
| Web Views: | 84 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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