OTD 1972:
Norman Schwartz & Robert Snoddy were in an ambush during a mission to extract an agent with a snatch (or aerial) pickup from Manchuria in Communist China
http://bit.ly/2Bw1R7x
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Two other CIA officers, John Downey & Richard Fecteau, were on board the plane to hoist the agent into the aircraft.
But unbeknownst to the team, they were about to fly into a trap – the agent on the ground had been turned by the Communist Chinese.
#inmemoriam
As plane came in low for pickup, flying @ only 60 knots, gunfire erupted. Norman & Robert directed aircraft nose up in wake of deadly crossfire, preventing immediate crash.
Engines cut out & plane glided to a controlled crash.
Both Norman & Robert died at the scene.
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Downey & Fecteau survived. The men were captured, tried, and imprisoned by the Chinese. Fecteau was not released until December 1971; Downey was freed in March 1973. Read & watch their story here: http://bit.ly/2BmvGGZ pic.twitter.com/Y5kLI3KNOK
Norman Schwartz was raised in a working-class neighborhood in Louisville, Kentucky & was 5th of 7 siblings. As a teenager, his No. 1 priority was learning to fly.
He joined @USMC in 1943, & became a fighter pilot in Pacific theater during #WWII.
#inmemoriampic.twitter.com/AsAFcmz6zS
February 1948, Norman left @USMC to fly for Civil Air Transport (CAT)–a CIA proprietary company.
He piloted CAT aircraft for 4 years before tragedy in November 1952.
Norman was 29 years old when he died in the line of duty. He was survived by his parents & siblings.
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Robert Snoddy first took up flying in 1940 under Civilian Pilot Training program in Oregon.
He joined @USNavy in 1942 while studying aeronautical engineering at @OregonState
He went on to serve as a Navy pilot in the Pacific.
#inmemoriampic.twitter.com/aNd0ijWj4m
Robert signed on to fly for CAT in June 1948.
He was 31 years old when he made the ultimate sacrifice.
3 weeks after he was killed, his wife gave birth to their daughter, the couple’s only child.
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2004: Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command discovered human remains at the 1952 crash site.
2005: Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory ID’ed remains as Robert Snoddy’s.
To date, Norman Schwartz’s remains have not been found.
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We honored Schwartz & Snoddy with stars on the CIA Memorial Wall in 1998.
Both men are remembered for their unquestionable bravery.
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Very cool for the time. That’s when plans & ships were wooden and men were made of steel.
That looks only *slightly* better than being captured, tortured and killed.
Was the concept similar to the glider extraction technique? How could a human survive such a thing unless insulated in a frame/cage or something similarly protective?
we need more americans like this. R.I.P.
survived by their kids, friends, and that one scene in The Dark Knight.
Who weep does this work during a snatch and grab?
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