A Florida native, Major Warren L. "Huey" Long was a well-known member of the C-130 troop carrier world in the 1960s. After an assignment at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska in 1959-63, he was assigned to the 464th Troop Carrier Wing at Pope AFB, North Carolina which was just beginning the transition from the Fairchild C-123 Provider to the newest model of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, the C-130E. Because of his experience, he was assigned to the wing Standardizations/Evaluation flight and was well-known to everyone in the wing. In November 1964 Huey was on temporary duty with the 464th's rotational squadron at Evreux, France when they were selected to transport Belgian paratroopers to Leopoldville in the former Belgian Congo for a rescue mission to free whites who were being held as hostage at Stanleyville by Simba rebels. As the Stan/Eval crew, Huey's crew led the mission with the 322nd Air Division mission commander on board. After dropping their troops, who included the Belgian commander, Col. Charles Laurent, Huey and his crew remained overhead of the airport observing the operation until ground fire damaged their hydraulic system and forced them to return to Leopoldville. The crews on the mission received the 1964 MacKay Trophy for the most meritorious flight of the year by an Air Force aircraft. In 1965 Huey transferred to Langely AFB, Virginia where he remained until 1968 when he transferred to Ching Chuan Kang AB, Taiwan where he joined the 50th Tactical Airlift Squadron of the 314th Tactical Airlift Wing. Although based on Taiwan, the 314th was one of three C-130 wings of the 315th Air Division whose mission was to provide aircraft and crews for operations in Southeast Asia. On March 8, 1969 Huey was on temporary duty at Cam Ranh AB, South Vietnam when he received word that his wife was having surgery and he was being called home on emergency leave. Although it was not his turn to rotate back to CCK, Huey was sent back on the rotator flight. Later that evening the airplane arrived at CCK to find that the airport was below landing minimums due to fog. During a landing attempt the C-130E contacted the ground and crashed. Twelve crewmembers and passengers perished in the crash, including Huey.
Huey's daughter Cindy Long is interested in hearing from anyone who knew her dad. She can be contacted at mtnwoman60@aol.com. Cindy has placed a memorial page for her dad on The Virtual Wall.