Major Warren L. "Huey" Long
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.