Nov. 9, 2007
*MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. *Two nationally recognized and highly regarded members of the Civil Air Patrol Col. Edwin W. Lewis Jr.,director of operations for CAP’s Pacific Region, and Col. Dion E. DeCamp, commander of CAP’s Nevada Wing died Thursday evening when their CAP plane crashed south of Las Vegas.
Lewis had traveled to Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas to drop off a CAP airplane to be used as an airshow display. He and DeCamp were apparently en route to Rosamond,Calif., Lewis’ hometown, when the crash occurred.
Lewis and DeCamp had enjoyed long and distinguished careers, both in the U.S. Air Force and the Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the Air Force. Most recently, both men were actively involved in the search for legendary American aviator Steve Fossett.
Lewis, 71, had served in the Civil Air Patrol for more than 50 years. He was a former national vice commander, elected in August 1993. He served in that capacity for one year. Before that, he served as Pacific Region commander for four years. He also was California Wing commander from 1978 to 1982.
Lewis was both a CAP and USAF command pilot with more than 28,000 flight hours. He retired from Pan Am as a commercial airline pilot in 1989 to become a
Lewis’ military awards include the Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Air Medals, Meritorious Service Medal and others. His CAP awards include Distinguished Service Medals, Exceptional and Meritorious Service Awards, Gill Rob Wilson Award, the Search and Rescue ribbon, and others.
He is married to the former Midge Chrestenson. They have two adult sons, Eric and Steven.
Lewis was a region advisor for the Fossett search.
DeCamp, 73, of Reno, Nev., has been commander of the Nevada Wing since 2003. Most recently, he led the wing’s initial search efforts for Fossett, who disappeared on Labor Day during a solo flight in Nevada. The search for Fossett, who has yet to be found, was the largest in the Civil Air Patrol’s modern-day history.
DeCamp is married to CAP Lt. Col. E.J. Smith, who also served as search Incident Commander during the Fossett mission. He is survived by adult son, Michael and two daughters, Kristin and Gayle.
Col. DeCamp joined CAP in 1994 having served as Nevada Wing director of operations, vice commander, representative to the Nevada state SAR Board and Pacific Region director of operations training before becoming Nevada Wing commander. DeCamp was a CAP and USAF command pilot with more than 27,000 flight hours, and was retired from the California Air National Guard, served in Vietnam and flew C-130 missions worldwide. He retired, as Captain, from American Airlines in 1994. The cause of the Thursday evening’s crash is unknown at this time. A full investigation of the crash by the National Transportation Safety Board is scheduled to begin this morning.
"The CAP family is deeply saddened by this tremendous loss," said Brig. Gen. Amy S. Courter, CAP interim national commander. "There were no finer members than Col. DeCamp and Col. Lewis. Their illustrious volunteer service, which collective spanned more than seven decades, touched innumerable lives and now, in sorrow, consoles those left behind as a testament to their dedication and commitment to the citizens of their respective communities."
The Civil Air Patrol was founded on Dec. 1, 1941, less than a week before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into World War II. Today, CAP performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the AFRCC with saving 105 lives in fiscal year 2007.
In addition to their search and rescue duties, CAP volunteers perform
homeland security, disaster relief and counterdrug missions at the request
of federal, state and local agencies. Members also play a leading role in
aerospace education and serve as mentors to the more than 22,000 young
people currently participating in the CAP cadet program.
The Fossett coverage has been stitched so it can be easily removed from the magazine and National Headquarters Public Affairs has printed an additional 5,000 copies of these pages. That means that nationwide our wings, squadrons and units will have approximately 63,000 copies that can be used to build upon the phenomenal publicity we have already received.
This mission captured the world’s imagination and CAP was the focal point of the lion’s share of the coverage. The /Volunteer/ paints a vivid and truly fascinating picture for the reader of who we are and what we are about as an organization. As a result, even if your wing did not participate in the search, all wings are encouraged to embrace this marketing, communications, and recruitment opportunity by ensuring that your local media, elected officials, and emergency service providers are provided a copy of these stories and that you also make it accessible to the military in your areas as well as the general public by leaving copies in high traffic areas.
Coordinating collection of the pullout after the members have had a
chance to read the magazine can be easily accomplished in numerous ways.
Please think about what will work best in your wing and region and have a
plan in place when the magazine is delivered. Also, please give careful
consideration to how many of the 5,000 special printing you would like to
receive. NHQ PA will do a call for orders in the coming weeks.
9 times the square root of tire pressure approximates the hydroplaning speed of normal tires. Make sure your tires are properly inflated to ensure their integrity and strength. Replace tires when the tread is worn. If you have a blowout, hitting the brakes can increase the loss of control. It is better to keep your speed up and slow gently.