By Airman Maurice Casilla, 377th Air Base Wing

KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. — On Sept. 14, 1977, a Boeing EC-135K Stratotanker departing from Kirtland Air Force Base to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, crashed into the Manzano Mountains less than three minutes after a nighttime takeoff, killing all 20 service members aboard. Among them was U.S. Army Lt. Col. Paul T. Murphy, who was assigned to U.S. Readiness Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida.

Nearly 49 years later, retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Douglas Murphy visited Kirtland AFB in June to see the area where his father lost his life. Douglas Murphy was 10 years old at the time of the crash.

“My father, he was certainly my hero,” Murphy said. “He was extremely faithful and loyal to his family, a true patriot.” Murphy said his father grew up in Cincinnati, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1962, served in Vietnam, and later taught mechanical engineering at West Point.

Despite the demands of military service, Murphy said his father remained connected to his family. He remembered him as thoughtful, disciplined and present when he could be, including serving as an assistant coach for his youth football team.

Murphy said the visit became important after he and his wife, Helen, traveled through Albuquerque and realized how close they were to the crash site. He reached out to the installation, and the 377 Air Base Wing — the host wing responsible for providing installation support across Kirtland’s 52,000 acres and more than 109 mission partners — responded immediately. The Wing coordinated safety, environmental, legal, public affairs and security personnel to help the couple get as close as possible to the crash site.

For Murphy, the opportunity to stand near the location where his father’s aircraft went down carried deep personal meaning. He hopes people remember not only the service members killed in the crash, but also the families who continued on after losing them. “Remember who they were and the patriots that they were,” Murphy said. “But also remember the families that were left behind, because that was tough.”

Although the visit could not erase the loss, Murphy said it gave him a chance to honor his father in person. “You never get full closure,” he said. “But this could help.”