CONFESSIONS OF AN ORAL HISTORIAN

“The Bold and Complicated Life of Lyman W. Keele, Jr., First Officer aboard Southern Airways Flight 242” – my interview with Delta Airlines Captain Ron Crysler (ret.)

Posted on November 22, 2014 by cbdavids

Ensign Lyman W. Keele, Jr. with his wife Cathleen

CD: Ron, thank you for taking the time to speak with me today about Lyman W. Keele, Jr. and the events surrounding his death after the April 4, 1977 crash of Southern Airways Flight 242. You worked together at Southern, and you were both reservists at Dobbins Air Force Base in Marietta, GA. But first, please describe how you became an A-7 attack pilot aboard the USS Oriskany in the final months of the Vietnam War.

RC: “I finished four years at Auburn in August of 1968, and the day I graduated I took a bus to Pensacola, Florida. So I graduated on Saturday, and by Monday I had started flight school in Pensacola. It took me six weeks to finish my primary training on T-34’s at Saufley Field – these are Continue reading →

Posted in The Tragic Crash of Southern Airways Flight 242 | Tagged Lyman W. Keele, New Hope GA, Ron Crysler, Southern Airways Flight 242, USS Oriskany | 9 Comments

“The Rolling Stones: Exclusive Photographs taken during the recording of Brown Sugar, Wild Horses, and You Gotta Move” – by Clifford Davids

Posted on April 11, 2014 by cbdavids

The fans at Altamont Speedway

December of 1969 was a fitting end to a turbulent decade in American history: the Black Panthers were under attack in LA; The Jackson 5 made their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show; John Lennon was offered the lead role in Jesus Christ Superstar; Arlo Guthrie released Alice’s Restaurant; and on Sunday, December the 6th, more then 300,000 ecstatic fans attended the Rolling Stones free concert at the Altamont Speedway in California. Four people died that on tragic day, and countless others were injured. Some critics claim it was the final death knell for the “Age of Aquarius” – a total knockout blow to the abiding myth of rock & roll innocence. Continue reading →

Posted in Muscle Shoals Sound Studio | Tagged Ahmet Ertegun, Altamont Speedway, Jimmy Johnson, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Sticky Fingers, The Rolling Stones, The Swampers | 7 Comments

“A Conversation with Jimmy Johnson about Annette Snell’s last recording session at the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio” – by Clifford Davids

Posted on April 9, 2014 by cbdavids

Jimmy Johnson with Ronee Blakley

Jimmy Johnson brags that back in the day, back when the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio was firing on all cylinders, he recorded a new album every week. Jimmy stayed in demand as both a music producer and sound engineer, but he was also the versatile guitarist for the sound studio’s legendary house band, famously called “The Swampers.” When I first contacted him, we spoke about Annette Snell, the R&B singer who died in the Southern 242 plane crash on April 4, 1977, just hours after completing her first recording session at his studio. Johnson remembered her well, and he recalled her powerful drive and enormous talent. We also spoke about his accomplished younger brother Earl, an engineer who tragically lost his life in the same plane crash. Continue reading →

Posted in Muscle Shoals Sound Studio | Tagged Annette Snell, Ava Aldridge, Jimmy Johnson, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Rick Hall, The Swampers | 3 Comments

“From Muscle Shoals, Alabama to New Hope, Georgia: The Long Odyssey of Jimmy Johnson” – by Clifford Davids

Posted on April 8, 2014 by cbdavids

Jimmy at Earl’s graduation from Auburn

Jimmy Johnson has scaled Olympian musical heights. He was the guitar player for the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (aka “The Swampers”), as well as a member of two legendary hit factories: Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Al, and the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in nearby Sheffield. Johnson has had a long and storied recording career – the Swampers’ indelible discography is awe inspiring in its length, depth, and breadth, tracing an arc from rhythm & blues to rock and roll; from crunchy folk to soaring disco; from blue eyed soul to classic country ballads and beyond.

Critics and musicologists alike sing the group’s infinite praises, attempting to define the vision that allowed them to shine so brightly. Almost five Continue reading →

Posted in Muscle Shoals Sound Studio | Tagged Annette Snell, Jimmy Johnson, Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, New Hope Georgia, Southern Airways Flight 242, The Muscle Shoals Sound Studio | 7 Comments

Capturing Paul John Knowles: Exclusive Photographs From The Arrest Of “The Casanova Killer” – by Clifford Davids

Posted on January 29, 2014 by cbdavids

Paul John Knowles

Paul John Knowles was a nasty piece of work. He met his violent end on December 18, 1974, sprawled across the backseat of a sheriff’s sedan after making his final bid for freedom. He failed spectacularly, taking three bullets to the chest, but not before securing his coveted spot on the All-America hit list as one of the most unpredictable and depraved rampage killers of his generation.

He never had a chance to display the courtroom swagger of a Ted Bundy, or dine out with the savage voracity of a Jeffrey Dahmer. But he did possess a monumental cruelty, one that favored the intimate feel of a nylon stocking as it slowly tightened around a woman’s neck. Still, he was not averse to the coldly plunging knife, or even a swift bullet to the back of his victim’s head. Continue reading →

Posted in True Crime | Tagged Angela Kovic, GBI Agent Ron Angel, Joseph A Blissit MD, New Dominion Pictures, Paul John Knowles, Sandy Fawkes, Sheriff Earl Lee | 15 Comments

A Rough And Perilous WWII Journey To China Aboard The “Yokahama Express” – by Clifford Davids

Posted on December 26, 2013 by cbdavids

Lt. C. James Crysler

I found the few surviving pages of C. James Crysler’s WWII journal buried in a wooden trunk in his son’s basement – a choice man cave filled with old carpentry tools, hunting gear, a huge flat screen TV, one partially restored 8mm film projector, and a collection of military records and combat medals earned by both father and son in two American wars fought three decades apart. There are only 11 handwritten pages left in his war-diary, but it reads like the classic Hollywood script for a young Jimmy Stewart: the improbable delivery of a new B-25 bomber from Florida to India by a freshly-minted pilot and his crew, including a scene in a seedy Brazilian night club filled with German soldiers after his dangerous trans-Atlantic crossing. It is the defining record of his perilous journey, and the beginning of his heroic tale. Continue reading →

Posted in WWII and the "Flying Tigers" | Tagged 1st American Volunteer Group, C. James crysler, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, Flying Tigers, Morrison Field, South Atlantic Transport Route | 2 Comments

“The Long Walk To China” – How C. James Crysler Joined The Legendary Flying Tigers – by Clifford Davids

Posted on December 15, 2013 by cbdavids

Maj. Gen. Claire Lee Chennault, commander of the “Flying Tigers”

The following interview with C. James Crysler first appeared in the January 28, 1944 edition of the “Curtiss Wright-er,” the newsletter for the Curtiss-Wright Corp., maker of the rugged P-40 Warhawk. Although I never met Crysler, this interview paints the colorful portrait of a high-flying 27-year-old WWII fighter pilot who had just returned home on furlough. He later went on to become a USAF Command Pilot and a dedicated family man. He spoke openly about his war exploits, and he never forgot about his service with the 1st American Volunteer Group, otherwise known as the legendary “Flying Tigers.” After he died, he gave his service records to his son Ron. Perhaps he knew they would provide the proof he might need one day to claim his rightful spot on their roster.
Continue reading →

Posted in WWII and the "Flying Tigers" | Tagged 1st American Volunteer Group, C. James crysler, claire chennault, Col. Robert L. Scott, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, Flying Tigers | 7 Comments

A Former Navy Attack Pilot Sets The Record Straight About His Father’s Service With The “Flying Tigers” – by Clifford Davids

Posted on December 11, 2013 by cbdavids

LTJG Ron Crysler (ca. 1971)

It’s funny how some stories just come knocking at your door. Ron Crysler played an important role in the aftermath of the April 4, 1977 crash of Southern Airways Flight 242, a story I have written about extensively. After the accident, he drove the distraught wife of co-pilot Lyman W. Keele, Jr. to Kennestone Hospital, and then assisted in identifying her husband’s body. Three days later, he was one of the six pall-bearers at Keele’s funeral. After we met in 2013, he offered to help out in any way with my Southern 242 Oral History Project. I accepted, and one week later we met at his home outside of Atlanta, GA for an interview. Continue reading →

Posted in WWII and the "Flying Tigers" | Tagged 1st American Volunteer Group, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, Dobbins Air Force Base, Flying Tigers, Kumning China, Ron Cyrsler, Southern Airways Flight 242, USS Oriskany | 2 Comments

“The Tragic Tale of Robert St. Martin, the Flight Controller Tracking Southern Airways Flight 242” – by Clifford B. Davids

Posted on October 18, 2013 by cbdavids

Controller at the display

Two months after the crash of Southern Airways Flight 242, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) conducted a five day public hearing at the Sheraton-Biltmore Hotel in Atlanta, GA. The witnesses included crash survivors, internal investigators, engine specialists, air traffic controllers, meteorologists, and a host of other experts directly involved with the crash investigation. Their testimony highlighted the series of fatal mistakes that led to the accident on April 4, 1977, claiming the lives of 63 people on board and nine others on the ground.

One of the prime miscues occurred 16 minutes into the flight from Huntsville, AL to Atlanta, right after the plane Continue reading →

Posted in The Tragic Crash of Southern Airways Flight 242 | Tagged Atlanta Approach Control, Cornelius Moore Airport, Darthie Nell St. Martin, Hampton Air Control Center, Robert St. Martin, Southern Airways Flight 242 | 5 Comments

“Anatomy of a Crash Scene” – Action Photographs taken after the crash of Southern Airways Flight 242 – by Clifford B. Davids

Posted on September 8, 2013 by cbdavids

FA Sandy Purl at the 20th reunion in 1997

Flight Attendant Sandy Purl at the Southern Airways Flight 242 memorial service in 1997

The first responders were already gearing up for a fiery rescue in the moments before the co-pilot of Southern Airways Flight 242 lowered his landing gear and touched down dead center on a narrow strip of highway in New Hope, GA. Bobby Bruce, an employee of the city of Dallas, GA, had been quietly working atop Cemetery Hill when he saw the crippled jetliner plunge to earth. He immediately sent an emergency alert from the city radio in his truck to the dispatcher at the nearby Dallas Police Department – it became the first warning signal that a terrible tragedy was about to overwhelm the rural community.

The Dallas Police Department contacted the Dallas Fire Department, alerting Assistant Fire Chief Elsberry at the Standard Oil gas station where he worked. The nearby Union City Fire Department was also notified. Continue reading →

Posted in The Tragic Crash of Southern Airways Flight 242 | Tagged Dallas New Era, Dr. Jerry Worthy, Fire Chief David Hilton, Joe Parker, Johnnie Wigley, New Hope GA, New Hope VFD Chief John Clayton, Southern Airways Flight 242 | 21 Comments

“A Dry Tomb Burial for Southern Airways Flight 242” – by Clifford B. Davids

Posted on August 27, 2013 by cbdavids

Braly Sports Complex in Dallas, GA

The exact spot where Southern 242’s wreckage is buried remains a mystery – but it can be found in a very public place. Early on into this oral history project I discovered that the remains were in fact quickly and quietly buried near the crash site. Every year, thousands of local sports fans unknowingly visit this forgotten tomb during games at the Samuel U. Braly Sports Complex in Dallas, GA. How is this even possible? The story begins right after the plane tragically lost both engines in a hailstorm on April 4, 1977. Continue reading →

Posted in The Tragic Crash of Southern Airways Flight 242 | Tagged Samuel U. Braly Sports Complex, Southern Airways Flight 242 | 7 Comments

“Crash Site Confidential” – The NTSB Photographs Of Southern Airways Flight 242 – by Clifford B. Davids

Posted on August 18, 2013 by cbdavids

Southern Airways fleet of 404’s in Atlanta, GA (Photo ca. 1972)

The National Transportation Safety Board is iconic. Everyone recognizes their intrepid investigators, clad in navy blue shirts emblazoned with the yellow “NTSB” logo, swarming all over the smoldering wreckage of airplanes, ships, and trains. Established in 1967, the Board is mandated by the U. S. Government to conduct independent investigations into every type of accident on land, air, and sea. Their final recommendations often result in significant changes to the existing transportation safety regulations. Continue reading →

Posted in The Tragic Crash of Southern Airways Flight 242 | Tagged New Hope GA, Southern Airways Flight 242 | 32 Comments

“How She Survived: Flight Attendant Catherine Cooper and the Lucky Few from Flight 242” – by Clifford B. Davids

Posted on July 8, 2013 by cbdavids

Catherine Cooper in 1997

The tragic crash of Southern Airways Flight 242 is a cruel story of destruction, mayhem, and death. The captain died from his injuries, and the first officer expired while he was being medivaced to Kennestone Hospital. Twenty passengers died from fatal injuries due to severe burns and smoke inhalation, and 31 others were killed from crushing trauma to both the head and the upper body. Nine more passengers succumbed to a combination of trauma, burns, and smoke inhalation. The last victim lingered for over two months before he passed.

But there were also 22 lucky survivors, including both of the flight attendants – Catherine Lemoine Cooper and Sandy Purl. The survivors sustained a variety of injuries: most were burned about the head, face, hands, and lower Continue reading →

Posted in The Tragic Crash of Southern Airways Flight 242 | Tagged Catherine Cooper, New Hope GA, Southern Airways Flight 242 | 15 Comments

“The Dead-Stick Descent of Southern Airways Flight 242” – by Clifford B. Davids

Posted on June 26, 2013 by cbdavids

Southern Airways DC-9

The final moments aboard Southern Airways Flight 242 were chaotic yet controlled: the first officer was searching in vain for a suitable runway; the pilot was furiously trying to restart the disabled engines; and the two flight attendants were keeping the unnerved passengers calm and focused during the hurried preparations for an unlikely forced landing.

First Officer Lyman Keele, Jr., a former Navy fighter pilot with more than 100 combat missions under his belt, had to quickly master the art of piloting a fully disabled McDonnell Douglas DC-9 after they lost both engines in a hailstorm – only 16 minutes after takeoff. The glide ratio for a DC-9 is approximately 15:1, depending on the weather conditions, so when the plane lost thrust at 17,000 feet, he had to quickly find a landing site. But after piloting the powerless aircraft for eight minutes in a free-falling glide, he finally ran out of time. Keele was forced to make a “dead-stick” landing on a narrow, Continue reading →

Posted in The Tragic Crash of Southern Airways Flight 242 | Tagged Jr., Lyman W. Keele, New Hope GA, Southern Airways Flight 242 | 11 Comments

“Annette Snell: Soul Diva aboard Southern Airways Flight 242” – by Clifford B. Davids

Posted on June 16, 2013 by cbdavids

Annette Snell in NYC

It was late in the morning on April 4, 1977, when a jubilant Annette Snell returned to the building at 3614 Jackson Highway in Sheffield, Alabama. She had spent the past week there recording her first album, and all of the guys at the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio assured her the new songs would power straight up the Billboard 100. She knew they could make it happen too – they had done it a decade earlier with a singer named Aretha Franklin, helping her to become the undisputed queen of soul by jump starting her stalled career with monster hits like “Respect,” and the classic “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.”

She took one last look around, and then hurriedly left the studio with just enough time to grab her things Continue reading →

Posted in Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, The Tragic Crash of Southern Airways Flight 242 | Tagged Annette Snell, Buddy Killen, Mar-Vells, Soundshop Recording Studios, Southern Airways Flight 242, The Fabulettes, The Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, The Swampers, Tony Drake | 9 Comments

“Shock and Awe: William V. Gudaitis and the Military Secrets aboard Southern Airways Flight 242” – by Clifford B. Davids

Posted on June 4, 2013 by cbdavids

Werner von Braun and JFK at Redstone Arsenal in 1963

On April 4, 1977, William V. Gudaitis boarded the ill-fated Southern Airways Flight 242 in Huntsville, AL as he headed to a meeting at Raytheon Co. in Lexington, MA. He was a top scientist for the Redstone Arsenal, and his briefcase contained top-secret documents that detailed a revolutionary new missile design – one that would completely change the existing paradigm. It was called the “Patriot Air Defense Missile System,” and the plans he carried would soon become the prototype for the next generation of guided missile defense. He did not survive the tragic crash in New Hope, GA, but his briefcase did. Once again, Redstone would ride triumphant.

Redstone Arsenal has always served as ground zero for the U.S. Army’s missile and rocket programs. Originally built in 1941 as an assembly plant for the manufacturing Continue reading →

Posted in The Tragic Crash of Southern Airways Flight 242 | Tagged Marshall Space Flight Senter, Patriot Air Defense Missile System, Redstone Arsenal, Southern Airways Flight 242, Werner von Braun, William V. Gudaitis | 5 Comments

“Hanging Mary and the Haunted Asheville Orphanage” – by Clifford B. Davids

Posted on May 15, 2013 by cbdavids

Hanging Mary and her cat “Shadows,” posing in the Little Girls’ Dormitory

Mary’s last hanging was languorous as she slowly swayed from the third floor balcony of the orphanage dormitory. The carefully tied noose was tied flawlessly, and it fit perfectly around her slender neck. She quietly peeked from underneath her linen hood, hoping that the children watching on the stairs below would always remember her every twist and turn.

The orphans were mesmerized. A few of the older children recalled her past hangings, but the little ones had only heard the stories. They could all recite the rhyme about her first “collaring” down at the dairy barn 15 years earlier, and they sang it over and over as she swung: “Hanging Mary stole some rope, climbed upon a box of soap, tied a knot down at the dairy, slipped and fell, poor Hanging Mary…” Continue reading →

Posted in My Haunted American South | Tagged Hanging Mary, Shadows the Cat, The Haunted Orphanage, the rope ballet | 11 Comments

“The Alienist, his observant Daughter, and the Hidden Treasure of New Hope Church” – by Clifford B. Davids

Posted on May 14, 2013 by cbdavids

“The Alienist”

New Hope, GA has seen its fair share of bounders, rounders, and hooligans seeking their fortune. Ever since the bloody Battle of New Hope Church in May of 1864, every conceivable type of grifter has drifted into town, searching for the gold rumored to be hidden in a tunnel beneath that historic church. The Sons of the Confederacy have witnessed them come and go over the decades, but they have all left empty handed. None have been able to sneak past the Ghost Sentry, that intrepid soldier who has guarded its entrance for over 150 years. But there was one cunning desperado, a man of immense wealth and taste, who came very close indeed. Continue reading →

Posted in My Haunted American South | Tagged Ghost Sentry, New Hope GA, the Alienist, The Battle of New Hope Church | 10 Comments

“The Daughter of Southern Airways Flight 242’s First Officer Finally Speaks Out” – by Clifford B. Davids

Posted on May 4, 2013 by cbdavids

Lyman W. Keele, Jr. returns home from Vietnam

Lyman W. Keele, Jr. returns home from the war in Vietnam

Lyman W. Keele, Jr. was a natural born aviator. After graduating from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1966, he joined the U. S. Navy and received his flight training at the Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida. He was assigned to the carrier USS Hancock, and he flew over 100 combat missions during the war in Vietnam. He also provided air support for both ground combat forces and troop rescue operations. Keele earned numerous bronze and gold Air Medals for his prowess, as well as a Navy Commendation Medal for “heroic achievement as a pilot of jet aircraft while attached to Attack Squadron 212 aboard the USS Hancock.” The man could flat-out fly an airplane. Continue reading →

Posted in The Tragic Crash of Southern Airways Flight 242 | Tagged Jr., Lyman W. Keele, New Hope Georgia, Southern Airways Flight 242, Tiffany Keele Grana | 30 Comments

“The Ghost Sentry and the Secret Tunnel Under New Hope Church” – by Clifford B. Davids

Posted on May 1, 2013 by cbdavids

New Hope Church

Some time ago I found myself visiting Dallas, GA, riding along with the sons of the Confederacy as they refreshed the flags on their ancestors’ graves. They were a dedicated group of guys, and our journey took us into the most remote corners of Paulding County. At the end of the day we found ourselves in the parking lot of the New Hope Church, site of a bloody Civil War battle in 1864. They had finished their task and called it a job well done, so we celebrated with a cold coke and handshakes all around. As we spoke, they pointed out the monument and flag across the street, a testament to the hundreds of Confederate soldiers who died in that bloody battle. Continue reading →

Posted in My Haunted American South, The Tragic Crash of Southern Airways Flight 242 | Tagged Civil War Ghosts, Confederate battle flag, General William T. Sherman, Ghost Sentry, Hell Hole, lost confederate gold, New Hope GA, Secret Tunnel under New Hope Church, The Battle of New Hope Church | 35 Comments