Timothy Wayne 'Tim' Kirby was the son of Mary Theresa Baglietto (April 21, 1921 - April 5, 1985) and Major Horace Wilfred Kirby (1917-1999).
Tim graduated from Jacksonville High School, Jacksonville, Arkansas, in 1959. He then attended the University of Central Arkansas at Conway, Arkansas. Tim played football at University Central Arkansas and there he met Dorothy 'Dotty' Ann Richardson, who was a cheer leader. Tim and Dotty were married on August 10, 1963 at the Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Stuttgart, Arkansas and then graduated from UCA on August 11, 1963.
He attended Officer Training School at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force on February 4, 1964.
Tim and Dotty arrived at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma where he became a member of Pilot Training Class 65-F, on March 9, 1964.
He was assigned to the 3575th Pilot Training Wing, 3576th Pilot Training Squadron, Flight 3, 'Speedy' where he flew the T-37B 'Tweet'.
Tim first attended preliminary ground school, which comprised of Aviation Physiology and Aircraft Engineering, then proceeded to the flight line for his Primary Flight Training.
At 4:45, on the afternoon of April 16, 1964, Tim and his instructor pilot, First Lieutenant Thomas Michael Griffin, were practicing spins during a pre-solo flight four miles east of Medford, about 30 miles north north-east of Vance Air Force Base. A radio call was then heard, stating they were going to eject from their disabled T-37B aircraft. They both ejected safely and were observed waving to other aircraft in the area while hanging in their parachutes.
The clay ground was very hard, after having been plowed and then dried out by the hot spring winds, which were estimated at 40 to 45 miles an hour that afternoon. As a result, their impact with the ground disabled both of them and they were then dragged over one half mile across a rough plowed wheat field. Lieutenant Griffin then broke through a three strand barbed wire fence and went another 300 yards before becoming tangled in a second barbed wire fence. Lieutenant Kirby was found lying at the edge of the field with his chute tangled in the barbed wire fence.
The HH-43 'Pedro' helicopter was launched from Vance Air Force Base but was unable to land at the accident site due to the gusting high winds. An ambulance from Medford arrived and Lieutenant Griffin was found to have perished. Dr. H. H. Moore, who had ridden in the ambulance, rendered first aid to Tim, who was taken to the hospital in Blackwell. Later that day, Tim was transported to St. Anthony's Hospital in Oklahoma City, about 100 miles south east of the accident site. Tim never regained conscious and died three days later.
On Friday, April 17, 1964, the headline in the Enid Morning News read; Vance Base Instructor-Pilot Dragged to Death by Chute.
As the class leader, I was asked by Dotty to try and locate Tim's wedding wing, which had been torn from his hand while being dragged across the field. On Saturday morning, a number of classmates went to the field and although the task seemed impossible, we searched the huge field for his wedding ring. God must have looked down on us and given his blessing, as the ring was found and returned to Dotty, who placed it back on Tim's hand before he died the following day, on April 19, 1964.
On Tuesday, April 21, 1964, the Enid Morning News announced; Second Crash Victim Dies;
Freak Mishap
Second Crash Victim Dies
The second fatality was rung up Sunday afternoon in the Vance Air Force base T-37 jet training plane crash neat Medford last Thursday with the death of Second Lieutenant Timothy W. Kirby, 22.
Kirby was a student pilot in the undergraduate training program. His Instructor, 1st Lt. Thomas Michael Griffin, 24, of New Carlisle, Ind., died Thursday.
Both men ejected from a crippled trainer plane before it crashed and burned, but received fatal injuries when their chutes were caught in the high winds and the men were dragged into wire fences before stopping.
An autopsy conducted at Oklahoma City where Lieutenant Kirby was taken from Blackwell for treatment, revealed head injuries caused his death.
Lieutenant Kirby leaves his widower, Dorothy; his parents Maj. And Mrs. Horace W. Kirby of Manhattan, Kan. He entered the Air Force last November and received his commission at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, February 4 and came to Vance for pilot training. Funeral arrangements are to be announced.
It was never determined what was wrong with the aircraft leading to their ejection while it was in a spin.
Tim is buried beside his father at Golden Gate National Cemetery.
Several months later, we were notified that Dotty Ann Kirby had given birth to a son, Timothy Wayne Kirby, II.
Dotty and Bill Bateman were married in 1980. Dotty died on May 1, 1991 from cancer.
Military Information: 2ND LT, US AIR FORCE
Tim graduated from Jacksonville High School, Jacksonville, Arkansas, in 1959. He then attended the University of Central Arkansas at Conway, Arkansas. Tim played football at University Central Arkansas and there he met Dorothy 'Dotty' Ann Richardson, who was a cheer leader. Tim and Dotty were married on August 10, 1963 at the Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Stuttgart, Arkansas and then graduated from UCA on August 11, 1963.
He attended Officer Training School at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force on February 4, 1964.
Tim and Dotty arrived at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma where he became a member of Pilot Training Class 65-F, on March 9, 1964.
He was assigned to the 3575th Pilot Training Wing, 3576th Pilot Training Squadron, Flight 3, 'Speedy' where he flew the T-37B 'Tweet'.
Tim first attended preliminary ground school, which comprised of Aviation Physiology and Aircraft Engineering, then proceeded to the flight line for his Primary Flight Training.
At 4:45, on the afternoon of April 16, 1964, Tim and his instructor pilot, First Lieutenant Thomas Michael Griffin, were practicing spins during a pre-solo flight four miles east of Medford, about 30 miles north north-east of Vance Air Force Base. A radio call was then heard, stating they were going to eject from their disabled T-37B aircraft. They both ejected safely and were observed waving to other aircraft in the area while hanging in their parachutes.
The clay ground was very hard, after having been plowed and then dried out by the hot spring winds, which were estimated at 40 to 45 miles an hour that afternoon. As a result, their impact with the ground disabled both of them and they were then dragged over one half mile across a rough plowed wheat field. Lieutenant Griffin then broke through a three strand barbed wire fence and went another 300 yards before becoming tangled in a second barbed wire fence. Lieutenant Kirby was found lying at the edge of the field with his chute tangled in the barbed wire fence.
The HH-43 'Pedro' helicopter was launched from Vance Air Force Base but was unable to land at the accident site due to the gusting high winds. An ambulance from Medford arrived and Lieutenant Griffin was found to have perished. Dr. H. H. Moore, who had ridden in the ambulance, rendered first aid to Tim, who was taken to the hospital in Blackwell. Later that day, Tim was transported to St. Anthony's Hospital in Oklahoma City, about 100 miles south east of the accident site. Tim never regained conscious and died three days later.
On Friday, April 17, 1964, the headline in the Enid Morning News read; Vance Base Instructor-Pilot Dragged to Death by Chute.
As the class leader, I was asked by Dotty to try and locate Tim's wedding wing, which had been torn from his hand while being dragged across the field. On Saturday morning, a number of classmates went to the field and although the task seemed impossible, we searched the huge field for his wedding ring. God must have looked down on us and given his blessing, as the ring was found and returned to Dotty, who placed it back on Tim's hand before he died the following day, on April 19, 1964.
On Tuesday, April 21, 1964, the Enid Morning News announced; Second Crash Victim Dies;
Freak Mishap
Second Crash Victim Dies
The second fatality was rung up Sunday afternoon in the Vance Air Force base T-37 jet training plane crash neat Medford last Thursday with the death of Second Lieutenant Timothy W. Kirby, 22.
Kirby was a student pilot in the undergraduate training program. His Instructor, 1st Lt. Thomas Michael Griffin, 24, of New Carlisle, Ind., died Thursday.
Both men ejected from a crippled trainer plane before it crashed and burned, but received fatal injuries when their chutes were caught in the high winds and the men were dragged into wire fences before stopping.
An autopsy conducted at Oklahoma City where Lieutenant Kirby was taken from Blackwell for treatment, revealed head injuries caused his death.
Lieutenant Kirby leaves his widower, Dorothy; his parents Maj. And Mrs. Horace W. Kirby of Manhattan, Kan. He entered the Air Force last November and received his commission at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, February 4 and came to Vance for pilot training. Funeral arrangements are to be announced.
It was never determined what was wrong with the aircraft leading to their ejection while it was in a spin.
Tim is buried beside his father at Golden Gate National Cemetery.
Several months later, we were notified that Dotty Ann Kirby had given birth to a son, Timothy Wayne Kirby, II.
Dotty and Bill Bateman were married in 1980. Dotty died on May 1, 1991 from cancer.
Military Information: 2ND LT, US AIR FORCE
Timothy Wayne 'Tim' Kirby was the son of Mary Theresa Baglietto (April 21, 1921 - April 5, 1985) and Major Horace Wilfred Kirby (1917-1999).
Tim graduated from Jacksonville High School, Jacksonville, Arkansas, in 1959. He then attended the University of Central Arkansas at Conway, Arkansas. Tim played football at University Central Arkansas and there he met Dorothy 'Dotty' Ann Richardson, who was a cheer leader. Tim and Dotty were married on August 10, 1963 at the Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Stuttgart, Arkansas and then graduated from UCA on August 11, 1963.
He attended Officer Training School at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force on February 4, 1964.
Tim and Dotty arrived at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma where he became a member of Pilot Training Class 65-F, on March 9, 1964.
He was assigned to the 3575th Pilot Training Wing, 3576th Pilot Training Squadron, Flight 3, 'Speedy' where he flew the T-37B 'Tweet'.
Tim first attended preliminary ground school, which comprised of Aviation Physiology and Aircraft Engineering, then proceeded to the flight line for his Primary Flight Training.
At 4:45, on the afternoon of April 16, 1964, Tim and his instructor pilot, First Lieutenant Thomas Michael Griffin, were practicing spins during a pre-solo flight four miles east of Medford, about 30 miles north north-east of Vance Air Force Base. A radio call was then heard, stating they were going to eject from their disabled T-37B aircraft. They both ejected safely and were observed waving to other aircraft in the area while hanging in their parachutes.
The clay ground was very hard, after having been plowed and then dried out by the hot spring winds, which were estimated at 40 to 45 miles an hour that afternoon. As a result, their impact with the ground disabled both of them and they were then dragged over one half mile across a rough plowed wheat field. Lieutenant Griffin then broke through a three strand barbed wire fence and went another 300 yards before becoming tangled in a second barbed wire fence. Lieutenant Kirby was found lying at the edge of the field with his chute tangled in the barbed wire fence.
The HH-43 'Pedro' helicopter was launched from Vance Air Force Base but was unable to land at the accident site due to the gusting high winds. An ambulance from Medford arrived and Lieutenant Griffin was found to have perished. Dr. H. H. Moore, who had ridden in the ambulance, rendered first aid to Tim, who was taken to the hospital in Blackwell. Later that day, Tim was transported to St. Anthony's Hospital in Oklahoma City, about 100 miles south east of the accident site. Tim never regained conscious and died three days later.
On Friday, April 17, 1964, the headline in the Enid Morning News read; Vance Base Instructor-Pilot Dragged to Death by Chute.
As the class leader, I was asked by Dotty to try and locate Tim's wedding wing, which had been torn from his hand while being dragged across the field. On Saturday morning, a number of classmates went to the field and although the task seemed impossible, we searched the huge field for his wedding ring. God must have looked down on us and given his blessing, as the ring was found and returned to Dotty, who placed it back on Tim's hand before he died the following day, on April 19, 1964.
On Tuesday, April 21, 1964, the Enid Morning News announced; Second Crash Victim Dies;
Freak Mishap
Second Crash Victim Dies
The second fatality was rung up Sunday afternoon in the Vance Air Force base T-37 jet training plane crash neat Medford last Thursday with the death of Second Lieutenant Timothy W. Kirby, 22.
Kirby was a student pilot in the undergraduate training program. His Instructor, 1st Lt. Thomas Michael Griffin, 24, of New Carlisle, Ind., died Thursday.
Both men ejected from a crippled trainer plane before it crashed and burned, but received fatal injuries when their chutes were caught in the high winds and the men were dragged into wire fences before stopping.
An autopsy conducted at Oklahoma City where Lieutenant Kirby was taken from Blackwell for treatment, revealed head injuries caused his death.
Lieutenant Kirby leaves his widower, Dorothy; his parents Maj. And Mrs. Horace W. Kirby of Manhattan, Kan. He entered the Air Force last November and received his commission at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, February 4 and came to Vance for pilot training. Funeral arrangements are to be announced.
It was never determined what was wrong with the aircraft leading to their ejection while it was in a spin.
Tim is buried beside his father at Golden Gate National Cemetery.
Several months later, we were notified that Dotty Ann Kirby had given birth to a son, Timothy Wayne Kirby, II.
Dotty and Bill Bateman were married in 1980. Dotty died on May 1, 1991 from cancer.
Military Information: 2ND LT, US AIR FORCE
Tim graduated from Jacksonville High School, Jacksonville, Arkansas, in 1959. He then attended the University of Central Arkansas at Conway, Arkansas. Tim played football at University Central Arkansas and there he met Dorothy 'Dotty' Ann Richardson, who was a cheer leader. Tim and Dotty were married on August 10, 1963 at the Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Stuttgart, Arkansas and then graduated from UCA on August 11, 1963.
He attended Officer Training School at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force on February 4, 1964.
Tim and Dotty arrived at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma where he became a member of Pilot Training Class 65-F, on March 9, 1964.
He was assigned to the 3575th Pilot Training Wing, 3576th Pilot Training Squadron, Flight 3, 'Speedy' where he flew the T-37B 'Tweet'.
Tim first attended preliminary ground school, which comprised of Aviation Physiology and Aircraft Engineering, then proceeded to the flight line for his Primary Flight Training.
At 4:45, on the afternoon of April 16, 1964, Tim and his instructor pilot, First Lieutenant Thomas Michael Griffin, were practicing spins during a pre-solo flight four miles east of Medford, about 30 miles north north-east of Vance Air Force Base. A radio call was then heard, stating they were going to eject from their disabled T-37B aircraft. They both ejected safely and were observed waving to other aircraft in the area while hanging in their parachutes.
The clay ground was very hard, after having been plowed and then dried out by the hot spring winds, which were estimated at 40 to 45 miles an hour that afternoon. As a result, their impact with the ground disabled both of them and they were then dragged over one half mile across a rough plowed wheat field. Lieutenant Griffin then broke through a three strand barbed wire fence and went another 300 yards before becoming tangled in a second barbed wire fence. Lieutenant Kirby was found lying at the edge of the field with his chute tangled in the barbed wire fence.
The HH-43 'Pedro' helicopter was launched from Vance Air Force Base but was unable to land at the accident site due to the gusting high winds. An ambulance from Medford arrived and Lieutenant Griffin was found to have perished. Dr. H. H. Moore, who had ridden in the ambulance, rendered first aid to Tim, who was taken to the hospital in Blackwell. Later that day, Tim was transported to St. Anthony's Hospital in Oklahoma City, about 100 miles south east of the accident site. Tim never regained conscious and died three days later.
On Friday, April 17, 1964, the headline in the Enid Morning News read; Vance Base Instructor-Pilot Dragged to Death by Chute.
As the class leader, I was asked by Dotty to try and locate Tim's wedding wing, which had been torn from his hand while being dragged across the field. On Saturday morning, a number of classmates went to the field and although the task seemed impossible, we searched the huge field for his wedding ring. God must have looked down on us and given his blessing, as the ring was found and returned to Dotty, who placed it back on Tim's hand before he died the following day, on April 19, 1964.
On Tuesday, April 21, 1964, the Enid Morning News announced; Second Crash Victim Dies;
Freak Mishap
Second Crash Victim Dies
The second fatality was rung up Sunday afternoon in the Vance Air Force base T-37 jet training plane crash neat Medford last Thursday with the death of Second Lieutenant Timothy W. Kirby, 22.
Kirby was a student pilot in the undergraduate training program. His Instructor, 1st Lt. Thomas Michael Griffin, 24, of New Carlisle, Ind., died Thursday.
Both men ejected from a crippled trainer plane before it crashed and burned, but received fatal injuries when their chutes were caught in the high winds and the men were dragged into wire fences before stopping.
An autopsy conducted at Oklahoma City where Lieutenant Kirby was taken from Blackwell for treatment, revealed head injuries caused his death.
Lieutenant Kirby leaves his widower, Dorothy; his parents Maj. And Mrs. Horace W. Kirby of Manhattan, Kan. He entered the Air Force last November and received his commission at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, February 4 and came to Vance for pilot training. Funeral arrangements are to be announced.
It was never determined what was wrong with the aircraft leading to their ejection while it was in a spin.
Tim is buried beside his father at Golden Gate National Cemetery.
Several months later, we were notified that Dotty Ann Kirby had given birth to a son, Timothy Wayne Kirby, II.
Dotty and Bill Bateman were married in 1980. Dotty died on May 1, 1991 from cancer.
Military Information: 2ND LT, US AIR FORCE
Inscription
Timothy / Wayne / Kirby / California / 2nd Lt / US Air Force / 3576 Student / Sq AF / Vietnam / Jun 17 1941 / Apr 19 1964
