Montana Creek resident DONALD STARK BOWERS JR., 52, died Monday, June 19, 2000, in an airplane crash 30 miles west of Mount McKinley.
Mr. Bowers was born April 1, 1948, in Fort Smith, Ark. He graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1970 and held a masters degree in Aeronautical Engineering. He was a retired Air force colonel.
Col. Bowers was a C-130 Hercules pilot serving with the 17th TAS, Firebirds out of Elmendorf AFB, Anchorage, Alaska. Mr. Bowers also worked at Hudson Air Service in the summers and as a substitute teacher for the Mat-Su Borough School District in the winters. He published several articles and books on flying in Alaska. He flew many missions as a pilot with the "Iditarod Air Force" in the Alaskan Iditarod dog race each year. In 1997 he received the Iditarod Sportsmanship Award. Don was a Pilot's Pilot.
Excerpt from 17th TAS Firebird home page:
Until his death on Mt. McKinley, June 21, 2000, Don Bowers lived at Montana Creek, Alaska, in a cabin he built himself. Born in 1948 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, Don was an Air Force Academy graduate with masters degrees from the Air Force Institute of Technology and Alaska Pacific University.
For most of his Air Force career he was a C-130 Hercules transport pilot, flying Hurricane Hunters in the Caribbean and Spectre gunships in Southeast Asia as well as "trash haulers" all over Alaska with the 17th Tactical Airlift Squadron Firebirds.
Don arrived on the Last Frontier in 1975 and became involved with the Iditarod as a member of the volunteer Iditarod Air Force. Upon retirement from the "real" Air Force, Don set about to run the Iditarod with his own team, even though he had virtually no experience as a musher.
He was a certified elementary teacher as well as chief pilot at Hudson Air Service in Talkeetna during the summer. Don authored the Alaska Airmen's Logbook for Alaska, Northwest Canada, and Russia, published by the Alaska Airmen's Association.
Don wrote a book about his experiences as a musher in Alaska entitled "Back of the Pack."
17th TAS Firebird Homepage bio.
Mr. Bowers was born April 1, 1948, in Fort Smith, Ark. He graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1970 and held a masters degree in Aeronautical Engineering. He was a retired Air force colonel.
Col. Bowers was a C-130 Hercules pilot serving with the 17th TAS, Firebirds out of Elmendorf AFB, Anchorage, Alaska. Mr. Bowers also worked at Hudson Air Service in the summers and as a substitute teacher for the Mat-Su Borough School District in the winters. He published several articles and books on flying in Alaska. He flew many missions as a pilot with the "Iditarod Air Force" in the Alaskan Iditarod dog race each year. In 1997 he received the Iditarod Sportsmanship Award. Don was a Pilot's Pilot.
Excerpt from 17th TAS Firebird home page:
Until his death on Mt. McKinley, June 21, 2000, Don Bowers lived at Montana Creek, Alaska, in a cabin he built himself. Born in 1948 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, Don was an Air Force Academy graduate with masters degrees from the Air Force Institute of Technology and Alaska Pacific University.
For most of his Air Force career he was a C-130 Hercules transport pilot, flying Hurricane Hunters in the Caribbean and Spectre gunships in Southeast Asia as well as "trash haulers" all over Alaska with the 17th Tactical Airlift Squadron Firebirds.
Don arrived on the Last Frontier in 1975 and became involved with the Iditarod as a member of the volunteer Iditarod Air Force. Upon retirement from the "real" Air Force, Don set about to run the Iditarod with his own team, even though he had virtually no experience as a musher.
He was a certified elementary teacher as well as chief pilot at Hudson Air Service in Talkeetna during the summer. Don authored the Alaska Airmen's Logbook for Alaska, Northwest Canada, and Russia, published by the Alaska Airmen's Association.
Don wrote a book about his experiences as a musher in Alaska entitled "Back of the Pack."
17th TAS Firebird Homepage bio.
Montana Creek resident DONALD STARK BOWERS JR., 52, died Monday, June 19, 2000, in an airplane crash 30 miles west of Mount McKinley.
Mr. Bowers was born April 1, 1948, in Fort Smith, Ark. He graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1970 and held a masters degree in Aeronautical Engineering. He was a retired Air force colonel.
Col. Bowers was a C-130 Hercules pilot serving with the 17th TAS, Firebirds out of Elmendorf AFB, Anchorage, Alaska. Mr. Bowers also worked at Hudson Air Service in the summers and as a substitute teacher for the Mat-Su Borough School District in the winters. He published several articles and books on flying in Alaska. He flew many missions as a pilot with the "Iditarod Air Force" in the Alaskan Iditarod dog race each year. In 1997 he received the Iditarod Sportsmanship Award. Don was a Pilot's Pilot.
Excerpt from 17th TAS Firebird home page:
Until his death on Mt. McKinley, June 21, 2000, Don Bowers lived at Montana Creek, Alaska, in a cabin he built himself. Born in 1948 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, Don was an Air Force Academy graduate with masters degrees from the Air Force Institute of Technology and Alaska Pacific University.
For most of his Air Force career he was a C-130 Hercules transport pilot, flying Hurricane Hunters in the Caribbean and Spectre gunships in Southeast Asia as well as "trash haulers" all over Alaska with the 17th Tactical Airlift Squadron Firebirds.
Don arrived on the Last Frontier in 1975 and became involved with the Iditarod as a member of the volunteer Iditarod Air Force. Upon retirement from the "real" Air Force, Don set about to run the Iditarod with his own team, even though he had virtually no experience as a musher.
He was a certified elementary teacher as well as chief pilot at Hudson Air Service in Talkeetna during the summer. Don authored the Alaska Airmen's Logbook for Alaska, Northwest Canada, and Russia, published by the Alaska Airmen's Association.
Don wrote a book about his experiences as a musher in Alaska entitled "Back of the Pack."
17th TAS Firebird Homepage bio.
Mr. Bowers was born April 1, 1948, in Fort Smith, Ark. He graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1970 and held a masters degree in Aeronautical Engineering. He was a retired Air force colonel.
Col. Bowers was a C-130 Hercules pilot serving with the 17th TAS, Firebirds out of Elmendorf AFB, Anchorage, Alaska. Mr. Bowers also worked at Hudson Air Service in the summers and as a substitute teacher for the Mat-Su Borough School District in the winters. He published several articles and books on flying in Alaska. He flew many missions as a pilot with the "Iditarod Air Force" in the Alaskan Iditarod dog race each year. In 1997 he received the Iditarod Sportsmanship Award. Don was a Pilot's Pilot.
Excerpt from 17th TAS Firebird home page:
Until his death on Mt. McKinley, June 21, 2000, Don Bowers lived at Montana Creek, Alaska, in a cabin he built himself. Born in 1948 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, Don was an Air Force Academy graduate with masters degrees from the Air Force Institute of Technology and Alaska Pacific University.
For most of his Air Force career he was a C-130 Hercules transport pilot, flying Hurricane Hunters in the Caribbean and Spectre gunships in Southeast Asia as well as "trash haulers" all over Alaska with the 17th Tactical Airlift Squadron Firebirds.
Don arrived on the Last Frontier in 1975 and became involved with the Iditarod as a member of the volunteer Iditarod Air Force. Upon retirement from the "real" Air Force, Don set about to run the Iditarod with his own team, even though he had virtually no experience as a musher.
He was a certified elementary teacher as well as chief pilot at Hudson Air Service in Talkeetna during the summer. Don authored the Alaska Airmen's Logbook for Alaska, Northwest Canada, and Russia, published by the Alaska Airmen's Association.
Don wrote a book about his experiences as a musher in Alaska entitled "Back of the Pack."
17th TAS Firebird Homepage bio.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
