Looking in at Iowa

From Naperville Sun:

Forty-two years have passed since Capt. Dennis Eilers’ plane was shot down in Laos during the Vietnam War. No one has ever been able to find a trace of the wreckage or any of the six crew members aboard the plane. …

Dennis grew up on a family farm in Tipton, Iowa, Curt said, and he always wanted to fly. He went on to attend Coe College in Cedar Rapids, where he joined the ROTC. …

USS The Sullivans

From US Navy release:

Two leaders who embodied the spirit of USS The Sullivans ( DDG 68 ) and the five fallen brothers the U.S. Navy warship honors were memorialized at a Fleet Week New York 2008 ceremony May 24, aboard the vessel. …

Kelly Sullivan Loughren — the granddaughter of the youngest Sullivan brother, Albert, said Davis and Shaw set a precedent of leadership that lives on. She and Elizabeth Pasko, daughter of Shaw, tossed two wreaths from the ship’s fantail into the sea to mark the passing of the men.

“To be able to have a special goodbye to them on the ship that brought us together is very special,” said Loughren, who traveled to Staten Island for the Fleet Week event from her home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She also christened the Mayport, Fla.-based guided-missile destroyer more than a decade ago.

The bond among the Sullivan brothers‘ — George, 27; Francis, 25: Joseph, 23; Madison, 22; and Albert, 19 — showed the spirit of never quitting and that victory comes with sacrifice and hard work, explained Roncolato, also president of the USS The Sullivans Foundation, which plans to create an educational scholarship for the ship’s crew and family.

“More than anything else, those boys loved their country,” Loughren said. …

Image via Wikipedia

From UPI:

The U.S. Air Force says it has successfully tested a classified information transmission technology from two F-22 Raptor aircrafts to ground stations.

The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptors sent the classified sensor data from the air to Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada and Langley Air Force Base in Virginia with new tactical targeting network technology [TTNT] under development by Rockwell Collins. …

“This is the first time in history that F-22 sensor data was down-linked to the Combined Air Operations Center using a tactical network.” …

Related news from May 27, 2006 Gazette:

Test verifies Collins’ new defense technology
Wireless network on target in Nevada
By Dave DeWitte
The Gazette

The U.S. Air Force has completed a successful demonstration of the Rockwell Collins tactical targeting network technology as part the recent Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.

Tactical targeting network technology is a high-bandwidth wireless network developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency that transmits information used to target munitions from aircraft.

In the experiment, two fighters, two bombers and two command aircraft equipped with the Collins technology participated in five days of flights. Mobile and fixed-forward ground nodes used the network to extend the reach of Internet protocol-enabled software applications and integrate the tactical targeting network technology subnetwork with a fixed ground network.

The demonstration verified the ability of the Collins network to connect cross-service military units to a common network, according to Bruce King, vice president and general manager of communications systems for Collins. He said the capability will ultimately allow the military to reduce the number of manned missions, while delivering a minimum number of weapons against enemy forces.

Later field testing and deployment of the network will be done through the Collins’ multifunctional information distribution system and its joint tactical radio system program. It will be managed out of the Space and Naval War Systems Command in San Diego.

Image via Wikipedia

From Shenandoah Valley News Today:

March 27, 1944 played an extraordinarily vital role in the lives of Clark Underwood of Shenandoah and Joe Koenig of Cedar Rapids.

It was the day their B-17 was shot down by a German fighter, crashing into the Bay of Biscay.

It was also the last time the two men saw each other.

When Underwood’s story of survival was published in the Valley News Today on April 2, it reached Koenig. …

See also Media-rich content about World War II from Encyclopædia Britannica.

Image of Denmark Straits
via Wikipedia

From January 14, 1962 Cedar Rapids Gazette:

Push Plane Search; C.R. Man in Crew

The search continued over the Greenland icecap Saturday night for a U.S. navy Neptune plane carrying a crew of 12, among them a Cedar Rapids man. Grover E. Wells.

Operations were hampered by 75-mile-an-hour winds and low visibility, according to a telegram received late Saturday by the man’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Wells of 1435 N St. SW.

The missing plane took off Friday morning from Keflavik airport on the northwest tip of Iceland. It was spotted on radar at 10:45 a.m. Friday 270 miles northwest of Keflavik.

Operations are being concentrated in the Denmark Straits, the war department telegram said.

While the search continued, Wells’ wife, Nancy, prepared to enter a Jacksonville, Florida, hospital for the birth of the couple’s third child. Two daughters, Wanda Lee, 3, and Marjorie, 2, were to stay with their mother’s sister.

Wells, 24, attended McKinley School and enlisted in the Navy in 1955. He is an aviation ordnanceman.

In addition to the missing son, the Wellses have 4 children: Bob, Donna, Carol and Roger, all living in Cedar Rapids.

From September 17, 1966 Cedar Rapids Gazette:

Find Body of Missing C.R. Airman Wells

The body of a Cedar Rapids man, Grover E. Wells, has been discovered on Kronborg Glacier in Greenland, where he died nearly five years ago in a plane crash.

Wells, 24, an aviation ordnanceman, was one of 12 men aboard a U.S. navy Neptune plane which disappeared over the Greenland icecap Jan. 12, 1962, on a flight out of Keflavik, Iceland.

A British research expedition reported Friday that it had discovered the bodies of 12 airmen. The defense department Saturday listed them as those of the missing Neptune crew.

Wells, 24, attended McKinley school and enlisted in the navy in 1955.

His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Wells, lived at 1435 N St. SW at the time of the tragedy. They have since moved to Portland, Oregon.

The airman’s two daughters, Wanda Lee and Marjorie, were 3 and 2 at the time of the crash and his wife, Nancy, was preparing to enter a Jacksonville, Fla., hospital for the birth of their third child.

He was also survived by four brothers and sisters, Bob, Donna, Carol and Roger.

Today’s Gazette article quotes brother Bobby Wells saying “He was an excellent guitar player.” Here’s an October 5, 1954 Cedar Rapids Gazette article about a Grover Wells providing music for a birthday party:

BIRTHDAY PARTY GIVEN
FOR PATRICIA GOODALL.

Patricia Goodall was honored on her thirteenth birthday at a party given by her mother, Mrs Robert Goodall, Monday evening at their home, 1216 Tenth Street SE. The 15 guests spent the evening playing cards and dancing. Jimmy Burgess and Grover Wells furnished the music.

Guests included Nancy Bammert, Nancy Goodall, Rosalie Vavra, Carol Hathaway, Carolyn Perry, Jackie Brubaker, Waneva Benda, Alice Clark, Jim Zacek Billy Clark, Darrell Goodall, George Hawley, Dale and David Goodall, and Larry Goodall.

From St. Petersburg Times:

The wife of former Largo city manager Susan Stanton has filed for divorce.

Donna Stanton is seeking an equitable distribution of marital assets, child support and alimony.

“The parties are at this moment in amicable negotiations,” said Donna Stanton’s attorney, Cherie Parker of Clearwater.

Donna Stanton, who declined comment through her lawyer, filed her petition for dissolution of marriage on Feb. 20. That was almost a year to the day after Stanton — then known as Steve Stanton — publicly revealed plans to become a woman. Largo city commissioners voted 5-2 to fire Stanton on March 24. …

Since her departure from Largo, Stanton has lobbied Congress for transgender equality and was featured on the Montel Williams Show and Larry King Live. CNN is doing a documentary on her, and she plans to have gender reassignment surgery this spring. …

From U.S. Department of Defense:

AIR FORCE …

Data Link Solutions Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is being awarded a contract for $25,814,110. This action will provide repair of 26 National Stock Numbers (NSNs) for the multifunctional information distribution system. Platforms associated with the NSNs include, but are not limited to Joint Interface Control Officer Support System, F-15, F-16, F-22, B-1B and B-2. At this time no funds have been obligated. Robins Air Force Base, Ga., is the contracting activity (FA8539-08-D-0002).

From Federal Energy Regulatory Commission:

NOTICE OF APPLICATION ACCEPTED FOR FILING AND SOLICITING COMMENTS, MOTIONS TO INTERVENE, AND PROTESTS

(March 6, 200

Take notice that the following hydroelectric applications have been filed with the Commission and are available for public inspection:

a. Type of Application: Preliminary Permit

b. Project No.: P-13100-000

c. Date Filed: January 23, 2008

d. Applicant: Midriver Power L. L. C.

e. Name of the Project: Coralville Lake Hydropower Project

f. Location: The project would be located on the Iowa River in Johnson County, Iowa. The Coralville Lake Dam is owned and maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. …

UPDATE FROM AMERICA’S MOST WANTED:

Investigators were able to track some of Sparlin’s movements in the Windy City.  Cops say he was caught on surveillance at a Chicago bank. [PHOTO HERE]

Later, detectives tracked down Sparlin’s vehicle at a local Greyhound station.  They say that Sparlin took a bus to O’Hare, where he boarded a flight to Europe.

According to cops, Sparlin went to Rome, Italy, by way of Frankfurt, Germany.  That’s where the trail goes cold. …

==
(From Feb. 29) 

According to Chicago Tribune:

FBI officials said Thursday that the agency is joining local authorities in Ottawa, Ill., in a search for an Army soldier who was charged with felony sexual assault and fled recently.

Justin Ray Sparlin, on leave from the Army, also was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. He is considered armed and dangerous, an FBI news release said.

Sparlin was charged Feb. 7 with predatory criminal sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl. …

[This excerpt disappeared from article:] In addition to LaSalle County, he has ties to St. Louis and Victor, Iowa. Anyone with information about Sparlin is asked to call the Chicago FBI …

According to Gazette archives, Justin Sparlin graduated from English Valleys High School in 1997.

From U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs release:

WASHINGTON, March 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — To meet increased needs for mental health services for veterans, especially those returning from the Global War on Terror, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is expanding its training programs for psychologists. …

VA, which has more than 11,000 mental health professionals to care for veterans, has hired more than 800 psychologists in the last three years. Because psychology is a key part of comprehensive health care, the Department anticipates an ongoing need to employ additional psychologists. …

The new internship programs are at the following locations: Anchorage, Alaska; Asheville, N.C.; Iowa City, Iowa; and Richmond, Va. …