Politics

  • Interactive: The Flight of Spooky 21

    It is unclear exactly what conditions the six-man crew encountered that caused their mission on Dec. 24, 1965, to end in a crash in southeastern Laos. Decades later, a small amount of their physical remains were found. Follow the flight and subsequent search in this interactive map.

  • A long-ago war, a missing plane and an enduring mystery

    Maj. Derrell Jeffords bounced his roaring Spooky 21 down and off the runway at Da Nang Air Base in Vietnam. It was just before 7:30 a.m., on Christmas Eve 1965. The big camouflaged belly of his twin-prop AC-47 was easily visible against a blue sky as he banked west.

    The cargo plane-turned-gunship was on its way to Laos; its mission was top secret.

  • Key senators tightly control immigration debate

    For all the soothing words she heard from fellow Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii never had a chance to win a relatively modest change to far-reaching immigration legislation.

  • Obama's new wordsmith believes in public service

    President Barack Obama's new chief speechwriter is a 32-year-old fellow Chicagoan who believes in public service.

  • Obama says nation must do more for fallen heroes

    President Barack Obama says the nation must do more than just remember its fallen heroes on Memorial Day.

  • Hagel: Cadets must stamp out sex assault scourge

    Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Saturday that they must stamp out the scourge of sexual assault in the military.

  • Obama's new wordsmith believes in public service

    When President Barack Obama decided to attend a memorial service in Arizona for victims of a deadly mass shooting that severely injured then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, he needed a speech. And fast.

  • The Crew of Spooky 21

    Select an image to the right for more information on each of Spooky 21's crew members.
    Arlington National Cemetery
    Site of the crew's grave
    Back to map
    Larry C. Thornton
    Munitions
    Age: 33
    Hometown: Idaho Falls, Idaho
    Rank at time of death: Technical sergeant
    Posthumous rank: Chief master sergeant
    Arden K. Hassenger
    Munitions
    Age: 32
    Hometown: Lebanon, Ore.
    Rank at time of death: Staff sergeant
    Posthumous rank: Chief master sergeant
    Dennis L. Eilers
    Co-pilot
    Age: 27
    Hometown: Cedar Rapids, Iowa
    Rank at time of death: First Lieutenant
    Posthumous rank: Lieutenant colonel
    Derrell B. Jeffords
    Pilot
    Age: 40
    Hometown: Florence, S.C.
    Rank at time of death: Major
    Posthumous rank: Colonel
    William K. Colwell
    Munitions
    Age: 44
    Hometown: Glen Cove, N.Y.
    Rank at time of death: Technical sergeant
    Posthumous rank: Chief master sergeant
    Joseph Christiano
    Navigator
    Age: 43
    Hometown: Rochester, N.Y.
    Rank at time of death: Major
    Posthumous rank: Colonel
    Washington,
    D.C.
    Md.
    Va.
  • Community outreach key to Obama counterterror plan

    Within hours of the Boston Marathon blasts, government officials and Boston Muslims called each other to offer assistance, calls that were the fruits of years of cultivating such relationships in an effort to ultimately prevent the very type of attack Boston experienced April 15.

  • The Modified AC-47 aircraft

    A brief description of the Spooky gunship, the modified AC-47.

Getting in touch with nature, please wait...

Quick Job Search

Enter Keyword(s):
Select a Category:
- Advanced Search
- Search by Category
Sponsored by
Advertisement