Oral History Interview with John V. Hilliard, Jr., February 28, 2002 Page: 8

                                
good. We had a nice rooming area. They had a building with a bath between every 2 rooms. It was really a
wonderful situation. There was a foot ball field right close where we did our P.E. training every day. They had all
the classes there. So, we went to class and took college courses there, all of which applied toward my college
degree. They also gave us 10 hours of flying in Cubs. They had the Air Base out on the Qachita River. It was
while I was there that I had my 1st crash. And only crash really. You had to make 2 turns on take off when you
were still in the traffic pattern, about 400 feet high. I looked ahead and we heard a hammering noise. I didn't
know what happened, but the instructor did. He grabbed the stick from me and dropped the nose to put it in glide
position. He said, Hold on kid. I didn't understand him and I said, what did you say. He said, Hold on kid. He \
took and did what the rules say you never do. He tried to get back to the base. All we had ahead of us was big pine
trees as far as I could see, except on the left was the Qachita River and it was partly frozen. It had ice in it. Later
on, the instructor said, if we had gone straight a head. He got out of that plane and indicated with motions -
knocking splinters of the plane off of his shoulders. And, it would have been death as sure as the world. He
flipped it over and dived back toward the ground, trying to get back to base. I want you to know, the ground came
up fast. I can still see that green ground coming and I just thought, this is it. He tried to pull it out. Because we
were going with the wind, it didn't respond as fast. At the end of the runway, they had cut trees for a good ways in
the take off area. It was a 20 foot road that they used out there for logging. We hit that road and rubbed a wheel
pretty well. We bounced up, and I can still see it. He had the stick back in his stomach. Course it was my
stomach too. I was looking ahead and I could see that plane nose - it would go 60 degrees to the left and then
waller back 60 degrees to the right. I wouldn't have thought it could fly, but there was a rise right there with an
updraft, and it was just floating up on that rise. I kept looking out and seeing all these stumps we were going over,
thinking any minute a stump was going to hit our bottom and come in that plane. He just held it. He had his head

down. He was praying. I know he was praying. I looked and the fence of the airport went by. It was about 600
feet from the 1St spot that we hit the 2na time. We hit inside the airport in snow - rough snow. We hit side ways
and just skidded. We never turned over. We never dipped a wing. And then it stopped. He still had his head
down. I was so nervous I could hardly sit there. Finally, I said, Sir. Don't you think we ought to get out? He said,
I guess we better. He dropped the side door. There's a bottom part and a top part that lifts. I got out, he didn't

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