Veterans Day Program

Terry Earll’s story is basically about his older brother, David John Earll, Lt.Col., USAF.

However, the family history of military service goes back to Terry’s grandfather, Joe Sr., as he got out of the army after WWI and learned how to fly from a buddy.  He joined a flying circus doing stunt flying and sometimes he hung from the plane by his teeth!

Joe, Jr., Terry’s father, joined the Army Air Corps in 1941 and flew B-26’s out of England and France, crash landing his plane twice after his crew bailed out.  (He was afraid of heights).

Terry’s grandfather, Joe, Sr., and Terry’s father, Joe, Jr., were both members of Arcadia Rotary Club.

Terry’s brother, David joined the Air Force Reserves in 1955 when he was still a senior in Grand Prairie High School near Dallas.  Their father was the Commander of the local Base at that time and it was easy for David to hitch rides on various aircraft.

After graduation, David attended Arlington State College, which was near their home in Dallas.  They had a ROTC program and David in his 2nd year was appointed Adjutant of the Corps.  He

enrolled in the Officers Candidate School at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.  In 1960 he graduated and left for Moody Air Force Base in Georgia where he completed flight training.  First he was flying prop planes like the T-28 and finally, the F-86 jet fighter.

He then was transferred to the Strategic Air Command and began training and flying B-52’s.  He became in 1965 the youngest B-52 command pilot in SAC and was the Air Force’s “Golden Boy”.  In 1966 he was reassigned to the Tactical Air Command.  He was on his way to Southeast Asia.

He retrained in F-105’s and on June 15th, 1966 he joined the 469th TAC at Korat Air Base, Thailand.  Capt David Earll flew 82 missions before being shot down on October 21, 1966 near Dong Ban, North Vietnam.  His status was then MIA. This mission he had flown was for someone else, as he wanted to gain hours to be able to come home to see his family for the holidays.

During his tour in Southeast Asia he earned the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross w/Oak Leaf Cluster, The Air Medal with 11 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Purple Heart and the Air Force Commendation Medal.  During his missing status he was promoted twice to Lt. Col.

For David’s personal life he fell in love with a beautiful American Airlines Stewardess named Victoria Hiett and they were married in 1961.  Bryan, their oldest was born in 1962 and then twins, Kevin and Elisabeth were born in 1965.  This was why he wanted to get home for the holidays and took on the extra missions.  He had only seen the twins once before he left for his tour in Southeast Asia.

Terry told us how wonderful Victoria was as a mother to the three children and raised them on her own to be fine adults.  Bryan was a visitor at Rotary when Terry told about his brother, Bryan’s father.

Bryan lives in Monrovia with his wife Sarah, and she owns a business in Monrovia.  She belongs to the Monrovia Rotary Club.  The twins, Elizabeth lives in Arkansas and Kevin lives in  Oklahoma and both are married and have children.

In the late 80’s the Earll family was informed that a local peasant had come into the village police station with a 1966 U.S. Dime and one of David’s dog tags.  After many years the area was cleared of debris and the authorities dug down about a meter and hand sifted all the dirt.  The area that was hand sifted was the size of a football field.

In the early 90’s the family got a call from Bryan.  He asked Terry to bring my mother, Bryan’s grandmother to lunch.  He told them that in the digging they found a heel of a boot and turbine blades that were specific to David’s plane.  Later, they uncovered an old North Vietnamese military bulletin, dated October 21, 1966, describing the shooting down of an American plane in that vicinity.

Terry ended his talk saying, “It was a long process to endure for his family”

(Phyllis Corliss)