My grandfather, Jim Kogler, was an RSO for the SR-71. He passed many years ago from aggressive cancer, but I thought I'd say hello.
Do you have any offhand memories of my grandfather? I'm sure most of the stories have been recorded, but if anything comes to mind, I'd be really happy to hear it.
According to family legend, Mrs. Kogler was actually watching that takeoff; seeing the plane burst into flames but not having a chance to see any ejection, she went to find the military chaplain to save him the trip!
Edit: To be clear, Jim ejected safely. The pilot was also fine and rode out the plane to the end of its momentum. Here's a page with more detail about the incident and in particular a picture of 977 immediately afterwards.
koglerjs618 karma
Good morning Colonel!
My grandfather, Jim Kogler, was an RSO for the SR-71. He passed many years ago from aggressive cancer, but I thought I'd say hello.
Do you have any offhand memories of my grandfather? I'm sure most of the stories have been recorded, but if anything comes to mind, I'd be really happy to hear it.
My family still occasionally talks about 977 and Jim's ejection. (A wheel assembly failed, causing the plane to abort takeoff and skid past the end of the runway.)
According to family legend, Mrs. Kogler was actually watching that takeoff; seeing the plane burst into flames but not having a chance to see any ejection, she went to find the military chaplain to save him the trip!
Edit: To be clear, Jim ejected safely. The pilot was also fine and rode out the plane to the end of its momentum. Here's a page with more detail about the incident and in particular a picture of 977 immediately afterwards.
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