This weekend there will be a group of more than 100 Air Force veterans gathering in Rockwall and Greenville for their annual reunion.  

Their plans include a tour of L-3 Communications, a banquet at The Shores Country Club in Rockwall, a cruise aboard Seawolf on Lake Ray Hubbard and a tour of the Texas Schoolbook Repository.

As with all veterans, this group is special…they are known as the Prop Wash Gang.   You can learn more about these unique men and women at http://www.silent-warriors.com/office_boy.html . 

Members of the Prop Wash Gang flew on specially configured military aircraft that gathered communications intelligence and signals intelligence.  The first missions started in the 1950’s and continue today throughout the world.  The targets ranged from the defunct Soviet Union during the Cold War to the battlefields of Viet Nam and the Gulf Wars.  Critical intelligence was also gained by monitoring nuclear tests and ballistic missile tests.  The information allowed the United States and its Allies to know and understand the capabilities and intentions of potential enemies. 

The men and women who flew on these reconnaissance aircraft were highly trained linguists capable of simultaneous translation, sophisticated electronic technicians, warfare officers, skilled analysts, and the very best pilots and navigators.  The missions often lasted more than 20 hours in the air which required aerial refueling!

Members of the Prop Wash Gang, along with their ground-based colleagues, are also known as Silent Warriors.  These Silent Warriors were never allowed to speak publicly about their duties or the dangers they faced.  

Although several aircraft have been lost on these missions, the reporting was very limited or very vague.  Memorials to lost aircraft and crewmembers are in Greenville, Texas as well as in San Antonio. 

Perhaps the best known shootdown of a reconnaissance aircraft was in 1958 when Soviet MiG-17 pilots shot down a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance-configured C-130 aircraft over Soviet Armenia.  Seventeen crewmen were aboard. The MiGs attacked the unarmed aircraft without warning after it inadvertently penetrated denied airspace along the Turkish-Armenian border.  The bodies of six crewmembers were returned by the Soviets…the fate of the remaining eleven crewmembers remains unknown. 

Fifty Silent Warriors (48 flyers and two non-flyer) became KIAs or MIAs in 16 separate incidents between 1953 and 2005. 

I am proud to say that I am a member of the Prop Wash Gang.  Soon I will become known as a “Pioneer”, signifying 50 years since I joined the intelligence-gathering community.  I flew on more than 200 missions in a specially configured military version of the Boeing 707, beginning in 1962. 

Please be sure to give a great North Texas welcome to our Prop Wash Gang veterans and their guests. 

A note about John Harper

By neighborsgo editor Dawn Redig

John Harper served as Student Group Commander in OfficerTraining School in 1968 – already quite seasoned, as evidenced by the wings, medals and stripes on his shoulder boards.  

He spent eight years as an enlisted man, reaching the rank of Staff Sergeant while flying on a combat crew on reconnaissance aircraft. He spent 12 years as an officer, earning the rank of Major. He retired in 1980.

After the Air Force, Harper spent 26 years as a vice president in higher education, before retiring from the Texas A&M System in 2006.Harper currently services as Mayor of the City of Rowlett.

Dawn Redig is the neighborsgo editor for Rockwall, Rowlett, Heath and Royse City. You can reach her via e-mail at dredig@neighborsgo.com.