THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 27, 1995 TAG: 9510270020
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A22 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 33 lines
On Sept. 22, an Air Force AWACS plane crashed in Alaska, killing all 22 airmen on board.
True, the plane was on a routine training mission, but the men died just as suddenly and violently as in any war zone.
Our son, Major Steven A. Tuttle was one of the heroes lost. We were very saddened to find so little of the crash was carried by the news media - not even a list of the names in most cases. We had to contact most of our relatives and friends by phone to tell them of the accident.
Steven was a resident of both Norfolk and Virginia Beach from 1980 to 1982. During that time, he found many friends in the area. He was a graduate of the University of Virginia and was employed by the city of Virginia Beach as a planner until joining the Air Force in 1982.
We're sure that most of your readers would have been saddened, just as we were, if the accident had happened in your area, and hardly any news was carried by other papers. The loyal men and women who serve our country - sometimes putting their very lives on the line, even in peacetime - deserve our utmost respect and recognition.
Mr. and Mrs. EVERETT A. TUTTLE
Fredericksburg, Oct. 19, 1995 by CNB