A father remembered

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Nathan Gallahan
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. (AFPN) --  Five numbers painted on the tail of a local parade’s float will pass by thousands of people, and they may not see what is between them.

A string of numbers can represent anything from how much money someone has in his or her bank account, to phone numbers or even ZIP codes.

71424 represents the life and love of a father.

Capt. Richard Doughty originally flew B-36 Peacemakers before becoming a navigator on KC-135 Stratotankers at Amarillo Air Force Base, Texas, in the late 1960s.

In May 1966 he had many things going for him: a loving wife, two sons and a young daughter. He had just returned from a deployment in Southeast Asia where he and the crew of his KC-135 received Air Medals for their efforts. He was also going to be promoted to major soon.

On May 16, 1966, in aircraft 71424, it all ended in a heartbeat

“I remember (a colonel) telling me what happened,” said Michael Doughty, one of the captains sons. “He told me that he was sitting on the taxiway waiting for a few B-52 (Stratofortresses) to take off and for Captain Doughty’s plane to land. When it touched down, its left wingtip hit the ground.

“I still remember the next day when Mom brought us all together and asked us if we heard the noise the previous night,” he said. “I was only 9 when I lost my dad.”

After the accident, the family moved to Washington.

Growing up next to Fairchild, KC-135s were a constant reminder that Mr. Doughty’s father was not coming home.

“I remember as a kid Dad taking me on the flightline and kicking the tires of his aircraft,” he said. “It’s amazing how you remember things like that.”

Without the strength of his father guiding him, Mr. Doughty said he had a difficult childhood and found himself looking toward his friends’ fathers as role models.

“There is no doubt in my mind it would have made a considerable difference in my life to have my father. I still, to this day, feel the effects,” Mr. Doughty said.

As Mr. Doughty grew from a child into a young man, he enlisted in the Air Force as an aircraft structural maintenance technician where he worked directly on KC-135s.

Although he did not work on the Stratotankers constantly throughout his career, working on the aircraft held a special meaning to him.

“I’ve always liked to think that over the years any repair action I’ve taken on a tanker was because of my father,” he said. “These tankers have molded my life.”

Enlisting in 1976 and retiring in 1996, Mr. Doughty spent two tours, retired and now works as a civilian here on the same type of aircraft his father navigated nearly 40 years ago.

After so many years of working on tankers, he may have thought he saw everything; until April, when a different kind of tanker landed in his shop.

A tiny tanker with a 9-foot wingspan sat atop a metal stand and was in desperate need of attention. The replica is used on a local parade’s float to represent the mission, dedication and service of Airmen here.

“The wings were busted, it needed new engine pylons and there were scratches and scrapes all over it,” Mr. Doughty said. “It was in bad shape.”

It took Mr. Doughty and his team from the 92nd Aircraft Structure Maintenance Flight a solid month to complete the miniature refurbishment, and they found ways to use the time for training.

“It was a good training project we used to teach … painting techniques,” said Senior Airman Daniel Storkson, an aircraft structural maintenance technician. “We didn’t have any aircraft parts at the time to use for training, so it was a perfect opportunity.”

The idea to tribute the aircraft to Capt. Richard Doughty came during a coffee break.

“I was sitting there looking at it, and the idea just popped into my head,” Mr. Doughty said. “I thought it would be a great way to remember my father.”

As the float passes by during the parade, many may not see what is between the numbers, but to those who do, Captain Doughty’s Stratotanker will be flying once again, at 4 mph.