Son receives father's dog tags 40 years after he died in horrific plane crash

Son receives father's dog tags 40 years after he died in horrific plane crash

 

It was a moment he dreamt about his whole life, and one he thought would never come.

The note on the envelope that took 40 years to arrive in his hands said simply: 'From your father.'

Christopher DeGroff never knew the man who had died when he was only a baby but for the first time in years he felt like he had a part of him.

Father: Navy Lt William Bruce DeGroff pictured in his flying gear before he died in June 1971 when his A-7 Corsair II slammed into a mountain outside the mining town of Silver Peak

Christopher with his son holding his late father's dog tag which he was reunited with after 40 years

 

Sitting with Navy Lt William Bruce DeGroff's dog tag in his hand, the clouds parted and warm sunlight spilled out to the pier.

Mr DeGroff said: 'I'm not the most religious or spiritual person, but I just couldn't help but think that this was meant to be.'

On 14 June 1971, the lieutenant was killed when his A-7 Corsair II slammed into a mountain outside the mining town of Silver Peak, about 220 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

He was only 25 at the time and left behind his wife Kathi and 16-month-old twins Christopher and Sarah.

Officials arrived at Mrs DeGroff's door only hours after her husband set out for work to deliver the news.

They told her nothing was left in the explosion and that everything was top secret because the aircraft and its armaments were being used in the Vietnam War. It just wasn't possible for her to see the crash site, the officials said.

 

Memory: Christopher holds a piece of his father's legacy in his hand for the first time in 40 years

She told the Pahrump Valley Times: 'It's all so very bizarre, finding out now that there is still wreckage. I pleaded with them to let me go to the crash site. I needed to see it.'

From the day her husband died, the family were led to believe that there was no physical evidence of the crash.

That was until Christopher DeGroff held his father's dog tag.

In fact, outside of Silver Peak, part of Vanderbilt Peak is still strewn with debris.

Hikers found William DeGroff's dog tag amid the wreckage 20 years ago. It has taken this long to locate its rightful owner.

Lee Guthridge and his brother - plane crash enthusiasts - visited the crash site to search for clues. Among the tiny pieces of debris, they found the single dog tag, crumpled up into a ball.

After taking it home and straightening it out, the tag stayed with Mr Guthridge who spent many years trying to find its rightful owner.

It was only when he met Goldfield resident Allen Metscher, who co-authored a book about plane crashes in Nye County, that the search took on new leads.

Debris: Parts of the plane wreckage Christopher's father died in, which the family thought never existed

 

Search: Hikers search the rubble for any memory of William DeGroff to give to his family who until now had nothing from the crash site

Metscher contacted Craig Fuller, an aviation archaeologist in Long Beach, California, who he met while doing research for his book.

Fuller quickly unearthed news articles about the crash from the Nevada State Journal and the Reno Evening Gazette, and Metscher shared the information with Guthridge.

Guthrdige then took to Facebook for his search and began to send messages out to anyone with the last name DeGroff.

Eventually a woman called Robin DeGroff said she could help, and put Mr Guthridge in touch with Christopher and Sarah.

Last Saturday, Guthridge, along with friend and fellow clerk Debbie Melott, drove to Silver Peak and hiked through the wreckage to take pictures for the family.

While they were there, they picked up a small zipper attached to green material and the metal clip from a clipboard that reads 'U.S. Property Type MXU-163/P Clipboard, Pilot's Property from Felsenthal Instrs. Co., Chicago, IL'.

They also found what they believe to be the chain on which the dog tag once hung.

Reunited with the items, Mr DeGroff said: 'It's still all so new to me. Ever since I could remember I've pictured that mountain, and now all of a sudden I'm seeing it on my computer in high definition pictures, and it is really jarring.

'I will say, though, it has been an overwhelmingly positive experience for me.'

He revealed that he received the items in a FedEx box at his work and waited until the next day to open it at the Navy Pier.

The envelope was delivered to Christopher inside a FedEx box Guthridge sent to his work.

'It's kind of my spot', he said. 'I go there to watch the air shows, and they have a naval memorial out at the end of the pier. It's just a spot where I've always felt very close to my father.'

He said he sat there with the dog tag in his hand. Then he went and drank a beer in honour of his father.

Several members of the family are already planning on visiting the site and want to put a flag or a cross there where William Bruce DeGroff died, aged 25.