Speech: Liftmaster dedication ceremony Published May 15, 2013 By Senior Master Sgt. Christopher Hofrichter 514th Maintenance Operations Flight JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt from a speech delivered by Senior Master Sgt. Christopher Hofrichter, 514th Maintenance Operations Flight, during the dedication ceremony for the C-118 Liftmaster May 14. Hofrichter led a team of volunteers in restoring the historic aircraft to near-original condition. So why this project? The simple answer is to honor the seven Airmen who on July 13, 1956, lost their lives while taking off on a mission from McGuire Air Force Base during a thunderstorm in the first C-118 accident recorded by the United States Air Force It is also so we can honor those that sacrificed much during the early years of this mighty Air Force. Gentlemen like Lt. Col. James Bennison, who skillfully piloted the C-118 on many a mission; Major Ed Lavelle, who navigated the aircraft with precision at a time when the only amount of air traffic control came down to a beacon signal; Master Sergeant John Wehrman, who's engineering and mechanical prowess kept the mission moving come rain or shine anywhere on the globe; and Master Sergeant Jim Waibel, who operated the critical communications station on board the aircraft so that the guys behind the controls could fly the aircraft without distraction. I am honored that they are at this ceremony with us today and am grateful for the foundations they laid in growing this proud Air Force. It is because of those that lost their lives in the employment of the C-118 and those that are still with us to regale in a simpler, yet no less crucial time in the history of our United States Air Force that this project took on the urgency to get it done right. Gone is the United States Navy livery and tail number that post-dated this C-118's Air Force service and which remained on the aircraft since 1965 when the Navy assumed ownership. Instead, the aircraft proudly displays it's 1957 livery and the tail number that adorned it when in rolled off of the Douglas assembly line in 1954...33255. 33255...a tail number like any other on any Air Force aircraft. But if you were Sergeant Elvis Presley, then stationed in Germany, this tail number was assigned to your ride home upon discharge from the United States Army. 33255...if you were a Hungarian national trying to avoid persecution by a brutal Soviet regime, this tail number was assigned to the aircraft that brought you freedom deserved and dignity restored. 33255...stalwart of the cold war...the tail number assigned to an aircraft that ushered in the airlift era to McGuire Air Force Base and is now a part of the strong legacy of this Global Reach powerhouse. 33255...the tail number assigned to the aircraft that has brought us all together today to honor those who died while carrying out the good and most often difficult mission of this great Air Force, to honor those who sit with us today who flew on you, who bled on you and I'm sure often times cussed at you too. 33255...the tail number assigned to the aircraft that stands as the vanguard of this passenger terminal as a reminder to all that pass through here that where we're going amounts to nothing if we don't remember where we've been. I will always look upon this aircraft as a reminder that even before I was born there were men and women who raised their right hand and swore an allegiance to the Constitution of this great nation, who made the decision to slip the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God, no matter the cost, and who lived with Integrity, Service and Excellence long before it was a catch phrase...who in the worst of times gave of themselves to bring freedom to the oppressed, and in the best of times lived to fly another day. They are our past, our present and our future all rolled into one, and I am eternally grateful It is to them that I say, that this project was carried out with the utmost in respect for your service and your sacrifice. You have given far more than can be repaid, but I hope in a small way that we've served you well here today. I thank you for your service and the legacy that you have left future generations of Airmen. Godspeed to you all.