October 18, 1999 Update:
There will be two missing man tributes flown for Keith Evans on Sunday afternoon, October 24. One at the crash site near Oswego, IL and the other over Keith's home in Wheaton. Both missing man tributes will be flown late in the afternoon by Lima Lima Flight Team members.
Press Release for Sunday October 24th.
Our Missing Man
The Missing Man Tribute has been an important part of our air show routine for several years. Our Missing Man honors all military aviators who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. The narrative explanation of the Missing Man tradition, written by our own Robert Hicks, is a poignant tribute. The narrative is followed by a playing of taps as the formation flies overhead with an airplane missing. The Missing Man Tribute is flown at the end of our regular routine.
We have practiced and performed
the Missing Man formation thousands of times. Compared to the rest of the
routine, it is very sedate. During this maneuver, we don’t think about much
except maintaining our position in the formation. The Missing Man is always
followed by our landing break…..a much more demanding and spectacular
maneuver. The Missing Man formation never fails to illicit deep emotion from our
audiences, and comments on our routine almost always reference the Missing Man.
We have always been somewhat bemused by the visceral reaction of audiences.
Today was different. This was not a generic Missing Man. This was not routine, and today there was much more on our minds than maintaining position. This was for our Missing Man.
Official Statement From The Lima Lima Flight Team - October 2, 1999
This is a time of terrible sadness for the Lima Lima family and friends. As all of our hearts focus upon the Evans family, we are humbled by the outpouring of support and compassion from the entire Chicagoland community. It is comforting to know we have so many friends out there.
Two of our airplanes collided while executing a non-aerobatic, routine and often performed maneuver. We anticipate that the FAA and NTSB investigation will shed some light upon why this accident occurred. Until that time, any details regarding the incident itself would only lead to speculation, which would be inappropriate. We have no answers at this time.
As with other teams who have experienced such a tragedy, at the appropriate time the team will return to the air to fly the world's great airshows. For now, we ask the community to join with us in our support of the family of our lost friend, Keith Evans.
Services for Keith will be held on Tuesday, October 5th, 7:00PM at St Matthew United Church of Christ located at 1420 S. Gables Blvd. Wheaton, IL 60187. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Keith J. Evans Fund in care of St. Matthew United Church of Christ.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
John Rippinger - Spokesman and team member
Phone 847-605-1200 x22
Email: Jrip@limalima.com
Website: http://www.limalima.com
Keith Evans
ONE MORE ROLL
We toast our faithful comrades
Now fallen from the sky
And gently caught by God’s own hand
To be with Him on high.
To dwell among the soaring clouds
They knew so well before
From dawn patrol and victory roll
At heaven’s very door.
And as we fly among them there
Were sure to hear their plea--
"Take care, my friend; watch your six,
And do one more roll...Just for me."
-- By Captain Gerald Coffee
WHERE DREAMERS FLY
One never regrets chasing a dream
or soaring with the North Star guide.
There is no fault with those who fail.
The shame is never having tried.
For the rare ones born with a
skyward eye,
who scan the heavens without a sound,
to insist they dwell on earthly planes
is like chaining an eagle to the ground.
Heroes are they who pursue their
vision
which started back with chart-papered walls
and models fashioned by imaginative hands,
ignoring all others sensible calls.
It's in their hearts and in their
blood.
There is naught else that they can say.
And, tho' faced with sacrifice and tears,
they'd have it none other way.
'Tis not for them to clip their
wings.
With arm-chair jockeys, they'd not trade.
It's the fury and the danger that lures them on,
even when the bitterest price is paid.
Somewhere, in a place unseen by
man...
out there, between horizon and sky,
exists a level of lofty clouds
where dreamers dare to fly.
By Virginia Bennett
Because I Fly
Because I fly I laugh more than other men
I look up and see more than they,
I know how the clouds feel,
What it's like to have the blue in my lap,
to look down on birds,
to feel freedom in a thing called the stick...
Who but I can slice between God's billowed legs,
and feel them laugh and crash with His step
Who else has seen the unclimbed peaks?
The rainbow's secret?
The real reason birds sing?
Because I fly, I envy no man on earth.
By Brian Schul
I Do Not Choose to be a Common Man
"This I have done, and this is what it means to be an American."
-- Dean Alfange