<p>On 24 April 1965, Major <em>Theodore R. Loeschner </em>died in an air crash of his Lockheed C-130 at Korat Air Base, Thailand. Graveside services were held at the Fairview Cemetery, Colorado Springs, Colorado, on 8 May 1965. Thus his family lost a husband, father, son, and brother; the Class of 1952 lost a dear friend; and all of us, a soul in whose living we see no death.</p>
<p>Ted (or T.R. as he was known to some) was born in Forest Hills, New York, on 6 March 1928, but later moved to Delmar, New York, where he graduated from Bethlehem Central High School in 1946. Even during these formative years, few of life’s opportunities escaped Ted’s scrutiny: he raised chickens, and sold chickens and eggs to his neighbors; he was also well known in the community as an amateur horticulturist and owned extensive vegetable and flower gardens.</p>
<p>After high school and during a two-year enlistment in the Army at Fort Totten, New York, Ted was advised to make an "in service” application to West Point. The advice proved to be sound, for Ted received an appointment and went on to graduate with the Class of 1952. Ted soon earned his pilot’s wings and spent many hours either flying or on standby alert as an all-weather fighter-interceptor pilot with the Air Defense Command. Ted was also a better-than-average student, not only at USMA, but also at Stanford University where he earned a master of science degree in aeronautical engineering.</p>
<p>In 1960 Ted was assigned to the Air Force Academy for a tour that was to last four years. He first taught mathematics and later became instructor and assistant professor of aeronautics. In June 1964, he was transferred to the 315th Air Division, Tachikawa Air Base, Japan, and it was here, while flying a logistical support mission, that Ted lost his life.</p>
<p>Thus, the sum of a man’s life is reduced to a few paragraphs, but the substance requires more. Some insight into Ted’s substance can be gained from the words of several of his friends:</p>
<p>“Two of Ted’s distinguishable qualities made immediate friendship with him easy for anyone meeting him for the first time—his perpetually cheerful manner, and his readiness to volunteer assistance wherever help was needed.”</p>
<p>“I recall a visit I had with Ted while on a cross-country flight RON at Wright-Patterson AFB. On this last occasion that I saw him, I can recall the serious discussions we had concerning our respective military careers. Ted’s thoughts revealed a highly professional attitude and a deep sense of duty as he mapped out his future career objectives. His subsequent assignments to graduate school and to to faculty of the Air Force Academy fell within the pattern of these initial objectives.” Ted was as dedicated and devoted an Air Force officer as I’ve ever known, but he wasn’t officious about it. I’ll never forget that day at the Air Force Academy when Ted had the flu but nobody knew he was sick. A cadet came running upstairs to report that Captain Loeschner had passed out while explaining the First Law of Thermodynamics to his fifth-hour class."</p>
<p>“Ted was a devoted husband to Marg and an equally devoted father to David, Dwight, and Siri. (There should be a fond word, too, for Jet, Ted’s horse, for he brought fun and relaxation to the entire Loeschner family.)”</p>
<p>Ted’s death gives us all pause to ask the why of so early a death for this man who would have had many more years of giving of himself to his country, to his family, and to his friends. While there is no explanation to increase our acceptance of the Divine Will, a close inspection of the Register of Graduates reveals that, in every Class, premature deaths have cut short the promising careers of many such men who might well have worn the stars that fate, on a later day, awarded to their contemporaries.</p>
<p>Ted Loeschner’s death was an answer to the call of Duty, Honor, Country in performing military service where ordered and when ordered. His friends have been privileged in knowing and serving with him. His was a friendship we shall always remember.</p>
<p><em>—His classmates and friends</em><br /> </p>