CAP's airborne chaplains

[RiverAux]

While doing a little playing around on the internet, I came across an Sept. 21, 1954 Pittsburg Post-Gazette story about a C-46 crash in which 15 Civil Air Patrol chaplains would have died if they hadn't bailed out of the plane along with three crewmen.  This took place in California.  The Chaplains were going to a meeting at Mather AFB. 

Link: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OCANAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lWoDAAAAIBAJ&dq=civil-air-patrol%20crashed&pg=4590%2C5808810

[JC004]

!!!!!!!!!!!

[Chappie]

While doing a little playing around on the internet, I came across an Sept. 21, 1954 Pittsburg Post-Gazette story about a C-46 crash in which 15 Civil Air Patrol chaplains would have died if they hadn't bailed out of the plane along with three crewmen.  This took place in California.  The Chaplains were going to a meeting at Mather AFB. 

Link: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OCANAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lWoDAAAAIBAJ&dq=civil-air-patrol%20crashed&pg=4590%2C5808810

I know one of those chaplains - Ch, Lt Col, Del McLaughlin (ret.) -- who is now in his 90's.  He still has the parachute!!!  Del retired in 2005...was one of the first CAP chaplains appointed when the CAP Chaplain Corps began and attended the first National CAP Chaplain Conference -- which was later to morph into the Region Chaplain Corps Staff College.