In Memory of
BALLSÉ

BALLSÉ (left to right) Bill Lancaster II Mark Hurstadt Joe Johnson Jimmy Ashburn

BALLSÉ was a "garage band" made up of airmen at Inçirlik CDI, Turkey and a student at Inçirlik High School in 1980. They were all killed in the crash of an Air Force C-130 returning from a tour of U. S. bases in Turkey. For the complete story, click here. Read the Special Edition of the Looking Glass, the Inçirlik base newspaper, which received a Thomas Jefferson Award from the Department of Defense for its coverage of this tragedy. (Warning: This is a monster file and will take some time to download)

The photo to the right is courtesy of Kathy (Smith) DeFilippis, Inçirlik High School Class of 1981 who dated Joe Johnson's older brother Paul who, at 17, was allowed to fly with Joe as his sponsor. Both Joe and Paul Johnson died in the crash. This is a photo of Kathy and Paul in their Inçirlik High School class jackets. Both boys were buried in Spain where their parents live in retirement.