Larry Tart served in the U.S. Air Force Security Service for twenty-one years, retiring in 1977 as a senior master sergeant. Trained as a Russian cryptologic linguist, he logged approximately 3,000 hours aboard C-130 and RC-135 aircraft conducting aerial signals intelligence reconnaissance missions. He has received eleven Air Medals and two Meritorious Service Medals. In September 2000, the Air Force Air Intelligence Agency inducted Larry into its Hall of Honor. He played a major role in creating the Aerial Reconnaissance (C-130) Memorial to honor 60528’s lost crew, dedicated in Fort Meade, Maryland, on September 2, 1997. He and his wife, Diane, reside in State College, Pennsylvania.
Robert Keefe is a professor of English at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. In 1956-57, he was trained as a Russian linguist and subsequently became one of the first airborne Russian-German linguists in Europe. He was a close friend of many of the recon crew members of aircraft 60528 when it was shot down. After his discharge from the Air Force in 1961, he received a B.A. from Brandeis University. Having won both a Woodrow Wilson and a Danforth Fellowship, he earned his Ph.D. at Princeton, specializing in Victorian literature. At UMass, he served for nearly a decade as director of English graduate studies. He lives in Northhampton, Massachusetts.
