From Deadman's Trail

Dick Ewers

Dick EwersWhile at the Academy, Dick excelled both militarily and academically and as a result he was on the Supt's List nearly all the time. He represented us well as a member of the Golf Team and served as Cadet Squadron 20 Commander. After graduation Dick was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the US Marine Corps - our only classmate to receive a commission in a sister service.

The Basic SchoolDick's first assignment was The Basic School at Quantico where he learned to be a Marine. Following Quantico was pilot training with the US Navy at NAS Pensacola FL followed by training at NAS Kingsville TX. For the next ten years, Dick flew various models of the F-4 Phantom: first with VMFA 212 Kaneohe, HI; then with VF 154 aboard the USS Ranger; then at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, CA and then he served at Hahn AB, Germany as an exchange pilot with the 496th Tactical Fighter Squadron.

Dick and the F-86 he flew at Test Pilot SchoolThen in 1980, after his tour with the US Air Forces in Europe - it was off to the Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, MD and a follow on assignment as a strike air test pilot with the Naval Air Test Center. After his tour as a test pilot, Dick returned to an operational unit as Commander of VMFA-122, an F4S Squadron at Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station, SC. Next Dick was the Operations Officer, and an F4S/RF4B pilot for Marine Aircraft Group 15, Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan.

Flying the F4S over Niagra FallsAfter his tour in Japan, Dick was sent to the Pentagon in the Fighter Weapons Requirements department, however after two years he escaped to the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, MD as Chief Test Pilot/F/A-18 Program Manager Strike Aircraft Test Director. In 1989 Dick retired as a Lt Colonel, having earned three Meritorious Service Medals, three Air medals and a Navy Commendation Medal w/combat "V" along with having flown the F4 series aircraft for better than 10 years with over 3000 hours in 6 models.

Dick with a C-20A at Adak, Alaska After leaving the Marine Corps, Dick served as a Engineering Test Pilot with Westinghouse Electric Corporation in Baltimore, MD. There he flew the BAC 1-11, Sabreliner (T-39), Pilatus Britten-Norman BN-2T, Cessna 310 and Cessna 206 aircraft doing Forward Looking Infrared and Radar research. The BAC 1-11 was a test bed aircraft for the B-1 radar system and also for all the foreign military second generation F-16 radar development. He flew that plane to Europe and to Taiwan for radar development flying. Dick's next position was with the Electronic Sensors & Systems Division, Northrop-Grumman at the Baltimore Washington International Airport.

Dick with the F-18 at EdwardsIn 1998, Dick became a Research Pilot for NASA at the
Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB, CA. For the next 13 years Dick has had to fly the F/A-18 again and do lots of fun research with it. He also got checked out in DC-8, B-52, Gulfstream 2 & 3, Learjet, KingAir, T-34C. Mainly flying the DC-8 and Gulfstream now and these are on world traveling missions. With the DC-8 he achieved official “bi-polar” status with flights over both the north and south poles.

Bill and DickDick has flown the Gulfstream extensively the past several years and gotten to take it to: Thule, Greenland, the Aleutian Island chain in Alaska, Hawaii several times, and all over the continental United States. It has a high resolution ground mapping radar on it which is used to map geological events (earthquakes, coastal erosion, volcanoes, etc). At Edwards, Dick has been with our classmate, Bill Brockett, CS-21, who also flies the DC-8 and also has “bi-polar” credentials.

Dick flying the F-18 with F-22sCongratulations Dick on the continuation of an unparalleled flying career as a Marine Aviator in combat, operations and test followed by another 23 years on the civilian side in research and development as a test/support pilot and project manager.

Click on thumbnails for larger images.

Dick has been married to his wife, Sharon, for over 42 years. They have two children and three young granddaughters.
The Ewers' Family
Left to Right: Son-in-law Justin Chandler, Regan Chandler, daughter Corie holding Blake Chandler, me, Sharon, granddaughter Danica, son Gary and Daughter-in-law Desiree.

RGE005.jpg RGE008.jpg RGE009.jpg RGE010.jpg RGE011.jpg RGE012.jpg RGE013.jpg
RGE014.jpg RGE017.jpg RGE018.jpg RGE019.jpg RGE021.jpg RGE022.jpg RGE023.jpg
Click on thumbnails for larger images.

Dick and Sharon - Thank-you for sharing your lives with us - we're all proud of you!

April 2011


Return to Spotlight