DONALD K. CAUBLE, LT, USNR

Donald Cauble '53

Date of birth: December 31, 1931

Date of death: January 3, 1963

Age: 31

Lucky Bag

From the 1953 Lucky Bag:

DONALD KAY CAUBLE

Sparks, Nevada

Don, or "Fuzzy", heard the Navy's call in Reno, Nevada. An enthusiastic athlete, he was found spending his afternoons in the gym, natatorium, or on the football field. Despite sports at Navy he missed his first love . . . skiing. Easy to get along with, his only complaints were about the local weather and N.A. barbers. Being fussy about women he spent his weekends just taking it easy. Strictly a naval aviation man, Don's ability to make friends and overcome obstacles insure him a long and successful career.

He was also a member of the 2nd Regimental staff for the winter set and the 14th Company staff for the spring set.

DONALD KAY CAUBLE

Sparks, Nevada

Don, or "Fuzzy", heard the Navy's call in Reno, Nevada. An enthusiastic athlete, he was found spending his afternoons in the gym, natatorium, or on the football field. Despite sports at Navy he missed his first love . . . skiing. Easy to get along with, his only complaints were about the local weather and N.A. barbers. Being fussy about women he spent his weekends just taking it easy. Strictly a naval aviation man, Don's ability to make friends and overcome obstacles insure him a long and successful career.

He was also a member of the 2nd Regimental staff for the winter set and the 14th Company staff for the spring set.

Loss

Donald was lost when his F4D Skyray crashed shortly after takeoff from Olathe Naval Air Base, Kansas, on January 3, 1963. He was a reservist on weekend duty.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Donald was employed by Martin Aircraft Company of Littleton, Colorado, and was project engineer for the Titan II missile site near Denver. He was in the Naval Reserves with Fighter Squadron 882, and one weekend a month, he reported for duty. He was taking instruction on the new after-burner airplanes delivered the previous May. His plane climbed to about 1,000 feet and suddenly nosedived into the ground. He was aloft only 10 seconds when he crashed into a field. The following explosion blew the engine about 500 yards away.
Captain Louis Bangs, commander of the Olathe naval air station, said a loose contact wire to the servo-rudder was responsible for making the rudder behave erratically when the yaw dampener was activated. The false signals from the loose wire probably caused the plane to roll over, and the pilot probably was too busy checking his landing gear retraction to notice the roll while the craft was in the thick overcast.
Donald’s wife was the former Jean Ann Grossman, and their children were: Jennifer Lynn (4), James Eric (2), and Melissa Kay (6 weeks). His parents were Angus, a meat cutter, and Janet, a hospital nurse; brother Benjamin.

Donald is buried in Colorado.