Captain Russell Lowell Platt ’64 USAF

  2. Aggies to Recall
  3. Vietnam War
  4. Captain Russell Lowell Platt ’64 USAF

Air Medal

Russell Lowell Platt was born in El Paso TX on September 25, 1942 to Lowell and Nora Platt of Las Cruces. His father ran the Safeway store on Las Cruces Avenue. Raised in Las Cruces, Russell graduated from Las Cruces HS in 1960 and entered NMSU the next fall to study Chemistry. He graduated with his Bachelors of Science in 1964 and was commissioned into the USAF. Following his commissioning he was trained as a navigator and assigned to fly B-52’s as part of the 509th Bombardment Wing, SAC, at Fairchild AFB. In 1968 his aircraft was assigned temporary duty in Southeast Asia. Records appear to indicate that the crew flew over 80 Arc Light combat missions from U-Tapao Thailand before being assigned to Anderson AFB Guam. On May 10, 1969, Captain Platt was one of six crew members aboard B-52D #56-0593 as it took off from Anderson AFB from Guam in the early morning hours enroute to an Arc Light mission over Vietnam. He was flying as the radar navigator on the aircraft.

Captain Russell Lowell Platt ’64 USAF

It started a right turn after takeoff and crashed in the sea killing all six aboard. One B52 crewmember of the 393rd Bomb Squadron, 509th Bombardment Wing remembers the incident, saying: “The May 69 crash shortly after takeoff was debriefed to us as likely being the pilot following an erroneous artificial horizon display that was gradually causing him to bank the airplane while thinking he was in level flight caused by the inadvertent deactivation of the gyroscope during preflight and the incorrect display as the gyro wound down.  The accident was late at night, over water, right after takeoff and at low altitude and the explanation was logical though pure speculation.  I believe there was some corrective action taken to cover-guard the power switch for the instrument following that crash.”  Captain Platt’s body was recovered and returned to Las Cruces for burial in Hillcrest Memorial Cemetery.  He was survived by his wife and son.  Captain Russell Lowell Platt was 26 years of age at the time of his death in service to his nation.