Widow returns to Air Force with help from 90th FS family

  • Published
  • By Capt. Ashley Conner
  • 477th Fighter Group Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  Lt. N.C. Das and her husband, Capt. Eric Das, were deployed together in Southwest Asia in 2003 when the F-15E that he was flying crashed. He and his weapons systems officer, Lt. Col. Bill Watkins, were killed.

He was assigned to the 333rd Fighter Squadron and she to the 336th FS both from Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C.

"The morning of Sunday April 6, Eric and I went to church together and then I went to work," Das said. "He wasn't on the schedule to fly, but was ready and then got added to the evening missions when another pilot was unavailable."

After her shift ended at midnight, Das went back to her tent and fell asleep while writing letters back home. Around 3 a.m. a co-worker came to the tent to wake her and tell her that one of their jets had crashed.

"I didn't know Eric died. I just knew that we had a jet down," she said.

After getting into work it eventually became evident that the plane that had crashed was her husband's.

Das left Southwest Asia on April 13 without knowing the definitive status of her husband. His duty status remained whereabouts unknown until ten days after the crash. While waiting with family in Texas, the official word came in that his remains had been positively identified.

The only personal affect returned to her from the crash site was a coin, which honored the Sept. 11, 2001 victims with the words "We will never forget" on one side and "United together in the fight against terrorism" on the other side.

"Eric flew that night with some coins that we intended to send to folks back home. Only two were recovered," said Das as she pulled one of the coins, twisted, cracked and visibly heat-damaged, out of her wallet. "I have this one. His parents have the other."

Das met her husband while they were both stationed at Elmendorf AFB. He was an F-15E pilot assigned to the 90th FS and she was waiting to start pilot training. Having grown up with a Marine helicopter father Das knew how close knit the military could be.

"The year I spent in Alaska was amazing," she said. "The Dicemen were a tight group and they always looked out for each other."

Plans changed after the couple got engaged and instead of pilot training, Das was assigned to an operations support element at Seymour Johnson AFB so that the couple could be stationed together in North Carolina.

About a year and a half after her husband's death, Das separated from active duty Air Force and focused on her master's degree and worked as a civilian contractor.

"I knew it was time for something different," she said. "I traveled to Kenya four times to study remote village schools and work with children in the Nairobi slums. I knew that aid work was the right kind of job for me."

In 2011, Das moved back to Anchorage, where her brother and family live, to begin her work with at-risk children in the foster care system.

"My brother is a Reservist in the 477th FG and mentioned that I might consider joining the Reserve," she said. "If you allow the Air Force family to become a part of your fabric, you can't unstitch it."

Das joined the 302d Fighter Squadron as an executive officer in 2012. The 302d FS is a Reserve F-22 unit that integrates with the active duty 525th and the 90th FS - her husband's previous squadron.

During the Reserve Unit Training Assembly weekends, Das can visit the heritage room at the 90th FS to see her husband's name etched in the bar and a memorial plaque that the Das family presented to the 90th FS with his photo, coin, scarf and other memorabilia.

"The 90th FS heritage holds a special place in my family's heart given the camaraderie that they showed us over the years. Many Dicemen have served as our family's source of support," she said. "[Seeing his plaque on the wall] doesn't make me sad. It makes me proud. I try to carry myself in a way that honors Eric's memory - what he lived and what he died for."

Along with support from her brother, who was also assigned to the 90th FS when Das and her husband met, the military supported the Das family during their darkest days and continues to do so today.

"Col. David Piffarerio [477th Fighter Group deputy group commander] offered me a way that helped to start a new chapter in my life. He let me explore new Air Force career opportunities outside of my previous work experiences," she said. "I am grateful that the Reserve affords me job flexibility and the privilege to continue to serve my country in this way."