Over the frozen weekend of December 2-4, 2005 I had the honor and privilege of visiting the grave of Airman James Ray “Shorty” Short.

Shorty, serving as an Aircraft Fuel Systems Mechanic with the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing, 81st Field Maintenance Squadron (USAFE), was killed in an explosion of an F-4D Phantom II 600 gallon centerline tank during maintenance in support of NATO operations in Building 688, Hangar 7 on Phase Row at RAF Bentwaters, England on April 17, 1978.

Those dark days did not allow for much in the way of memorializing Shorty, and everyone was stunned in their own grief and concern for the other Airman burned in the explosion and attempted rescue. There was a memorial service at the Bentwaters Base Chapel, but not much else in the way of what happened and where Shorty went after he was killed.

For 27 years, this loss and the virtual invisibility of this man who was a living breathing person, who enjoyed his new life in Suffolk, England exploring hat he could see in his off-duty hours in his black Morris Minor, was a deep hole for me and I imagine for many others who knew Shorty.

With the help of Linn Barringer and his commitment and gift of creating and maintaining the RAF Bentwaters website, Shorty has been memorialized and remembered. Hopefully, as other people remember him and maybe search to find him or come to grips with the night of April 17, 1978, they will find solace here and a sense that Shorty existed in, and is now at rest in a beautiful spot.

James Ray Short is buried in the Oak Hill Cemetery (North) in Crawfordsville Indiana. Crawfordsville is 45 miles Northeast of Indianapolis. It is a beautiful town with stunning architecture and a comfortable, historic downtown district. It is a town that looks inviting and certainly was friendly and very welcoming. I could easily imagine Shorty growing up in it and being part of this small midwestern community.

Shorty is buried in the historic cemetery as General Lew Wallace, who served in the Union Army during the Civil War and became the author of Ben Hur and also served as the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey. Shorty is buried in Section 23 in the second row from the small access roadway. The cemetery staff at Oak Hill were friendly, and more than helpful, going out of their way to mark the road (in the snow) where I needed to park to be adjacent to Shorty’s grave as well as cleaning the snow off Shorty’s marker.

The Cemetery Project.com

www.neighborhoodlink.com/org/oakhillcemetery/

I have taken these pictures of Shorty’s grave. There were flowers already there and certainly he is still deeply missed by his family and friends in Crawfordsville. I brought a holiday wreath on behalf of the women and men of the 81st TFW. I also left a yellow shoulder rope, I wore while stationed at the 3354th School Squadron, at Chanute AFB in Rantoul, Illinois, not too far from Crawfordsville. This is where I first met Shorty, while we attended Aircraft Systems training (the base has been closed for many years) before being deployed to RAF Bentwaters.

It was great to be there and to think of Shorty alive, and see the beautiful community where he lived.

If you get to Indianapolis, please stop by and say hello to Shorty and enjoy this beautiful community. If you go for a visit, please stay in the welcoming and special bed and breakfast on farmland just outside of Crawfordsville. Doug Dawson runs Thelma’s Bed and Breakfast and it was the perfect place to stay to get easily to the cemetery and to enjoy this historic and beautiful city. Thelma’s is a restored, Italianate style home (this one from the immediate post-Civil War era) and it provided a safe, comfortable place for my pilgrimage:

Peace brother!

Peace to all who knew Shorty and remember him.

Chuck Dalldorf - December 2005