Arizona Man Apologizes For An Ill-Timed Noise Complaint

By Kevin R.C. 'Hognose' O'Brien

In a recent Aero-Views, "Ingrates on Afterburner," I teed off on one Tom MacRae, who wrote a sarcastic letter to the editor when jets flew overhead early one morning. The paper followed up with a query to Luke AFB, whence the jets launched, only to discover that the planes had been flying low for a solemn purpose -- to conduct a "missing-man"
flyby and properly send off a young, promising Air Force officer who perished in the crash of an Iraqi Air Force utility plane.

After reading this exchange in the letters and op-ed pages, Mr MacRae wrote back to the paper, the Arizona Republic; he said that far from being some kind of anti-American or anti-military person, he himself was a Navy veteran of Vietnam, and he did something rare: he apologized. His apology deserves to be quoted at some length:

"I read with increasing embarrassment and humility the response to my unfortunate letter to the Republic concerning an Air Force flyby.

I had no idea of the significance of the flyby, and would never have insulted such a fine and respectful display had I known....

This was simply an uninformed citizen complaining about noise.

My heart goes out to each and every lost serviceman and woman in this war....

Please accept my heartfelt apologies."

The fine art of apology, an art often thought lost in this tumultuous age, is alive and well in the hands of Mr MacRae, who displays the utility of a sincere apology in transforming a crass act to a class act. This apology was a class act. The least we can do is share it with all of you.

Thanks to the Aero-News readers who tipped us to Mr MacRae's mea culpa -- first of them was Jim Little of New River, AZ. Thanks, Jim.

After the original editorial, we received a number of tips, several of them including Mr MacRae's telephone number, which apparently was widely circulated (and which could be found on internet white pages services, just not the ones I tried). But the most interesting fact we didn't know till after I wrote the editorial is this: the officers at Luke AFB expected noise complaints, and they had done their level best to get information about the upcoming services for Capt. Jeremy Fresques (pictured below), including putting notices in the Arizona Republic.

The sad truth is that hardly anyone is going to read that sort of announcement in the newspaper -- I probably wouldn't. But everyone is going to notice a four-ship of F16s on the deck; that's just the way it is.

But I'd wager that the next time people in Arizona hear low-flying jets, a lot more of them think about the missing man formation. Some of them might even spare a thought or a prayer for Jeremy Fresques and his family. If this happens, Mr MacRae's letter and all that has resulted from it deserves its share of the credit.

FMI: www.luke.af.mil