Saxton Hails Vet’s Day @ Opening of New Memorial
Says C-141 ‘Starlifter’ was revolutionary, paved way for C-17 Globemaster
MCGUIRE AFB. - In his final planned public appearance as Congressman, U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton today celebrated Veterans’ Day with over 300 veterans, airmen, service members and other officials at McGuire Air Force Base gathered to unveil a new monument to the venerable C-141 Starlifter, which was flown by McGuire crews for many years.
"It is fitting that this vintage aircraft before us will stand as a lasting monument to freedom, and to the airmen and the soldiers who were ferried to whatever the fight of the day was, and then later, back home again," said Saxton, keynote speaker. "Whenever young airmen drive past or fly overhead, they shall recall the storied history of this venerable aircraft-- the workhorse of the Cold War."
Saxton called the C-141 a "revolutionary" aircraft forged in the wake of the 1948-49 Berlin airlift which demonstrated a new need for intercontinental ariel transport, or airlift. A Starlifter’s 168-foot long frame could provide airlift for 200 combat troops and materiels over long distances, delivered those forces and their supplies, food and equipment either by air or airdrop, resupply forces, and transport the sick and wounded from hostile areas in especially modified medical transports to advanced medical facilities.
The last C-141 departed McGuire in September 2004. Its exit made room for the vaunted new airlifter, the Boeing C-17, often called a marvel of aviation and the best airlifter ever built in the history of flight. Saxton noted that 270 C-141s’ have retired, but only 205 C-17s have been built. He said that probably 250 to 300 were ultimately needed. He also noted that there was room for a second C-17 squadron at McGuire.
Saxton said that one of the saddest days in his 24 years in office was in 1997, when news of a missing C-141 from McGuire reached him. The McGuire plane and nine airmen on board were lost after colliding with a German transport plane carrying 24 people. After a two-week search at sea, there were no survivors. He recognized a nearly a dozen family members of the doomed flight who came today to see the dedication.
Saxton addressed the active and reserve airmen at the ceremony.
"Carry on, and continue to be the great arm of air mobility that takes our soldiers to defend the vulnerable in this dangerous world, or bring humanitarian relief to the victims of earthquakes, hurricanes and natural disasters around the world," Saxton told the assemblage. "Carry on, to be the best Air Force in the world, as you face tests in war and peace. Great marvels of aviation like the Starlifter of yesterday, and the Globemaster of today & tomorrow, will bear you forth to confront the enemy and protect the free world."
McGuire was home to the last C-141 model, the C-141B, in the U.S. active inventory. The B-model is a "stretched" C-141A with in-flight refueling capability. The innovative "stretching" of the Starlifter consisted of lengthening existing planes 23 feet 4 inches. The added length increased the C-141 cargo capacity by about one-third. The C-141A, built between 1963 and 1967, was AMC's first jet aircraft designed to meet military standards as a troop and cargo carrier. The C-141C includes the addition of advanced avionics. Some C models will be maintained in the Reserve system. McGuire has operated as many as 60 C-141s at a time.
With more than 40 years of service and nearly nine million flying hours, the C-141 force has a proven reliability and long-range record. At a top speed of mach .74 (500 mph), the planes are powered by four Pratt and Whitney turbofan jet engines flown by a crew of five or six and a cargo of 69,000 pounds. Manufactured by Lockheed-Georgia Inc., the first C-141A began squadron operations in April 1965. The C-141 was the first jet transport from which U.S. Army paratroopers jumped. The first C-141B was received by the Air Force in December 1979. Conversion from A to B models was completed in 1982. For more about the C-141, visit the Air Force factsheet at
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