In Memoriam

As a Crew Chief at Hahn A.B. in 1989 I knew "Sunny"

He was not only well liked by us, he was loved. I knew the Crew Chief on the aircraft he was in at the time of this tragic accident.We both began to cry when we heard about the loss. Another(younger) Crew Chief said we can always get another aircraft. I told him we were'nt crying over the aircraft you fool.

Sunny was'nt just a great pilot, he was a great man that was loved by all he came in contact with. I know I will never forget him.

I was in the same UPT class with Steve. He was an all around class act, I never saw him without a smile on his face. I don't think he went anywhere without his young son, I remember seeing him in his Toyota pick-up with his boy strapped in right next to him.

Almost 20 years later I still think about him a lot.

I am the proud sister of Sunny. I attended an airshow this weekend, in which an F-16 from Hill flew. Watching it fly brought back the vivid memories of Sunny's love to fly...how proud he was, and the strong bond he had with the guys from the 496th...and it sounds with many others as well. It always amazed me what he did....but he was able to balance it so that all knew how important his family, friends, and making a difference were to him. Sunny was the most perfect name for him!!!

There have been many F-16 accidents in the 1980s in Germany, but this one I remember very well. I was Christmas shopping with my parents when the news was broadcasted on the radio. I can remember that I could not get out of my mind that this happened only 4 days prior to Christmas... Nothing like that should happen around that time! I felt very sorry for the pilot and his family. The accident happened when 1stLt Sundstrom was on an intercept training mission with another F-16. Their "target" was an F-15 from Bitburg AB. 1stLt Sundstrom crashed into his leader in midair when he started to engage the F-15. His leader was able to eject and survived the crash which was caused by crew coordination problems between the two F-16s.

I actually witnessed the midair while flying at (helicopter) Sembach AB, Seen the fireball and departed the field to the crash location. Expected the crash to be closer than it was. Ended up following emergency vehicles to the scene. The german first responders did everything they could but it was too late. I had removed the Lt's name tag to indentify who was killed to radio back to Ramstein. Yes it is tragic. Way to many F-16 crashes during my tour.

I used to babysit for the Sundstrom family while in Germany. It has been so long ago, but I remember babysitting the kids during one of the services for Sunny. They had a beautiful house at the top of a hill and had a lot of candles lit throughout the house. I was only 11 at the time of the accident, but I still remember how I felt looking at the children knowing they would grow up without the luxury of thier father in their lives. I did not keep in contact with them when they left Germany, but I do hope they are doing well.

I was among the unfortunate few that was rushed to the scene from Sembach AB. My job was to take pictures of the scene and was saddened beyond words for months. I saw the Lt. at the scene and heard the local accounts. When I later photographed his wallet with the picture of his family and his other personal effects, I felt as though I had lost a member of my own family. As you can see from the date of this post, the images and feelings of that night in the field still held close. Still, 20 years later, I take a second to think about him and the family he left behind.

I got to know Steve and his wife at Luke AFB, AZ. He was a great guy to be around and loved his son very much. A real fun guy to be around. I remember reading about the accident and how sad i felt for them.

Does anyone know how I can contact the family of Lt. Sundstrom? I'm retireing from the AF soon and I've thought about him every day. I would like to invite his family to my retirement.

Thanks,

Rob