I was stationed at NAS Agana Guam from June 1972 to June 1974. I was an Air Traffic Controller. I was there the on December 9th 1972 when the Air Force C-130 crashed. Captain Sanborn was a great guy as was TSGT Candelario. He went by the nickname "Candy". We got to know this particular air crew pretty well as they were TDY at NAS Agana. We went over to the Pan Am Hotel many times together for beers after work with that crew.. I do know that after the initial crash we saw at least 2 crewman get out of the plane and then run back inside to try and save people. The C-130 erupted in flames and the two heroes did not make it out. We rolled the crash crew but it was not enough to save them. I still believe to this day that it was Captain Sanborn and Candy that went back into the plane. It was a very tough time for all of us involved and I still think about the crew a lot. I do know that Candy told me he was from Puerto Rico.
It was just a coincidence that I happened to be working in the NAS Agana Tower the night the other Air Force C-130 crashed in April 1974 at Anderson AFB. I remember I was working A Stand and it was very late at night and we saw a large fireball up toward AAFB. I called them on our direct line immediately to see if they had seen that explosion. The controller told me they had just lost a C-130 on the runway and would have to call us back later. I never talked to him again. I did hear the next day that the C-130 had crashed and exploded and ran off the end of the runway and off the cliff. I had also heard that the C-130 was fully fueled and was heading to Midway but I never did verify that.
These were very bad memories for me and the others I worked with.
AC2 Foster
