Wright Peak Elegy

Second edition, including new preface

Freedom is Not Free.

Beginning with WW II Allied raids on Nazi Germany, the story continues with the onset of the Cold War, development of the jet-engine bomber, and the US strategy of nuclear deterrence. The ultimate sacrifice by some crews of the USAF B-47 Fleet-the high price of preserving the peace.

“Wright Peak Elegy is a fascinating account of how 4 young American aircrew members gave their lives in the defense of our nation during the Cold War. It’s an accurate account of the post-WW2 international situation, the creation of the Strategic Air Command and its demanding training environment, the B-47 bomber at the leading edge of the technology of the time, and a flight profile in which everything that could go wrong did and caused the loss of Pete 67 and its crew. This book by Alan Maddaus is a fitting tribute to their memory.” -Frank Baehre, Lt Col, USAF (Retired), B-52 and FB-111 pilot and former curator of the Plattsburgh AFB Museum

“In January 1962, a U.S. Air Force B-47 and its crew, on a nighttime training run in stormy weather, disappeared. Excruciating days later, wreckage and remains were spotted mere feet below the summit of a 4,580-foot Adirondack mountain. In Wright Peak Elegy, Alan Maddaus precisely yet sensitively probes the engineering and management factors that fed into the tragedy, plus its impact on survivors and on future Air Force protocol.” – Neal Burdick, Adirondack writer/editor

“Alan Maddaus has spun a saga that will appeal to history and aviation buffs alike. Expertly researched and footnoted, Wright Peak Elegy is an account of events before and after the tragic 1962 crash of B-47 bomber call sign Pete 67 in the Adirondacks. Although the aircraft was considered “state of the art” sixty years ago, its systems would be considered primitive compared to what is available today. That fact, coupled with a training area that is brutally unforgiving of any incapacity or neglect, and there was a recipe for disaster. The author has an appropriately reverential attitude toward the lost crew and their kin. He reminds us that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance and good judgement on the training field and on the battlefield. Highly Recommended.” – Michael C. Collins, retired US Army aviator and pilot for New York State Aviation

Author Biography

Alan Maddaus is a turbomachinery consulting engineer with an interest in historical research and writing. He is the author of The Prestons of East Street – The Story of a 19th-Century American Family and has contributed to Saratoga County Stories prior to the research and writing of Wright Peak Elegy. His other interests include hiking and trail running, acoustic guitar, special-interest cars, and historical home restoration. He is a member of the ADK 46ers. He, his wife, Barbara, and rescued animal companions divide their time between homes in upstate New York and coastal Maine.