More than 60 people attended a ceremony Saturday, May 18 to honor the owners of a Ramona winery and commemorate the site of a Navy jet crash that occurred on the property in 1961.
Norm Case and Elaine Lyttleton, owners of Hatfield Creek Winery and Vineyards, have spent hours digging through the crash site, learning about the incident that killed the two pilots. They even created a memorial for the pilots at the site of the crash.
For their efforts, the couple was honored by the Linares chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
“One of the pillars of DAR is historic preservation,” said Brenda Kaesler, DAR regent, at the ceremony on the winery property at 1625 state Route 78. “Ramona has so much history that no one knows about. We were really excited when the opportunity came about to honor Elaine and Norm and to remember the pilots who perished.”
Kaesler read previous reports of the crash, and discussed the importance of remembering history.
She then presented Case and Lyttleton with the National Historic Preservation Recognition award from the Linares Chapter, on behalf of the National Society of DAR.
A framed photograph of Navy LCDR Vernon Thompson, who was killed in 1961 when his jet crashed on the site that is now Hatfield Creek Winery and Vineyards.
(Regina Elling )
The award and accompanying medal were one of only 22 given out nationwide for the year, she said.
“The land revealed itself to us,” Lyttleton said about discovering the crash site over time.
The memorial consists of a plaque attached to a large boulder at the crash site. Shallow bowls on top of the boulder hold small fragments of metal still being recovered from the wreckage by winery guests.
Norm Case and Elaine Lyttleton placed a wreath from Wreaths Across America at the crash site. The organization will now place a wreath at the memorial every year.
(Regina Elling )
Those at the ceremony were able to visit the memorial, where a wreath was placed by Case and Lyttleton at the base. A luncheon and raffle were also part of the day’s events.
A small memorial marks the site of a 1960s Navy jet crash at Hatfield Creek Winery and Vineyards. The site is accessible by guests from a walking trail.
(Regina Elling )
As part of the Wreaths Across America program, a new wreath will be placed at the memorial every year, Kaesler said.
Case and Lyttleton’s research began nearly 20 years ago, when the couple purchased the property in 2006, intending to start a vineyard.
Case — a retired firefighter and arson investigator, as well as a former pilot and airplane owner — said he found plane parts when he started clearing the land for growing grapes.
Over a period of months, Case investigated the site, mapped out the debris field, took photos and continued to collect small parts of the plane wreckage, he said.
The couple were unable to learn much about what happened until Case found a pilot’s dog tag while cleaning up debris from the Witch Creek Fire of October 2007.
“If you find somebody’s dog tag, you can’t just ignore it, you have to do something,” Lyttleton said.
After the dog tag discovery, the couple learned that a Navy jet — a Grumman F9F-8T “Cougar” — crashed in Ramona on Jan. 17, 1961.
The jet hit a “house-sized” boulder. The resulting explosion killed the pilot, Navy LCDR Vernon Thompson, immediately, Lyttleton said.
The co-pilot, 23-year-old Ensign Dennis F. Cubbison, was ejected from the rear seat, but was fatally injured when his parachute failed to open.
Bob Vaughn attended the ceremony. He lived in Ramona and was an air traffic controller at MCAS Miramar on the day of the jet plane crash.
(Regina Elling )
Bob Vaughn, who attended Saturday’s ceremony, said he was on duty as air traffic controller for NAS Miramar the day the ill-fated plane crashed.
Before he moved to Rancho Bernardo, Vaughn lived in Ramona for 12 years.
He said the jet was on a training mission from Miramar.
“When the aircraft would taxi out, we knew it would take one and a half hours as that was the mission standard for those type of training flights,” Vaughn said.
He said if a plane didn’t return at the expected time, it would be given another 20 minutes before all the nearby air traffic control towers would be contacted in a communications search.
“Nobody had heard anything and we were concerned,” Vaughn said of the training flight.
He said they later received a message that an accident had been reported in Ramona.
Immediately after the crash, the bigger pieces of the plane were recovered, as well as the body of Cubbison, by a Navy forensic team deployed at the time, Lyttleton said.
The body of the pilot was never recovered, she said.
After Case’s discovery of the dog tag, the Navy sent a team out in July 2009, but no other parts of significance or human remains were found, Lyttleton said.
Claudine Moore, member of the Rincon del Diablo Chapter of DAR, played fife at the ceremony.
(Regina Elling )
Jamie Tyrone, representing the Linares chapter of DAR, said she first met the couple as a guest at the winery.
“Since then, we’ve become good friends, and I just love and adore the both of them,” Tyrone said.
Tyrone spearheaded the efforts to have them and their work recognized.
“It was an amazing, moving, perfect day,” said Lyttleton. “We’re honored to be the final resting place of Vernon Thompson and to have him remembered in this way.”
Brenda Kaesler, DAR regent, shown with Navy Lt. Tristan Engle, chaplain at MCAS Miramar.
(Regina Elling )
Following the Hatfield Creek event, attendees stopped at Reds, Whites & Brews, at 629 Main St., where a medal and certificate were given to Peter Bidegain, the bar’s owner.
Following the Hatfield Creek event, a certificate and medal were given to Peter Bidegain. The owner of Reds, Whites & Brews, Bidegain said the building was once known as the Pioneer Store and is the oldest structure in Ramona, dating to 1883.
Guests were able to tour the building and view Bidegain’s restoration efforts.
An Excellence in Historic Preservation medal was given to Peter Bidegain, owner of Reds, Whites & Brews in Ramona, for his work in preserving the 1883 building.
(Regina Elling )
“We honor Peter’s commitment to maintaining and restoring the building to its original historical condition,” said Tyrone, noting that the site is also registered with the State of California as of Historical Interest.
“How exciting it is to be recognized for improving such an important historical point of interest,” said Bidegain.
Daughters of the American Revolution is a nonprofit, non-political women’s organization dedicated to promoting patriotism and preserving American history.
