Vinson Kyle Perdue

This is a story that I share with the group, in hopes of reviving the memory of a fellow aviator. I was in class 80-02 at CBM. We graduated in November of 1979. I drove a blue, 1977 Corvette while at pilot training. One morning, early in T-38 training at the 50th, we had a weather roll-over event that allowed us to go to the base chow hall at Zero-Dark-Thirty. My classmate and I ran to the 5-acre parking lot to what I thought was my Corvette in the pouring rain. When we got into the car, my ignition key would not go into the ignition slot. It was then my classmate noted that this wasn’t my car. I was shocked. My door key worked to get into the car, but the ignition key would not fit the ignition. It was then I noticed the Vette was a 4-Speed. My car was an automatic transmission. We both got out of the car and there, a few spots over, was another blue Corvette. We got into that one, and it WAS mine. Upon return to the squadron, I started to look for the owner of the blue Corvette. Turns out, the Corvette is owned by Kyle Purdue. He was in the senior class and soon to graduate from pilot training. Over the next few months, I was routinely asked if I was at some location (lake, bowling alley, eating establishment), because they saw my Corvette. I explained no, I was not there but it was probably Kyle Purdue. He had a Corvette just like mine. Those sightings stopped after Kyle graduated UPT. One of my first students at Columbus as a new T-38 IP in 1983 was named Jon Newlon. He was in class 8208. He went to the Citadel and was from the Charleston area. He was a good golfer, and I would play with him occasionally. One day, while playing golf, he explains that two A-10s were zipping around overhead while he was at the Citadel, and one clips the trees and comes down on the golf course he was playing on. He was close by and rushed over to see if he could assist. The story is a little fuzzy here, but I recall Jon saying, “I tried to free the pilot from the cockpit. He was slumped over and when I took his helmet off, I was shocked because I knew him.” “His name was Kyle Perdue. We were stationed together as brats in Panama and somewhere else. I knew he had gone off to pilot training.” He said that Kyle perished in the accident in August of 1981 in Summerville. Jon ended up graduating from UPT and received an A-10 to England AFB Louisiana. Kyle Perdue was an outstanding officer and a great guy. Everyone that knew him always said great things about him. As one of the first students to get an A-10 out of UPT, we was an excellent student, with exceptional airmanship skills. The story goes that he avoided any homes or buildings when he went down. The odd connections in life can surprise you sometimes. My blue Corvette and Kyle’s connected us. Jon, knowing Kyle, and getting an A-10 to England connected them. As aviation brothers and sisters, our lives touch others over our careers. It is always an honor to have known and flown with all of you. I have attached a pic of me and my Corvette, and one of Jon Newlon and I on his graduation night. I hope this touches someone that knew Kyle and can add to the story.