This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Hambleton, Flessner, Randall Classification: Obituary Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/0k.2ADE/2217 Message Board Post: Lt. Col. I.E. "Gene" Hambleton September 30, 2004 Lt. Col. I.E. "Gene" Hambleton, a military aviator whose 1972 rescue in Vietnam inspired the movie "Bat 21," died Sept. 19 in Tucson, Ariz. He was 85 years old. Col. Hambleton, a longtime friend of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Randall, had visited Dunlap several times. He became known worldwide through the book "Bat 21" that he wrote with the help of a U.S. Air Force friend. The book was printed in several languages and was made into the movie of the same name in which Gene Hackman played the part of Gene Hambleton. Col. Hambleton was a navigator, radar operator, and electronics countermeasure officer. Bat 21 was the call sign of the plane performing a night mission over North Vietnam when it was shot down by a SAM missile. Hambleton was injured in the explosion and ejection at high altitude and was the sole survivor. The book is the story of his escape and evasion in enemy territory with the help of his Motorola radio, forward air controllers and intelligence officers using golf code and knowledge of Hambleton's golf experiences and navigation abilities. Col. Hambleton retired in 1973 after 30 years of distinguished service in the U.S. A! ir Force. Military memorial services with bagpipes were held Sept. 23 in Tucson and will be held this week in Illinois. Hambleton's remains will be taken to the national cemetery near Joliet, Illinois, to be interred with his wife of some 60 years, Gwen (Flessner) Hambleton, who died Dec. 21, 2003. Gene and Gwen were both Illinois natives. They never had children. Dick and Margaret Randall knew Gene and Gwen Hambleton when the two fliers were in training at Randolph AFB, San Antonio, Texas, and then at Forbes AFB, Topeka, Kansas during the Korean war. Gene Hambleton has played the Dunlap Golf Course and stayed at the Randalls' home in Dunlap. The Randalls hosted a Bat 21 reception at the Gold Slipper with the Hambletons who had come to Dunlap after attending a small Iowa bankers meeting at a golf course in Galena, Illinois. Hambleton enjoyed the bank group and golfed with them at Okoboji. The Dunlap Library has the Bat 21 book as do several of the more senior Dunlap fir! emen. Respectfully submitted for other researchers ©The Dunlap Reporter 2004