TUESDAY 4 SEP 79
Tim Davis goes on a rampage
Enjoy! Opa Fritz
Tim Davis goes on a rampage
It's best to say that I was not an actual witness to the events but I did get to the scene within minutes after the events unfolded.
Okay so as a little background: Tim Davis was my very first roommate at George AFB when we stayed in the old Temporary Lodging Facility (TLF) post-WWII era barracks. This was the late '70s and in the post-Vietnam all volunteer Air Force retention was an issue, soooo, it wasn't a huge surprise when he told me that while he was at POL tech school (POL is - in a nutshell - the aircraft refueling guys who are a part of the Supply Squadron) he went AWOL and they let him come back. Apparently the military had caught up with him in Florida and made him a deal that he finish tech school without any repercussions and continue with his Air Force career. Tim impressed me as, ummmm - different. And not in a good way!
So late one morning - almost lunchtime - I'm at work at the 35th Supply Squadron and there's a flurry of activity starting. The phones are ringing off the hook in the Demand Processing Section as people are ordering sand bags and there are rumors that something crazy is happening on base - that somebody took an R-9 refueling truck and was ramming into cars. We all joked as we wondered whether it was Tim!! How shall I say this? Tim's past behavior was such that he left little doubt in the minds of those of us in the squadron that it couldn't have been anyone else but him! The furor started prior to lunch and the calls had died down enough so that it was okay with my supervisor's to go to lunch. Shortly after getting into my car I started seeing the carnage: the first rammed car I saw was a new BMW in a parking lot just a few hundred feet from work, then another car, then another, then another, all crumpled and damaged in various parking lots. Then I stopped by the intersection of the base headquarters and there in the middle of the street were the remains of the Mobile Command Post. Tim had slammed right into it and almost ran over the base commander (we were told at the time)!! Along the way, one of the things he hit caused the left rear tank of the R-9 to rupture leaving a river of JP-4 in the streets stretching for blocks!! Then he headed to the flightline where he hit one of those Big Bertha cranes purposely driven into his path to prevent him from damaging any of the aircraft. Ramming into the crane damaged the front axles of the R-9 but he was able to drive away, but drove only a short distance before the front axles gave out and splayed. That's when he was set upon by a Security Policeman - whereupon he got punched pretty good! (About a year or so after the event I met the Security Policeman who had to confront and stop Davis who stated he gave Davis a good pummeling!). While I was walking around the scene - a scene that stretched on for blocks - I can remember looking at the river of JP-4 running down the street, the result of the ruptured tank of the R-9 refueling truck. I also remember hearing loud voices yelling at someone, "PUT THAT CIGARETTE OUT - PUT THAT CIGARETTE OUT!! Sure enough, there was some lady walking nonchalantly and smoking a cigarette. LOL Good Grief!
He totaled 14 cars, the Mobile Command Post, and of course ruined the R-9. After work I grabbed my camera and took as many photos as I could of the wrecked cars still in the parking lots. The next day I had the opportunity to get into the compund where the R-9 was kept. Being the squadron photographer they let me take all the pics I wanted.
Postscript: Months after the events of 4 Sep occurred we had heard rumors that Tim was sent to San Diego for a medical evaluation and it was discovered he had either a brain tumor or aneurism. The question is: did he develop errant behavior prior to or as a result of his medical condition? We'll never know. After the rumors subsided we never heard another thing about Tim or the final outcome.
Enjoy! Opa Fritz
This is the scene I remember shortly after it happened
Some of the cars Tim rammed that day
Like an eyeball hanging from its socket, this headlamp hangs forlorn
Here you can clearly see the splayed front wheels
The ruptured tank that led to the river of JP-4
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