By Charles Scott Williams
Brandon Pentecost showed up at the EAA Air Academy for a week of learning during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2019. This 17-year-old Texan is a highly motivated young man who earned his private pilot certificate through the Civil Air Patrol and gained aircraft maintenance experience working on the B-17G Texas Raiders as a Commemorative Air Force cadet.
Little did Brandon know when he showed up at AirVenture 2019 that a chance encounter with a special aircraft and flight crew would help offer closure regarding his father’s untimely death in Antarctica. On December 12, 2018, Brandon’s father, Bobby Pentecost, was killed at McMurdo Station on Ross Island while working on a fire suppression system.
Bobby’s journey home to Texas from Antarctica began in a New York Air National Guard LC-130, and this type of aircraft just happened to be a part of AirVenture 2019. There are many reasons why thousands of people show up at AirVenture. Mostly, it’s a love of all things aeronautical, learning aircraft-related maintenance skills at various workshops offered during the event, hearing the likes of astronaut Michael Collins speak at the Theater in the Woods, or simply enjoying the camaraderie of fellow aviators. For Brandon, a part of his experience was meeting LC-130 New York Air National Guard flight crew members who had helped bring his father home on the long journey from Antarctica.
AirVenture 2019 helped Brandon retrace the beginning segment of his father’s final journey home and brought him closure. A special reason, for a special young man, at a special event.
Pictured: Brandon Pentecost (center with cowboy hat) and New York Air National Guard LC-130 aircrew.