Ronald Glenn Bridges, Sergeant, USAF (Fallen)
March 22, 1952 – March 17, 1976

Birth: Apr. 22, 1952, Cairo, Alexander County, Illinois, USA
Death: Mar. 17, 1976, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

Sergeant Ronald G. Bridges died in the crash of a USAF CH-53C helicopter, March 17, 1976, at Sembach AB, near Kaiserslautern, Germany. The CH-53C helicopter had been making a routine training flight around the Sembach AB. The helicopter had landed on a helipad on the base, then lifted off to an altitude of about 10 feet when it suddenly fell to the ground, rolled over, and burst into flames, instantly killing Sgt. Bridges and the three other crew members on board.

CH-53C #68-10927
Sembach AB, Germany
17 March 1976

CH-53C #68-10927 of the 601st TASS at Sembach AB, Germany, crewed by Capt. William H. McGeorge (IP), Capt. John G. Piroutek (P), Sgt. Ronald G. Bridges (FE) and Sgt. Richard D. Seaman (FE), crashed during a routine training mission at Sembach AB, Germany killing all four crew members. The helicopter was in a hover when it rolled over and crashed inverted and it was determined the cause was a primary servo bolt breakage.
 
No other details are available at this time.