Our Crew

Cliff Sjolund Jr, Minnesota

A 26-year veteran of the US Air Force, Cliff served as a B-52 line, instructor and evaluator pilot, war planner, college professor, vice-wing commander, aircraft crash investigator, and inspector general.

Cliff first learned of the disappearance after commanding the Texas-based B-52 squadron in which two members of the missing aircrew had served 24 years earlier. Following a discussion with one of those airman's daughter in 2019, he initiated a comprehensive post-mishap analysis of the facts tied to this 57-year-old cold case. His objective was simple: Equip surviving family members with the closure senior Air Force officials were unable to provide when they suddenly closed the book on the disappearance in March of 1968.

The two promises Cliff made to himself in 2019 still motivate today: Tell the story and keep their memories alive until we can bring all eight members of the missing Matagorda B-52F aircrew home to their loved ones. Those who've joined him on this grand adventure-turned-mission share his passion.

Shawn Murphy, Washington

Shawn served three years in the US Army during the Vietnam era. He has a passion for research and in retirement works as a maritime- and aviation-mishap investigator.

A private pilot, he's conducted volunteer air searches for missing aircraft and led an expedition to locate a tugboat and nine crewmen gone missing on an estuary of Puget Sound in 1926. He's also responsible for helping to determine the whereabouts of two missing pilots from a 1949 crash of a US Navy SNJ-5 training aircraft in a remote Cascade Range lake north of Seattle.

After meeting Cliff in 2021 and learning about the disappearance of 70173, getting involved in the project to bring them home was, in his words, "a no brainer."

Michael Champion, California

Michael served 20 years in the US Air Force and US Air Force Reserve as a radar, security police, and air transportation specialist. He also spent 31 years as peace officer with the California Highway Patrol, retiring as a member of the agency's Top Management team.

He has always been an aviation enthusiast.

After a chance encounter with Cliff via a Facebook post in 2020 and learning about the disappearance of B-52F 70173, he felt compelled to be a part of the mission to locate and bring home its eight missing aircrew. Michael's expertise as a former Radar Bomb Scoring (RBS) specialist brings a unique investigative perspective to the mission.

mary cadman, texas

The daughter of a highly decorated B-17 crewmember who played a significant role in the most-heralded aerial-combat mission of WWII, Mary learned the importance of bravery, commitment, and service at a very young age.

While attending college, Mary met and became friends with Pam, the daughter of another decorated Air Force veteran. Their father's stories differed in a significant way... Mary’s father came home from the war a hero in 1944 and lived a long life, but Pam’s father disappeared without a trace during a B-52 peacetime training mission in 1968.

Forty-five years later, Mary is honored to be part of the B-52 Bomber Down crew's mission to bring these men home and to play a role in giving her dear friend Pam the gift of a homecoming she so longingly deserves.

JD Rudman, florida

A US Air Force Electronic Warfare Officer, JD served on both the B-52 and AC-130 aircraft. He also served as a data analyst at the Air Force Personnel Center and as US commander and tri-national director of the POLYGONE Electronic Warfare Training Range located in Germany and France.