Lt Crawford was Sophomore Instructor for 2 years, during which he was Faculty Advisor to the Radio Club and The Barnacle. He came to Tulane NROTC in September 1964 from the USS Cone (DD-876) where he was the Weapons Officer. He departed in June 1966 to serve on the Staff of Admiral Ward, Commander US Naval Forces Vietnam. At the time of his death he was assigned to the Coastal Surveillance Force and served on Swift Boats.
On March 10, 1967, a U.S. Navy VC-47J (#99844) from Tan Son Nhut Air Base Detachment, Naval Support Activity (NAVSUPACT) Saigon, USNAVFORV, suffered a wing failure and crashed into a hillside near Phan Rang while on an administrative Navy flight between Cam Ranh Air Base and Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Saigon, RVN. There were no survivors. The crew included pilot LCDR Robert G. Kerr Sr., co-pilot LCDR Leo C. Hester Sr., and crewmen ADR1 Cecil L Chapman and AE3 Francis R. Ferron Jr. There are varying accounts as to the number of passengers that were on this flight with as many as 21 quoted on some websites. However, a reliable Vietnam War casualty database (coffeltdatabase.org) suggests there were 10 passengers. Their website provides the following names: LT James M. Albright, LCDR Donald G. Brown, LT John C. Crawford, JO1 William C. Eckes, SP4 John H. Flynn, SFC Byron D. Hamlett, CAPT James J. L. Johnson, 2LT Roger W. Rabey, and CAPT Jacob F. Stepan. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and various web-based sources]
