Ken Hesse, 1935-2011

Kenneth Robert “Ken” Hesse, a member of the crew that flew Air Force One during the Nixon Administration, died on April 7 in Woodstock, Georgia, at the age of 76. His obituary appears here.  Along with his involvement in flights in which the President and heads of state visiting America were passengers – including President Nixon’s renowned February 1972 visit to the People’s Republic of China – Hesse also was on board during the historic flights Dr. Henry Kissinger made in 1971-72 to Beijing which made possible RN’s trip. The obituary quotes Ed Klonoski, who came to know Hesse when both were working for FlightSafety International after Hesse’s retirement from the USAF:  “The kind of pilots the Air Force chooses to fly Air Force One — they’re the best of the best, and Ken certainly belonged in that category.”