DANIEL W. STILL, LT, USN
Daniel Still '68
Lucky Bag
From the 1968 Lucky Bag:
DANIEL WILLIAM STILL
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Dan hails from Cheyenne, Wyoming where he attended St. Mary's High School. He was an all state end in football while also lettering in basketball and track for four years. He then moved on to the University of Wyoming, working his way through two and a half years, logging plenty of time at the Cowboy Union and the Campus Shop where his lifelong friendship with Adolf Coors began. But Dan wanted to be a Navy pilot, so he packed his bags and came to USNA where he immediately became a leader in his class. A member of the Class Ring and Crest Committee Dan owned the distinction of designing our Class Crest. He also owned the distinction of being caught along with his illustrious roommate, bombarding the Admiral's car with snowballs. Dan's high ambition for Navy Wings of gold combined with his high spirits and natural leadership qualities will assure him of a great Navy career.
DANIEL WILLIAM STILL
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Dan hails from Cheyenne, Wyoming where he attended St. Mary's High School. He was an all state end in football while also lettering in basketball and track for four years. He then moved on to the University of Wyoming, working his way through two and a half years, logging plenty of time at the Cowboy Union and the Campus Shop where his lifelong friendship with Adolf Coors began. But Dan wanted to be a Navy pilot, so he packed his bags and came to USNA where he immediately became a leader in his class. A member of the Class Ring and Crest Committee Dan owned the distinction of designing our Class Crest. He also owned the distinction of being caught along with his illustrious roommate, bombarding the Admiral's car with snowballs. Dan's high ambition for Navy Wings of gold combined with his high spirits and natural leadership qualities will assure him of a great Navy career.
Loss
Daniel was lost on June 7, 1972 when the QT-33 Shooting Star jet he was piloting crashed into Santa Cruz Island, off the coast of Southern California. He was flying from Naval Air Station Point Mugu, testing control of the aircraft by remote control.
Other Information
He was a project officer at the Naval Missile Center at Point Mugu, CA.
Other Information
From the April 1973 issue of Shipmate:
The Cheyenne native was a 1968 graduate of the Naval Academy. Upon completion of flight training he was ordered to Point Mugu Pacific Missile Range. While there he flew the F-9, F-8, and T-33. The latter was the plane involved in the accident which caused his death.
Lt. Still is survived by his widow, Phyllis, of Cheyenne, WY; two sons, Montgomery Francis, 2, and Randolph Myles, born in December, 1972; and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. H. S. Still of Cheyenne.
He was also survived by his brother, Myles Still '66, and two sisters, Janice and Maureen.
Daniel is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Photographs
From the April 1973 issue of Shipmate.
Remembrance
Posted by Darryl Andrews on FindAGrave/We Remember site:
I served with Dan Still during 1971 and 1972 at the Naval Air Station at Point Mugu, CA. We both flew Navy Pacific Missile Test Range aircraft in support of various projects and missions.
One evening, Dan and I visited a home in nearby Camarillo to talk to a young man about our flying experiences at the request of a civil service engineer whom we both knew. I remember Dan telling the young man that he loved hat he did so much that he would fly ten times per day if the powers let him.
Dan was a "hot shot" jet pilot, while I was a more mundane patrol pilot. Dan was a graduate of the Naval Academy, while I graduated from a state college. Needless to say, Dan was on a much better track with respect to a career in the Navy than I was, had I desired that path.
At the time, the Navy was using older jet aircraft as target drones for missile shoots. Due to the extreme hardware costs involved, there were numerous rehearsals for each live firing, so one of Dan's assignments was to fly target drones manually from take off, then let let ground personnel control the aircraft during the test, and then to take control back and safely land the target drone at the end of the rehearsal. This process minimized the loss of expensive drones, which were always at high risk during take off and landing under remote control.
On Dan's last flight, I was told that the drone was under remote control from the ground, when Dan said something like, "It's going on it's back ... I'm disconnecting," which meant that he was taking back control. There was obviously a catastrophic failure of some sort, and Dan was not able to either regain control, or eject. The aircraft wreckage was found on one of the Channel Islands.
Dan was the second friend that I lost during that two year stay at Point Mugu, and each time it was a traumatic shock to get the news. Dan was a great pilot, an excellent officer, and a very nice person.
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