US Air Force Firefighter, 1950-1971
1952; Stationed in Korea, a Navy Corsair plane (whose wings are usually lower than the body of the plane) after taking off from a Navy ship, was coming in shot up and was forced to land on the ground. When planes are shot up, the Navy will not let them land back on the ship. The firetrucks were lined up all along the runway with Dunlap’s squadron firefighters ready for a potential fire. They were called into action to put out a possible landing fire and Dunlap and Jeff McCrary were the first ones on the scene after the plane hit the runway and stopped. They were up on the plane where the oil had come back up over the entire plane and canopy and the pilot could not see out nor could the firefighters see into the cockpit. Dunlap got up on the plane and finally got the canopy open and all of a sudden, he and McCrary were eye to eye with the famous baseball player, Ted Williams! Williams was not injured, and Dunlap and McCrary got him down off the plane quickly as the plane was completely covered in oil and could catch on fire at any time. Ted Williams had landed his Corsair plane with only the instruments because there was no way he could see out of the windshield and Dunlap said that his landing was great!

Tahlequah Proudly honors ​veteran Ricahard Harold Dunlap who served as a Staff Seargent for the United States Air Force from 1950-1971.