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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (June 30, 1998)
Aviation pioneer, 82, fatally shot in robbery By Jeff Barnard The Associated Press ROSEBURG — Retired Marine Maj. Gen. Marion Carl survived dogfights from World War II to Viet nam, shot down 18 enemy aircraft and at one time soared higher and faster than anyone on the planet. He was finally killed by an in truder with a shotgun. Carl, 82, died from a blast to the head, and his wife was wounded in a home-invasion robbery late Sunday night that touched off a manhunt for the suspect in the rugged hills of southern Oregon. “It’s a hell of a way to lose a great American hero," said retired Ma rine Col. Denis J. Keily, spokesman for the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation in Pensaco la, Fla. “I guess it’s a statement of ourtimes.” Edna Carl, who suffered a glanc ing blast to the head, told police that a young man who was wear ing wraparound sunglasses and had a German shepherd with him kicked in the front door, asked for money and her car keys, and shot her husband when he confronted the intruder. The gunman took $200 to $400 from the couple’s wallets and drove off in their 1984 Audi sedan. Mrs. Carl said there may have been another person outside be cause there was a commotion in the driveway. The car was abandoned about 10 miles away, and a patrolman later found the dog walking about a mile from the car. “It appears to be totally random — random and irrational and not thought out,” said sheriffs detec tive Joe Perkins. Carl was regarded by aviation historians as the “Chuck Yeager of the Marine Corps” for his flying exploits that spanned from World War II to Vietnam. A native of Hubbard, Ore., Carl was commissioned a Marine sec ond lieutenant in 1939 and saw his first combat on Midway Island in 1942. Later that year, he became the first Marine fighter ace, down ing three Japanese bombers and a fighter plane over Guadalcanal. In one dogfight, his shot-up Wildcat fighter plane went down off the coast of Guadalcanal. His official Marine bio says he was “losing his battle to swim ashore against the tide, when he was picked up by friendly natives in a canoe. After five days with the na tives, he finally made his way back to his base.” Yeager, the Air Force’s top test pilot, wrested away the title of world’s fastest human by breaking the sound barrier two months lat er, also at Muroc. He flew a Bell X 1 rocket plane at Mach 1.07 — 700 mph—on Oct. 14. In 1953, Carl set a world altitude record of 83,235 feet and two years later flew U-2 photo reconnais sance missions over China. “He should have died of natural causes, not something like this, in front of his wife,” said Penny Ret zloff, who like many neighbors in the area have always felt safe enough to leave their doors un locked. Monday afternoon, authorities issued warrants for the arrest of Jesse Stuart Fanus, a 19-year-old from the area who has a record of arrests on charges including drunken driving, burglary and criminal trespass. In May, he was accused of confronting a city councilman in a restaurant park ing lot while armed with a samu rai-style sword strapped to his leg. The suspect was described as 5 foot-8, 150 pounds, with short, dark hair. He was last seen wear ing blue jeans and a white T-shirt with a logo. A police search dog followed the man’s scent about 300 yards up a gravel driveway leading to a cattle ranch but lost it at a spot where a wire fence was bent over. Said Detective Perkins: “If he’s out there, he could stay out there for days and never been seen. ” News Briefs Three professors get endowed positions Three University professors were appointed to endowed positions Monday. Alec Murphy, professor of geography, will hold the Rippey Chair in Liberal Arts and Sciences. Geraldine Rich mond, professor of chemistry, and Quintard Taylor, professor of history, were appointed as Knight Professors of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Murphy is an expert in cul tural and political geography, Europe and European integra tion, East-West relations and the impact of language on po litical problems and conflicts. Richmond is a nationally recognized physical chemist. She is the director of the Uni versity Chemical Physics Insti tute and a member of the Uni versity Materials Science Institute. Taylor is an author and ex pert in western U.S. history, and is the first African-Ameri can department head in the College of Arts and Sciences. The Rippey Chair is a rotat ing, endowed chair that recog nizes faculty members who are equally distinguished in re search and lower-division teaching. The Knight Profes sorships are available because of a large 1996 'donation by Phil Knight, part of which is dedicated to creating endowed positions. The University pledged to match Knight's gift, and as donations are received a new Knight Chair or Professor ship is “released." Sacred Heart offers class about diabetes Sacred Heart Medical Center is offering a free class about di abetes control. “New Ap proach to Insulin and Carbohy drates” will provide informa tion about a consistent carbo hydrate diet and its relationship to insulin. The class will be held at 7 p.m. July 15 at PeaceHealth Medical Group, 1162 Willamette St., in conference rooms 3A and 3B. No registration is required. For more information, call Sacred Heart at 686-7029. Anonymous gift helps homeless Lane ShelterCare has re ceived a $5,000 anonymous grant that will help fund a pro posed homelessness-preven tion program. The program is aimed at reducing the number of families evicted because they are unable to pay their rent. According to Lane Shel terCare, many families only need rent or mortgage assis tance for a single month before they are again self-sufficient. The proposed program will also work with families to en sure that emergency situations occur less frequently. The new program would serve about fifty families each year at a cost of $47,000. ESPN receives rights to UO athletic events ESPN Regional Television and the University recently col laborated to increase exposure of the athletic department. The principal focus of this five-year partnership will be turned to the growth of the ath letic department’s corporate sponsorship, advertising, signs and event programs. ESPN will be highlighting a major basket ball event in Portland in which the University’s women’s and men’s basketball teams will challenge nationally-ranked teams in a doubleheader Dec. 22 at the Rose Garden. According to Dave Heeke, as sociate athletic director for me dia relations, this agreement will bring in a minimum rev enue of $3.7 million that will go toward the athletic department and general funds. ESPN will receive statewide distribution of local live pro gramming and promotional rights for all University athletic, department coaches and events. In exchange, the Uni versity will receive annual rights and fees starting with a $700,000 payment for the 1998 99 season, rising to $800,000 in 2002-03. Professor gets grant for interactive class University physics professor Greg Bothun has received a $3,000 grant from the North west Academic Computing Consortium to help with a pro ject that integrates the World Wide Web into the classroom. A section of Physics 101 planned for fall term will virtu ally eliminate traditional lec tures and instead present basic physics laws through interac tive Java applets, class demon strations and hands-on activi ties. The grant provides partial financial compensation for Bothun and a graduate assistant as they work during the sum mer to develop an electronic lab manual containing the Java applets. United Way needs tutoring volunteers The United Way of Lane County is seeking volunteers to work with at-risk youth. Tutors are needed two hours per week at Lane County Youth Ser vices. For more information, call the United Way at 741 6000. someHoneSt -f\ SPRINGTIME SPECIAL! NO INITIATION FEE JOIN GOLD’S GYM NOWAND PAY NO INITIATION FEE. MUST HAVE VALID STUDENT ID. OFFER EXPIRES 6-15-98. Cl 'w «YfcS
