Obituary for Clarence 'Bud' Cochran
Clarence (Bud, Bub) Newton Cochran, 83, of Amarillo, passed away on Monday, January 24, 2022. Services will be at 1:00 P.M. on Saturday, February 12, 2022 at Trinity Baptist Church in Amarillo with Larry White officiating. Graveside services will be at 3:00 P.M. on Saturday at Dreamland Cemetery in Canyon. Military honors will be provided by Volleys for Veterans and flyover will be by West Texas Warbird Flight.
Born in Pampa, Texas September 23, 1938 and flew home to his creator from Albuquerque, New Mexico on January 24, 2022. Known as a Pilot, Patriot and Provider. Loved as a Christ-follower, Husband, Father, Poppa and devoted friend.
At the age of 5 years old, Bud climbed under the dining room table at his home in Amarillo, Texas and pretended he was a pilot. That make-shift cockpit gave birth to a life-long pursuit of “slipping the surly bonds of Earth” (High Flight, John Gillespie Magee Jr.).
Spending his school-aged years in Amarillo, he set his coordinates on joining the race to space as an astronaut. He pursued a degree in math with a minor in physics at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Ever a Red Raider fanatic, Bud joined the TTU booster support team for men’s athletics known as the Saddle Tramps.
While at Texas Tech, Bud gained the loft he needed to spread his wings and take flight by joining the Air Force ROTC on the Lubbock campus. He earned his Private Pilot's License in a Piper Tri-pacer and upon graduation of college was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. Bud’s military orders sent him to Laughlin Air Force Base for undergraduate pilot training where he graduated with class 63F in March of 1963.
Bud’s next destinations landed him at Stead Air Force Base in Reno, Nevada where he became a helicopter pilot, followed by Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo, New Mexico where he was assigned to the Air Force Systems Command. While training to fly multiple additional fixed-wing aircraft, he provided support to the White Sands Missile Range and the Air Force Missile Development Center.
The details of Bud’s next assignment will forever remain unknown due to the Q security clearance that was required of his orders. He was asked to report to the Nellis Air Force Base outside of Las Vegas, Nevada where he supported the testing of “special weapons” at the Nevada Test Site, Groom Lake and Area 51. During this time in his career, Bud set a world record for highest altitude achieved in a helicopter while carrying an external payload. He operated a Kaman H-43 Husky to the incredible height of 33,500 feet above sea level. That is more than 6 miles above the ground.
Next, being the height of the Vietnam war, the Air Force redirected Bud’s flying career to do something that would change his life forever. He was assigned to Helicopter Rescue in Da Nang and Phan Rang Vietnam. His first day on the job, he was told that only half of his unit would return home. The danger associated with the nature of his assignment would take the life of the other half of his unit.
It was a rare occurrence when Bud would describe the horrors that took place during that time. In very few instances, his eyes would focus on some far away place and he would retell only the tamest parts of his memory. He described the agonizing 7 minutes that it took to lower a “PJ” down through the jungle canopy. Unaware if the downed pilot was wounded…alive… or as in many occasions the enemy had laid a trap for ambush. Bud would describe holding his hover while the metal clang of gunfire striking his helicopter would overpower the sound of the twin rotors of his craft. His rescue mission was under attack. Despite the intensity of this assignment, Bud considered it an honor and described it in this way:
“It was the best job over there. I rescued air crews that had been shot down. They had no hope of surviving without our team.”
This assignment changed Bud personally. It also changed the trajectory of those distant astronaut dreams from under the dining room table. Bud returned from Vietnam in 1967 and upon receiving his honorable discharge, he redirected his aeronautic service from military to civilian life.
His first stop was Petroleum Helicopters in Louisiana, where he transported personnel to and from the oil rig platforms scattered throughout the Gulf of Mexico.
Shortly thereafter he explored the “Friendly Skies” as first, a Flight Manager, and later Captain, for United Airlines. Throughout most of his career he flew different versions of the Boeing 737. Despite eligibility to fly bigger and more glamorous aircraft, Bud purposely chose the smaller craft, with its shorter flights, so that he could focus on his family rather than far away places.
Bud’s Christian faith drove him to serve others. He coached church basketball, taught Sunday School, served many organizations as treasurer, led in Boy Scouts and even held the office of Town Alderman for his community in Amarillo. He also served for a decade as a member of the Board of Managers of the Potter-Randall County Emergency Communications District.
Bud is survived by his wife, Shirley whom he met at the American Red Cross after his service in Vietnam. They would have celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary on February 1st, 2022.
He is survived by a daughter, Mary Lynne Russell, her husband Danny, 2 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.
He is also survived by a son Kenneth (K.C.) Cochran, his wife Jill and 4 grandkids.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be to Wounded Warrior Project at support.woundedwarriorproject.org.
Born in Pampa, Texas September 23, 1938 and flew home to his creator from Albuquerque, New Mexico on January 24, 2022. Known as a Pilot, Patriot and Provider. Loved as a Christ-follower, Husband, Father, Poppa and devoted friend.
At the age of 5 years old, Bud climbed under the dining room table at his home in Amarillo, Texas and pretended he was a pilot. That make-shift cockpit gave birth to a life-long pursuit of “slipping the surly bonds of Earth” (High Flight, John Gillespie Magee Jr.).
Spending his school-aged years in Amarillo, he set his coordinates on joining the race to space as an astronaut. He pursued a degree in math with a minor in physics at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Ever a Red Raider fanatic, Bud joined the TTU booster support team for men’s athletics known as the Saddle Tramps.
While at Texas Tech, Bud gained the loft he needed to spread his wings and take flight by joining the Air Force ROTC on the Lubbock campus. He earned his Private Pilot's License in a Piper Tri-pacer and upon graduation of college was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. Bud’s military orders sent him to Laughlin Air Force Base for undergraduate pilot training where he graduated with class 63F in March of 1963.
Bud’s next destinations landed him at Stead Air Force Base in Reno, Nevada where he became a helicopter pilot, followed by Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo, New Mexico where he was assigned to the Air Force Systems Command. While training to fly multiple additional fixed-wing aircraft, he provided support to the White Sands Missile Range and the Air Force Missile Development Center.
The details of Bud’s next assignment will forever remain unknown due to the Q security clearance that was required of his orders. He was asked to report to the Nellis Air Force Base outside of Las Vegas, Nevada where he supported the testing of “special weapons” at the Nevada Test Site, Groom Lake and Area 51. During this time in his career, Bud set a world record for highest altitude achieved in a helicopter while carrying an external payload. He operated a Kaman H-43 Husky to the incredible height of 33,500 feet above sea level. That is more than 6 miles above the ground.
Next, being the height of the Vietnam war, the Air Force redirected Bud’s flying career to do something that would change his life forever. He was assigned to Helicopter Rescue in Da Nang and Phan Rang Vietnam. His first day on the job, he was told that only half of his unit would return home. The danger associated with the nature of his assignment would take the life of the other half of his unit.
It was a rare occurrence when Bud would describe the horrors that took place during that time. In very few instances, his eyes would focus on some far away place and he would retell only the tamest parts of his memory. He described the agonizing 7 minutes that it took to lower a “PJ” down through the jungle canopy. Unaware if the downed pilot was wounded…alive… or as in many occasions the enemy had laid a trap for ambush. Bud would describe holding his hover while the metal clang of gunfire striking his helicopter would overpower the sound of the twin rotors of his craft. His rescue mission was under attack. Despite the intensity of this assignment, Bud considered it an honor and described it in this way:
“It was the best job over there. I rescued air crews that had been shot down. They had no hope of surviving without our team.”
This assignment changed Bud personally. It also changed the trajectory of those distant astronaut dreams from under the dining room table. Bud returned from Vietnam in 1967 and upon receiving his honorable discharge, he redirected his aeronautic service from military to civilian life.
His first stop was Petroleum Helicopters in Louisiana, where he transported personnel to and from the oil rig platforms scattered throughout the Gulf of Mexico.
Shortly thereafter he explored the “Friendly Skies” as first, a Flight Manager, and later Captain, for United Airlines. Throughout most of his career he flew different versions of the Boeing 737. Despite eligibility to fly bigger and more glamorous aircraft, Bud purposely chose the smaller craft, with its shorter flights, so that he could focus on his family rather than far away places.
Bud’s Christian faith drove him to serve others. He coached church basketball, taught Sunday School, served many organizations as treasurer, led in Boy Scouts and even held the office of Town Alderman for his community in Amarillo. He also served for a decade as a member of the Board of Managers of the Potter-Randall County Emergency Communications District.
Bud is survived by his wife, Shirley whom he met at the American Red Cross after his service in Vietnam. They would have celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary on February 1st, 2022.
He is survived by a daughter, Mary Lynne Russell, her husband Danny, 2 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.
He is also survived by a son Kenneth (K.C.) Cochran, his wife Jill and 4 grandkids.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be to Wounded Warrior Project at support.woundedwarriorproject.org.