'REAL AMERICAN HEROES' EDWARDS HONORS VICTIMS OF F-16 CRASH.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE- The two men killed in a crash of a F-16B jet were remembered Friday as dedicated family men and true heroes who loved their work.

Maj. Aaron C. George, a test pilot with the 416th Flight Test Squadron, and Judson Brohmer, a civilian photographer, were honored in a service attended by several hundred mourners. The service was held in a hangar, with the Edwards flight line as a backdrop.

``They believed in the nobility of their work,'' said Lt. Col. Bill Thornton, commander of the 416th Flight Test Squadron. ``They were real American heroes.''

Both men were killed Tuesday morning when their F-16B jet crashed in a mountainous area about 30 miles east of the China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center near Ridgecrest.

George, 37, was recalled as a skilled pilot whose contributions to his flight test work and as a flight instructor will save lives.

Col. Steve Cameron, commander of the 412th Test Wing, presented George's widow, Cheryl, with the Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster for her husband's participation in five F-16 test programs.

In George's honor, the Test Pilot School will begin giving out the ``C'' award, named after George's call sign. The award will be given to the pilot the students would most want to have on a test team with them.

At one point in his career, George had a choice of either coming to Edwards or accepting a plum assignment in the Pentagon.

``He felt Edwards was the best place where he could serve America,'' Cameron said.

Brohmer, 38, was remembered as deeply religious man who was devoted to his wife and family.

Brohmer was also remembered as a man who was captivated by aviation, leaving a potentially more lucrative career as a television news producer to work on programs at Edwards. Brohmer had a knack for capturing the magic of flying.

``He wasn't just good - he had a gift,'' said Col. C.D. Moore, the former commander of the F-22 fighter flight test team. ``He could capture the beauty and essence of an airplane on film like no one could.''

On behalf of the F-22 team, Moore presented Brohmer's widow, Alessandra, with an American flag that had been flown this week on an F-22.

Alessandra Brohmer said her husband once told her that ``there was nothing better than a view from a cockpit.''

``He told me so many times he had the best job in the world,'' Brohmer said.

The service concluded with a missing man formation flown directly over the hangar.

Judson Brohmer was a 1986 graduate of the University of Southern California, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and history. His broadcast career included producing a political show for CBS in Los Angeles and later producing news broadcasts for an ABC affiliate in Bakersfield.

Brohmer, a Tehachapi resident, switched careers in the early 1990s and began working as a video and still photographer on a number of aircraft programs, starting with the C-17 transport aircraft. He later worked on such programs as the F-16, F-117 and joint strike fighter.

In addition to his wife, Brohmer is survived by three children, Stephanie, Julianna and Sean.

George, a resident of Morgantown, W. Va., entered the engineering program at West Virginia University in 1982 and graduated with a master's degree in 1988.

Commissioned in the Air Force through Officer Training School, George's career included stints as a T-38 instructor, an F-16 fighter pilot and later an F-16 instructor pilot.

George graduated from the Test Pilot School at Edwards in June 2000 and was assigned to the 416th Flight Test Squadron.

George is survived by his wife, Cheryl, and their children, Jessica, Joshua and Jacob.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Judson Brohmer

(2 -- color) Maj. Aaron C. George