Bio: Ebben, Dale – Captain – Earns Award (1974)

Transcriber: stan@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Ebben, Jensen

----Source: THORP COURIER (Thorp, Clark County, Wis.) 28 Feb 1974

Captain Dale Ebben, Monona, son of Mr. and Mrs. Delton Ebben of Thorp, has received the U.S. Air Forces’ “We Point with Pride Award.” Ebben, a fighter pilot with the Wisconsin Air National Guard, received the award for saving his million dollar S-102 jet aircraft.

On September 20, 1973, Capt. Ebben’s afterburner blew out just after a formation takeoff. It caught again, and then cut out once more. Rather than take a chance on it taking hold once more, he decided to go back down.

“There wasn’t much runway left and he had to engage the barrier,” said Lt. Col. Ralph Jensen, unit safety officer, “But he made the right decision and everything turned out the way it was supposed to.”