Three Americans killed in Australia had military backgrounds

DENVER — Growing up in a small rural community on Colorado’s plains, Ian McBeth went to work as a ranch hand in neighboring Nebraska at 14 and was a standout athlete in football, wrestling and track.

Initially stymied in his dream of becoming a pilot because of his vision, McBeth, one of three Americans killed fighting wildfires in Australia on Thursday, first served as a jack of all trades constructing landing strips for C-130 Hercules planes and later as a navigator, including in Iraq.

At 28, a year before he would lose eligibility to become a pilot, he applied again and was accepted.

“He was determined, tenacious and tough. Probably the most allaround capable and competent person I ever knew,” Bill McBeth of Wray, Colorado, said of his son, a husband and father of three who lived in Great Falls, Montana.

McBeth was killed Thursday along with First Officer Paul Clyde Hudson, of Buckeye, Arizona, and Flight Engineer Rick A. DeMorgan Jr., 43, of Navarre, Florida, when their C-130 Hercules tanker crashed while fighting wildfires in Australia, their employer, Canada-based Coulson Aviation, said in a statement.

All three men had strong military backgrounds. McBeth served in the Wyoming Air National Guard while a student at the University of Wyoming and later joined the Air National Guard in Montana, where flags were ordered lowered in his honor on Saturday.

Hudson graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1999 and spent the following 20 years serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, including as a C-130 pilot, Coulson Aviation said. Hudson, who retired as a lieutenant colonel, earned master’s degrees in business administration and information technology management from the Naval Postgraduate School. He is survived by his wife, Noreen.

DeMorgan served in the U.S. Air Force for 24 years and had over 4,000 hours experience as a flight engineer, with nearly half of those earned in combat situations. He is survived by this two children, Lucas and Logan; his parents, Rick Sr. and Linda; and a sister, Virginia DeMorgan.

Virginia DeMorgan said her brother’s passions were his children and flying. “He loved flying from the time he was a kid,” she said.