Hazen to honor hometown hero
Air Force pilot fastest in world
Eldon Joersz
Submitted Photo This 1976 photo is of Eldon Joersz, right, pilot, and George Morgan, reconnaissance systems operator, when they flew 2,193 mph in a Sr-71, setting the world absolute and class speed records over a 15/25-kilometer straight course, was published in the Feb. 22, 1987, edition of The Minot Daily News
Submitted Photo Retired Maj. Gen. Eldon Joersz, left, a former pilot, and retired Lt. Col. George Morgan, a former reconnaissance systems officer, sit inside the cockpit of the SR-71 Blackbird they flew when setting the world absolute speed record for jet-powered aircraft on July 28, 1976. The two were at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins, Ga., in 2016 for the 40th anniversary of the historic flight. U.S. Air Force photo.
Submitted Photo Matt Heimbuck, primary fabricator for the SR-71 sculpture project at Sheet Metal Specialties in Bismarck, fabricates the second engine and wing assembly for the SR-71. The main fuselage and the first engine are shown at the right. The plane is an all-aluminum welded structure. As of Thursday, Oct. 8, both pieces were ready for finish sanding and then powder coating.
Submitted Photo Matt Heimbuck, primary fabricator for the SR-71 sculpture project, stands beside the internal framework support structure of the second engine being fabricated at Sheet Metal Specialists in Bismarck. The framework is approximately 10-feet tall. The first engine is behind him with the fuselage to the left.
Eldon Joersz
Submitted Photo This 1976 photo is of Eldon Joersz, right, pilot, and George Morgan, reconnaissance systems operator, when they flew 2,193 mph in a Sr-71, setting the world absolute and class speed records over a 15/25-kilometer straight course, was published in the Feb. 22, 1987, edition of The Minot Daily News
Submitted Photo Retired Maj. Gen. Eldon Joersz, left, a former pilot, and retired Lt. Col. George Morgan, a former reconnaissance systems officer, sit inside the cockpit of the SR-71 Blackbird they flew when setting the world absolute speed record for jet-powered aircraft on July 28, 1976. The two were at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins, Ga., in 2016 for the 40th anniversary of the historic flight. U.S. Air Force photo.
Submitted Photo Matt Heimbuck, primary fabricator for the SR-71 sculpture project at Sheet Metal Specialties in Bismarck, fabricates the second engine and wing assembly for the SR-71. The main fuselage and the first engine are shown at the right. The plane is an all-aluminum welded structure. As of Thursday, Oct. 8, both pieces were ready for finish sanding and then powder coating.
Submitted Photo Matt Heimbuck, primary fabricator for the SR-71 sculpture project, stands beside the internal framework support structure of the second engine being fabricated at Sheet Metal Specialists in Bismarck. The framework is approximately 10-feet tall. The first engine is behind him with the fuselage to the left.
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Schedule of Events
2 p.m.: Color Guard - American Legion Post #189
2:05 p.m.: National Anthem
2:10 p.m.: Air Force 79th Anniversary Anthem
2:15 p.m.: Welcome - Larry Foss, Hazen, a longtime friend of retired Maj. Gen. Eldon Joersz
2:20 p.m.: Introductions
2:25 p.m.: Hazen CVB and City of Hazen
2:30 p.m.: Gov. Kelly Armstrong
2:35 p.m.: Other representatives
2:40 p.m.: Lockheed Martin Skunk Works representative
2:45 p.m.: Retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Eldon Joersz
2:55 p.m.: Conclusion – Larry Foss
3 p.m.: Music
A Blackbird Afterburner Social will be held Friday, Oct. 23, from 4-7 p.m. at the Hazen Golf Course. The social is open to the public.
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HAZEN - A native of Hazen and former vice commander of the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base who set the world's absolute speed record 50 years ago, that still holds today, will be honored in his hometown this month.
A dedication ceremony of a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird sculpture honoring retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Eldon "Al" Joersz will be held Friday, Oct. 23, at 2 p.m. at 110 12th Ave. NW, the site of a parklet along N.D. Highway 200 in Hazen. In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held in Hazen City Hall. A social will follow at the Hazen Golf Course.
An approximately 13-foot wide by 25-foot long custom replica sculpture of the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird was designed and created (fuselage and engines) by Sheet Metal Specialties in Bismarck with Hazen Welding designing mounting poles and local contractor Meissner Contracting forming concrete.
Hazen Convention Visitors Bureau is overseeing the project in collaboration with the City of Hazen and Hazen Community Development.
"This sculpture will attract visitors, brand Hazen, and hopefully enhance economy prosperity through tourism," Antoinette Heier, executive director of the Hazen Convention Visitors Bureau, Chamber and Community Development, said.
Joersz, who lives in McKinney, Texas, graduated from Hazen High School. He also graduated from North Dakota State University and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1966. He received a Master's Degree from Auburn University in 1978. His U.S. Air Force career included vice commander of the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot AFB from May 1986-May 1987. He retired from the Air Force in 1997.
Fifty years ago on July 28, 1976, Joersz became the fastest aircraft pilot in the world when he and George T. Morgan of Brooklyn, New York, reconnaissance systems operator, flew 2,193 mph in a SR-71, setting the world absolute speed record for jet-powered planes over a 15/25-kilometer straight course. Morgan died in 2024.
In an interview with The Minot Daily News in February 1987 while vice commander of the bomb wing at Minot AFB, Joersz said, "I feel very fortunate to have had a chance to fly the airplane and to be able to have been one that was offered the opportunity to set a record."
He said that he and Morgan actually set the record twice because there had been problems in tracking them all the way through the course.
"So we flew it again the next day and it all worked out fine," Joersz said.
He said the trickiest part of the mission was having to be at a constant altitude to fly through the course and then on the turnaround trip be at the same altitude. On the return trip the aircraft wants to fly a lot higher than the first time for reasons including its lighter weight.
For their record-setting flights, they received the De la Vaulz Medal given by Federal Aeronautique Internationale, the body which governs official world aircraft records. The medal is awarded to holders of absolute world records in aeronautics and astronautics. Other honors included having their names listed on a wall of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
The SR-71 advanced strategic reconnaissance aircraft was retired from operational service but still holds aviation records.
Reiterating in The Minot Daily News 1987 interview that he feels fortunate to have the opportunity to fly the SR-71 and set a record with it, Joersz said he credits the masterpiece of the airplane for doing the job.
"I just had to ride along," he said.