Photo above: Luis Melendez Jr., the photographer of the groundbreaking 10-way, created this artwork to commemorate the achievement.

A USPA Staff Report with Contributions by Rachael Newell Machado

On June 18, a crowd gathered at Skydive Taft in California to celebrate the anniversary of a remarkable achievement. At the same location 55 years earlier—on July 2, 1967—10 Southern California skydivers exited from a Twin Beech piloted by Walt Mercer and made history by building the world’s first 10-man star formation (as it was called before the gender-neutral term “10-way” came into usage) over the Taft School of Sport Parachuting. Freefall photographer Luis Melendez Jr. captured the perfect shot, securing the record for posterity and supplying the cover of the September 1967 issue of Parachutist.

Achieving a 10-man star was a hard-fought victory, as early formation skydiving developed slowly. Bill Newell, the founder of the Bob Buquor Memorial Star Crest Recipient (SCR) award—given to those who participate in a successful 8-way or larger skydive—once described the process in an interview with formation skydiving pioneer Pat Works. Newell said, “In those days, it took a long time to add another man to a star. From the first 4- to the first 5-man, it took something like six weeks. From the first five to the six, it took about two to three months. And from six to eight, it took about 13 months. From eight to 10 took (almost) two years.”

The mid to late ’60s was the golden era of formation skydiving (then called “relative work” or “RW”) in Southern California, with the endless sunny days and mild weather drawing a generation of young talent. The towns Arvin, Lake Elsinore, Lake Piru, Landcaster, Perris and Taft all had active drop zones. The locations were convenient to Hollywood, and many of the skydivers were involved in movie and TV productions such as “The Gypsy Moths,” Don’t Make Waves” and “Ripcord” (including Bob Buquor, one of the most admired jumpers of the era, who drowned while filming a movie and for whom Newell named the Star Crest awards). The guys would film during the week and make fun jumps with their sky family on weekends.

The Rise of 10-Way

Although the first 10-way took place at Taft, the jumpers were originally from the Arvin DZ. (More on this legendary group can be found in the three-part series “The Rise and Demise of the Arvin Good Guys” by Bill Newell in the October-December 2004 issues of Parachutist, available under the Back Issues tab at parachutist.com.) The record-setting jumpers, by exit order, were Gary Young, SCR #1; John Rinard, SCR #10; Clark Fischer, SCR #18; Jim Dann, SCR #6; Jerry Bird, SCR #11; Bill Stage, SCR #5; Terry Ward, SCR #15; Bill Newell, SCR #3; Brian Williams, SCR #8; and Paul Gorman, SCR #29.

Star Crest created plaques such as this one, presented to Skydive Taft, to honor those who participated in or supported the first 10-way.

Newell wrote about the first 10-way in his Parachutist series, saying, “Terry was eighth out the door behind me. We were in steep dives heading for the formation when I flared. Terry was right on my tail, and he tried passing beneath me. We had a mid-air collision. Terry rolled on his back as he passed below, and I thought he was smiling. I was temporarily dazed and instantly pissed, but Terry had just entered seventh, and I had to get in. I made it in eighth. Brian Williams was ninth, and Paul Gorman came in last to get his SCR and make it a beautiful, round, 10-man star with Melendez getting all the color shots he wanted. We were screaming like eagles. We had just made the world’s first 10-man star!”

Not content to rest on their laurels, the next weekend The Arvin Good Guys completed another successful 10-man for Life magazine. The Life correspondent filmed from the ground and a camera was mounted on the tail of the Beech for exit shots, but the footage was not up to par, so it did not appear in the magazine. However, Esquire magazine featured Melendez’s original shot in the center spread of its July 1968 issue. 

Once the 10-way barrier had broken, it was game on! Five weeks later—on August 5, 1967—an Elsinore team called The Group (Russ Benefiel, John Botta, Ray Cottingham, Kevin Donnelly, Jeep Gereghty, Mike McFarlin, John Murphy, Mike Sam, Garth Taggart and Ted Webster with Carl Boenish on video) did the same. Soon, there were enough accomplished 10-way skydivers that they began holding meets to see which teams were truly the best at this new discipline.

The 55th Anniversary Event

Of the 10 pioneering skydivers and one videographer on the groundbreaking jump, three—Jerry Bird, Luis Melendez Jr. and Gary Young are still on this earth. Young—who now has more than 8,000 jumps—was a Hollywood stunt flyer, team leader for the 1986 U.S. Para Ski Team and a member of Pat Moorehead’s California Aerial Circus demo team in addition to being the base on both the first 8- and 10-way. He attended the June ceremony at Taft in honor of the 10-way, and gave heartfelt thanks to the attending crowd, which included many of the first SCR recipients. They enjoyed beautiful weather, a wonderful day of reminiscing and live ‘60s rock music.

Representatives of the Star Crest organization presented plaques commemorating those who achieved the first 10-way or who made it possible. Teressa Newell Acosta accepted the plaque for her father, the late Bill Newell. Star Crest Ambassador (and spreader of good vibes at DZs everywhere) Donna Wardean Dann, a member of The Arvin Good Guys, accepted plaques on behalf of her husband, the late Jim Dann; and the late Paul Gorman. Wardean Dann also accepted a plaque for Jerry Bird, who was not only on the first 10-way, but also formed the highly influential Jerry Bird All Stars team and was a major force in formation skydiving as it developed. Further cementing 10-way’s place in history, Bird, Wardean Dann and the other members of the Jerry Bird All Stars will receive the Path of Excellence Award from the International Skydiving Museum and Hall of Fame this year.

Unfortunately, cameraman Luis Melendez Jr. was under the weather and could not attend the Taft event, but his twin brother, Eddie Melendez, accepted the award on his behalf. Elaine Baumstark Armstrong, daughter of original DZ owner Art Armstrong, accepted his plaque. There is a rich history at Taft, and she remarked that she was deeply moved by the honor to her family for their huge contribution to the early record achievements. Also accepting a plaque proclaiming the location as the “Home of the First 10-Man Star” was Skydive Taft DZO Bevo Denham. 

Bob and Judy Celaya topped the ceremony off with a huge cherry on top: They donated a jumpsuit that had belonged to Buquor to his namesake Star Crest organization!

Across the Country

All the way across the country, at the U.S. Army Parachute Team Golden Knights’ home at Laurinburg-Maxton Airport in North Carolina, 10 Golden Knights commemorated the anniversary in the air. Team members (by exit order) Drew Starr, Dave Flynn, Mike Connors, Daniel McKeon, Griffin Mueller, Dominic Perry, Rafael Torres, Chad Riddlebaugh, Ty Kettenhofen and videographer Mark Pierce—built a 10-way star to qualify as the first holders of the newly reinstituted Star Crest Military X Award. After building the star, the team transitioned to an X-shaped formation, which earned them an additional notation after their Military X member number. Starr, the team captain, remarked, “Really we just wanted some way to pay tribute to Star Crest for asking us to be the first recipients of the Military X.” Star Crest revived the award for the 55th anniversary of the first 10-way in honor of 21-year-old Sergeant Ed Armstrong (son of the original Taft DZO), who in 1969 was the youngest-ever Golden Knight.

The early 10-way skydivers knew that their accomplishments were not about one individual person; they were about the group as a whole, loving the sport, having fun breaking barriers and taking skydiving to new heights. At the Taft event, Young had one piece of advice for the new generation of skydivers: “Enjoy your friends and keep them close.”

About the Star Crest Awards

Rachael Newell Machado, daughter of the Bob Buquor Memorial Star Crest Awards’ founder Bill Newell, and her husband, John Machado, have administered the Star Crest program since Newell’s passing in 2012. Since then, they have released the HALO, Super Nova and Galaxy Star Crest Awards (the USA Trilogy) for all-axes flight and the Military X award. Jumpers can find more about all of the Star Crest Awards at its recently revamped website, starcrestawards.com.