Memories of Uncle Owen

As I sit here, between missions, I have had a nice time reflecting on the hero’s of my youth. There were some wonderful men that inspired me and lit the fire of adventure in my eyes as a young child. Owen Quinn, Mike Sergio,Don Hall, Ray Utting, Eddie Gopel, and most of all, David King, My father. They skydived as a team in upstate N.Y. under the name the Butterfly BangGang.

When I was a young lad in the early 1970’s, my father would take us to a Drop Zone in Upstate New York on the weekends. It was one of those things where I only went a few times, but after thinking of those times over the years it seemed like so much more. My Father started skydiving in the late 60’s, and continued into the 80’s. After 1980, I really don’t think he did that many jumps, just one now and then, for a total of 1021 jumps. In the Early 70’s there were few skydivers and active Drop Zones. The sport was a bit radical back then, and it was difficult to find anyone outside the DZ that had ever made a jump. Now a days’, with the advent of Tandem jumps and the improvements in canopy technology, the sport is much larger. Grand mothers and High School students are making their first jumps.

I was fortunate enough in my youth, to be exposed to some of the pioneers of the Sport. One such pioneer, I call Uncle Owen. Uncle Owen is not my biological Uncle, but he and my father were so close, I really don’t recall ever not knowing him. Uncle Owen used to tell us ghost stories at the campfires and I would shake in my sleeping bag all night long. It was a cruel thing to do to a 5 or 7 year old. Uncle Owen would go fishing with us, and he was an avid hunter. I also remember Michael Sergio, a young good looking soap opera actor. Mike and my father were very close. At my fathers funeral, Mike pulled my brother Jeremy and I aside and told us a very, descriptive story of his adventures with my father during the 1970’s. Things I never knew about my dad. I can close my eyes now and see Mike in 1986 singing Johnny Be Good at the DZ. Now Mike is an Emmy award winner producer/director.


I know Owen J. Quinn as Uncle Owen. The world knows Uncle Owen as the first guy to jump off of the Twin Towers. On 22 July 1975, Owen and Michael made history. They disguised themselves as construction workers, and went to the top of Tower 1. Mike distracted the guard long enough for Uncle Owen to get his rig on, and just as he jumped, Mike took a photo. This was the beginning of the sport of B.A.S.E Jumping. B.A.S.E stands for Building, Antenna, Span and Earth. (Of course Mike couldn’t be outdone by Owen, and in 1986, it was Mike Sergio that dropped into game 6 of the World Series with a sign that said, “Go Mets”.)

As I was surfing the web, I ran across this link. It is an interview with Uncle Owen by a New York newspaper.
And the photo comes from this blog.

I received a letter from Uncle Owen a few months ago, and he is doing well. He is retired and has 8 grandchildren. He does a prison ministry and fishes when he can. I look forward to seeing him again when my war is over. I think of the day I can look back on the memories of my youth while visiting with one of my childhood hero’s. A man that inspired me to take risks, and dance inside the fire. My Uncle Owen.