Denizens of the Desert

Danny Causey parked his vehicle at the end of a row of B-52s, put on his sunglasses and pulled on his cap to shield his eyes from the relentless Arizona sun. He walked down endless rows of aircraft, the only sounds the gravel and scrub crunching under his work boots, maybe the scurry of a rabbit, the creaking of massive elevators and rudders in the hot desert wind and the occasional roar of a jet from nearby Davis Monthan Air Force Base. These are the acts of someone who loves aircraft, who has that special affinity for the hardware, and the men who flew them. For most of the aircraft, this was their last landing, the last stop in storied histories. They would be cannibalized for spare parts, or cut up and reclaimed for their metals. A special few might find refuge in museums or displays. And one lone man would walk their ranks, photograph them and bid them a last goodbye. That's how this book came to be. These are the AMARC photographs of Danny Causey. Denizens of the Desert contains photographs from the collection of former Aerospace Maintenance And Regeneration Center (AMARC) employee Danny Causey. Chapters are devoted to aircraft nose art found on B-52, KC-135, A-10 and F-111 aircraft. Additional chapters include photographs of other AMARC aircraft and a chapter on U.S. Navy aircraft at AMARC (photographer Danny Causey was a veteran of the USS Midway).