Robert C. Cornett, K5PSG ex KE5WDC from Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, passed away.
Information received from Mary Ann Cornett.
Info:
K5PSG is a silent key. His name was Bob. He was not only a ham, but he was also my OM - the love of my life, my better half, my soul mate, my bestest friend ever.
He and his writing partner, Kevin Randle, authored over 40 novels. Some were science fiction, many of them a series about the Vietnam War. Even though the Vietnam books were originally published in the 1980's, they are still available and are being re-read by old fans and are being discovered by a whole new generation of readers. And that is pretty darn cool.
He and I first met decades ago when we were both paramedics. I guess you could say we drove fast and pushed drugs together. We were partners both as paramedics, and then as husband and wife. For some years, we were never separated. We worked for a county wide ambulance service, and then, when we finished our shift, we'd be "on call" for the volunteer rescue squad for our small town. Those were the days we learned to trust and respect each other completely. We relied on each others' strengths, and took up the slack when it came to each others' weaknesses. We made one helluva team. Which we continued when we became EMS instructors and taught others how to work our craft.
Luckily for me, when we first met, one of the things that attracted him to me was the fact that I was an extra class ham. You see, he had been enthralled with amateur radio since his Boy Scout days but had never found the time, or the opportunity, to get a license. Had I not been a ham, I probably wouldn't have appeared on his radar at all. It took a while (you know how life, the universe, and other things get in the way), but he did eventually did get his tech, and then his general. It turns out, he was the ideal ham-mate for me. He trusted my judgement in all things radio ("Bob, I think we really do need to get this HF radio...")
Bob left this life with a huge legacy. Through his creativity, tenacity, and strength of character, his small corner of the world is a better place for having known him. My heart is broken, but I find comfort in knowing that, as a writer, he told the stories which needed to be told. As a paramedic, he saved lives. As an EMS instructor, he taught others to save lives. As a ham, he understood the frustrations and limitations prospective hams must overcome, and he was the first in line to offer encouragement, assistance, a loan of equipment, or just some sage advice.
K5PSG is a silent key. For me, that silence is deafening.


K5PSG Robert Cornett, Albuquerque, USA