TheList 7494

To All.

.Good Friday morning April 3, 2026.The weather is great this morning. .This was a bubba Breakfast Friday here in San Diego and we had a good turn out of 26. Prayers go out to the F-15 crew down in Iran.

Warm Regards,

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HAGD

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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)

Go here to see the director's corner for all 94 H-Grams 

Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/

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April 3

1797 Capt. Thomas Truxtun issues the first known American signal book using a numerary system entitled, Instructions, Signals, and Explanations, ordered for the United States Fleet.

1942 Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, is named Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas (CINCPOA) and also retains the title of Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet (CINCPAC).

1943 USS Haddock (SS 231) sinks Japanese fleet tanker Arima Maru north of Palau, and USS Pickerel (SS 177) sinks Japanese submarine chaser Ch 1.

1944 USS Sanders (DE 40), tank landing ship (LST 127), and two infantry landing crafts occupy Mejit Island, Marshall Islands and defeat Japanese force.

1991 USS America (CV 66), along with USS Normandy (CG 60), and USS William V. Pratt (DDG 44) transit the Suez Canal en route to CONUS after providing support for Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield.

1992 The first five co-ed recruit companies from Recruit Training Command, Naval Training Center, Orlando, Fla., graduate. BRAC recommends closure the following year.

 

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This day in World History April 3

0628 In Persia, Kavadh sues for peace with the Byzantines.

1367 John of Gaunt and Edward the Black Prince win the Battle of Najera, in Spain.

1559 Philip II of Spain and Henry II of France sign the peace of Cateau-Cambresis, ending a long series of wars between the Hapsburg and Valois dynasties.

1860 The Pony Express connects St. Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento, California.

1862 Slavery is abolished in Washington, D.C.

1865 Union forces occupy the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.

1882 The American outlaw Jesse James is shot in the back and killed by his cousin, Bob Ford.

1910 Alaska's Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in North America is climbed.

1920 F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre are married at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.

1936 Bruno Hauptmann, killer of the Lindbergh baby, is executed.

1942 The Japanese begin their all-out assault on the U.S. and Filipino troops at Bataan.

1944 The U.S. Supreme Court rules that black citizens are eligible to vote in all elections, including primaries.

1948 President Harry Truman signs Marshall Plan. It will revive war-torn Europe.

1966 Three-thousand South Vietnamese Army troops lead a protest against the Ky regime in Saigon.

1972 Charlie Chaplin returns to the United States after a twenty-year absence.

1984 Coach John Thompson of Georgetown University becomes the first African-American coach to win an NCAA basketball tournament.

 

More on the Pony Express

 

1860 – The first Pony Express mail simultaneously leaves St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California, carried by Henry Wallace riding west and John Roff riding east. During the 1,800-mile journey, the riders changed horses dozens of times, and on April 13 the westbound packet arrived in Sacramento, beating the eastbound packet's arrival in St. Joseph by two days. Operating on a semiweekly basis for nearly two years, the route followed a pioneer trail across the present-day states of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada to California, carrying mail as well as some small freight for the young Wells Fargo Company. The Pony Express Company, a private enterprise, charged $5 for every half-ounce of mail. Although short-lived and unprofitable, the mail service captivated the American imagination and helped win federal aid for a more economical overland mail service. The Pony Express also contributed to the economy of the towns on its route and served the mail-service needs of the American West in the days before the telegraph or an efficient transcontinental railroad. Pony Express mail service was discontinued in October 1861.

 

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Rollingthunderremembered.com .

April 3

Hello All,

Thanks to Dan Heller and the Bear

 Links to all content can now be found right on the homepage

homepage http://www.rollingthunderremembered.com

.. If you scroll down from the banner and featured content you will find "Today in Rolling Thunder Remembered History" which highlights events in the Vietnam war that occurred on the date the page is visited. Below that are links to browse or search all content. You may search by keyword(s), date, or date range.

     An item of importance is the recent incorporation of Task Force Omega (TFO) MIA summaries. There is a link on the homepage and you can also visit directly via  https://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/task-force-omega/. There are 60 summaries posted thus far, with about 940 to go (not a typo—TFO has over 1,000 individual case files).

     If you have any questions or comments about RTR/TFO, or have a question on my book, you may e-mail me directly at acrossthewing@protonmail.com. Thank you    Dan

 

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Thanks to Micro

From Vietnam Air Losses site for ..April  3  . .

April 3: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=2519

This following work accounts for every fixed wing loss of the Vietnam War and you can use it to read more about the losses in The Bear's Daily account. Even better it allows you to add your updated information to the work to update for history…skip

Vietnam Air Losses

Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at:  https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.

 

This is a list of all Helicopter Pilots Who Died in the Vietnam War . Listed by last name and has other info  https://www.vhpa.org/KIA/KIAINDEX.HTM

 

MOAA - Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War

 The site works, find anyone you knew in "search" feature.  https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/ )

 

https://www.moaa.org/content/publications-and-media/news-articles/2022-news-articles/wall-of-faces-now-includes-photos-of-all-servicemembers-killed-in-the-vietnam-war/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=TMNsend&utm_content=Y84UVhi4Z1MAMHJh1eJHNA==+MD+AFHRM+1+Ret+L+NC

 By: Kipp Hanley

 

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. . From the List archives

A bit of USMC background

Thanks to Shadow and Lon

Folks,

Got this from Lon Getlin this P.M. Lon and I went through the F-4 RAG together. What I didn't know until recently was he had a "Grunt Tour" in Vietnam like I had, before reporting to Flight Training… and ironically he didn't know I had a Grunt Tour either. I guess we both were so focused on our new world of flying, we didn't notice. Anyway… he was a cool dude and well liked. Lon and I both correspond with Lancer and a short time ago he told me about his brother who was killed up by the DMZ on Operation Prairie III. In another quirk of fate, I was on the same Operation with 1/4 while his brother was in 1/9. Prairie III was multi-battalion operation. And a really tough fight. We were near Gio Linh and 1/9 was west of us near Con Thien. Our first night in the field we took over 500 rounds of incoming artillery from NVA 152 Battery located just north of the DMZ, directly on the border. It was the longest night of my life. Found out what living on a bullseye was like… bad juju! All of our company's were in constant contact with the NVA for over a week. It was tough sledding, lost a lot of fine men on that operation, Lon's brother was one of them.

For those that don't know… the Grunt Marine Corps has a very special symbiotic relationship between our Officers and Enlisted men. Unlike in an aviation squadron, where unless you were assigned to the Maintenance Department as your collateral duty; you had very little interaction between Officers and Enlisted unless they worked for you. You might recognize a face here and there, but seldom knew their names or background. In the Grunts, it was a totally different experience… you ate together, you slept next to each other… hell you even pissed and shit near each other… and you shared the same miserable existence together. You knew everyone's name in your platoon or company. And in the end… we often bled together too.

By tradition… Marine Corps Officers defer to their troops when it comes to chow, mail call and liberty. The men go first, Officers last. Know you Navy guys will find that hard to believe… but thats the way it was in the Grunts. The interaction and relationships were closer and far more personal. The troops relied on the Officers for leadership and the Officers relied on the men to win the fight. And they both risked their lives for each other. Many an Officer owed his life to an Enlisted Marine and Vice Versa. Anyway… you form bonds within the ranks that we seldom did in aviation.

Since leaving the Corps, Lon has devoted much of his life to remembering those who served and retained an unabiding desire to do something for those who served in the lower ranks. He finally set up a Foundation to help those who served and the offspring of the same. Lon is personally successful… his whole motivation is altruistic… this is a real Foundation, engaged in honorable work. I would encourage any of you with the means… to contact Lon and make a donation if you can spare it. I know he would appreciate it… and put it to a good cause.

All the Best, Shadow

 

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A cute one from the archivers

Thanks to Craig ... and Dr.Rich

To Be 8 again!

SO True!!

A man was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching his wife, who was looking at herself in the mirror. Since her birthday was not far off he asked what she'd like to have for her birthday.

'I'd like to be eight again', she replied, still looking in the mirror ..

On the morning of her Birthday, he arose early, made her a nice big bowl of Coco Pops, and then took her to Adventure World theme park. What a day! He put her on every ride in the park; the Death Slide, the Wall of Fear, the Screaming Roller Coaster, everything there was.

Five hours later they staggered out of the theme park. Her head was reeling and her stomach felt upside down. He then took her to a McDonald's where he ordered her a Happy Meal with extra fries and a chocolate shake.

Then it was off to a movie, popcorn, a soda pop, and her favorite candy, M&M's. What a fabulous adventure!

Finally she wobbled home with her husband and collapsed into bed exhausted. 

He leaned over his wife with a big smile and lovingly asked, 'Well Dear, what was it like being eight again?

Her eyes slowly opened and her expression suddenly changed.

'I meant my dress size, you idiot!!!!'

The moral of the story: Even when a man is listening, he is gonna get it wrong.

 

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. Thanks to American Facts

. Well I still have nine of these and they still work....skip

 

 

What Was The Telephone With A Round Dial Control Called?

Rotary dial phone

 

Can You Tell What This Was For? 12 Items We No Longer Use!

 

Little by little, many of the things we used just a few decades ago have been phased out by newer technologies and changing habits. Your relatives no longer invite you over for a family viewing of holiday photos on a slide projector—they share them in the family WhatsApp group. Hardly anyone calls you on a landline anymore—they call your smartphone instead. Take a look at the following 12 things we no longer use. Do you miss any of them?

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Paper road maps

Paper maps—atlases, or topographic maps—are beautiful and there is always room for those as home decorations or teaching geography in schools. But as far as bulky roadmaps on your back pocket go, smartphones with GPS capabilities have made them obsolete.

 

 

Bathing machine

Back in the day, modesty was far more strictly enforced than it is today. Forget about simply wearing your beach clothes to the shore—the bathing machine was a device, popular from the 18th century to the early 20th century, that allowed beachgoers to change out of their regular clothes, put on swimwear, and wade into the ocean.

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Public telephones

Before cell phones existed, coin-operated pay phones were the go-to option for contacting someone or leaving a message. Pay phones were everywhere—on street corners, in malls, restaurants, airports, train stations, and hotels, allowing people to make calls in public places.

 

 

Teleseme

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, luxury hotels featured an electric signaling device in each room, allowing guests to request goods or services from over 100 options. An attendant in the hotel office would receive the request via a corresponding teleseme and ensure the order was fulfilled.

 

These devices were eventually replaced by private branch exchange (PBX) telephone systems.

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Slide projectors

As mentioned earlier, slide projectors were once a common household appliance in many homes and a popular form of entertainment. However, they became obsolete as video projectors became more affordable and accessible.

 

 

Phonebooks

Imagine a book containing the home phone numbers of everyone in your city. It once existed and was delivered annually to every household with a landline by the telephone company. These hefty directories became obsolete with the rise of online listings and the death of landlines in favor of cell phones.

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Typewriters

Imagine not being able to revise what you're writing without scrapping the whole page. While that situation was a great exercise for your focusing abilities, it was phased out by home computers and word processors, which allowed for infinite rewrites in no time.

 

 

Photo Album

Smartphones have made photography more accessible than ever, yet we print fewer photos than before. When photography wasn't digital, people took their film rolls to be developed, returning with 36 crisp pictures—some of which, if deemed worthy, were carefully placed in photo albums.

 

Cassette tape players

If you're over 40, you've probably owned a cassette player—whether a Walkman, a boombox, or any other model. Cassettes were sturdy, reliable, and easy to use. However, with the arrival of CDs, which offered superior sound quality and the ability to skip tracks at the press of a button, cassettes and their players quickly faded into obscurity.

 

 

Encyclopedias

Before the internet, encyclopedias were the primary source of knowledge. These extensive book collections adorned bookshelves in homes and public libraries, offering detailed descriptions of almost any subject imaginable, all listed in alphabetical order.

 

 

Fax machines

By today's standards, sending and receiving faxes wasn't particularly fast, but at the time, it was a game-changer. The fax machine digitized documents with a scanner and transmitted printed pages over telephone lines. However, it became obsolete with the rise of email, scanners, and smartphones.

 

 

VHS tapes and VCRs

Being able to see any movie you want at home feels ordinary today, but, in the early 80s, it was a dream come true. And this dream was made possible by VCRs and VHS tapes. These bulky devices were eventually replaced by DVD players, which offered superior image quality and eliminated the need to rewind the tape.

 

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Thanks to Mugs

. US F-15E jet confirmed shot down over Iran as Tehran releases wreckage images

Dan Sabbagh in Jerusalem and Hugo Lowell in Washington

Fri, April 3, 2026 at 9:28 AM CDT

A US air force F-15E aircraft, the same model that has been brought down over Iran.Photograph: US Air Force/Reuters

A US F-15E fighter has been shot down over Iran, prompting a frantic US search and rescue effort for its two-strong crew, in the first such incident since the start of the war.

Iranian state media released images of a tail fin and other debris early on Friday accompanied by an initial claim that a US F-35 had been hit by a new air defence system over central Iran and the pilot probably killed.

Related: Middle East crisis live: US launches rescue mission as official says Iran has shot down fighter jet

Aviation experts said the wreckage pictured was in fact from a F-15E, from the US air force's 494th squadron, based at RAF Lakenheath in the UK, though it could not at first be confirmed when and where the pictures were taken.

US officials familiar with the situation later confirmed off the record that an F-15E had been brought down and the Pentagon was scrambling to find the crew. There was no official comment from the US military about the incident.

Subsequent footage filmed in Iran showed a US C-130 Hercules and HH-60 Pavehawk helicopters flying low and at one point refuelling together, amid fresh Iranian speculation that the plane crew may have ejected and survived.

Justin Bronk, an aviation expert from the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), said the use of the specialist helicopters "suggested a combat search and rescue mission is under way to locate and extract the two aircrew from the F-15E".

A social media account claiming to be linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards posted a picture of an ejector seat in a desert landscape, which appeared to be consistent with the ACES II type used in F-15Es. Bronk said: "If genuine, it would suggest that at least one of the two aircrew did eject safely."

The presenter on an Iranian TV channel urged residents to hand over any "enemy pilot" to police and promised a reward for anyone who did.

Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that the pilot of the jet – still incorrectly describing it as an F-35 – had been taken into custody, contradicting Tehran's initial claim that the pilot had probably died in the incident.

Overnight, the US Central Command, which is leading the attack on Iran, had denied Iranian claims that another F-35 jet had been downed over Qeshm Island in the strait of Hormuz. "All US fighter aircraft are accounted for," it said at the time.

Up to now no US fighter jets had been lost over Iran during the five-week-long conflict, though three F-15Es were shot down by a Kuwaiti air defence system in a friendly fire incident on 1 March.

An F-35 fighter reportedly had to make an emergency landing at a US airbase in the Middle East after sustaining damage from the ground. A US E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system aircraft was destroyed at the Prince Sultan airbase in Saudi Arabia on 27 March in an Iranian strike.

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An epic tale from the archives

Thanks to Barrel   I lived on a couple of bases that had the B-36. Like Loring  in Maine. They made a certain sound that was unmistakable with 6 turning and 4 burning and you did not even have to look up to know what it was. On open house days my buddies and I would always get there as soon as we could and head to the B-36. We would climb in and start cranking each other from the front to the back gunner station on the little track with what was like one of those things that mechanics have to roll under cars on their backs. It would not take to long before someone would come along kick us out. But what fun  Then we would head to the fighters. F-102, F-86D, F-89 etc  skip 

B-36 Ride to Hell....

Ah, back when engines were  engines...Except for the four jets.

Aircraft Commander 1st Lt. Oliver Hildebrandt, Pilot 1st Lt. Walter Ross, and Co-pilot Captain Wilbur Evans, and a crew of thirteen took off from Carswell AFB in B-36B, 44-92035 of the 26th Bomb Squadron of the 7th Bomb Wing at 5:05 A.M. on November 22,1950. The planned 30-hour training mission consisted of air-to-air gunnery, bombing, simulated radar bombing, and navigational training.

Immediately after take-off, the #4 alternator would not stay in parallel with the other three alternators, so it was taken off-line and de-excited three minutes into the flight. About one minute after the #4 alternator was shut down, flames 8 to 12 feet long erupted from around the air plug of the number-one engine. The left scanner reported the flames to the pilot. Six minutes after take-off, the flight engineer shut down the number-one engine, feathered its propeller, and expended one of its Methyl bromide fire extinguishing bottles.

The mission continued on the power of the remaining five engines. 44-92035 cruised to the gunnery range on Matagorda Island at an altitude of 5,000 feet. It arrived at 7:00 A.M. and the gunners began practicing. Radar Observer S/Sgt. Ray Earl manned the tail turret. The charger for the right gun burned out, so he expended just half of his ammunition. Then the APG-3 radar for the tail turret started acting up, so S/Sgt. Earl secured the set.

Aircraft Commander 1st Lt. Oliver Hildebrandt noted that the vibration from firing the 20 mm cannons increased significantly during the fourth gunnery pass. Immediately afterward, radar operator Captain James Yeingst notified Hildebrandt that the APQ-24 radar set blew up and was smoking. Vibration from the firing of the guns was causing shorting between the internal components of the radar. Then the liaison transmitter failed as well.

The cannons in the left forward upper turret and the left rear upper turret stopped firing. The gunners attempted to retract the gun turrets, but the failed turrets would not retract. Gunner S/Sgt. Fred Boyd entered the turret bay, but other problems began to take precedence over the stuck turrets. Boyd was called out of the bay before he could manually crank the turret down.

At 7:31 A.M. the number-three engine suffered an internal failure. The torque pressure fell to zero. The manifold pressure dropped to atmospheric pressure. The fuel flow dropped off, and the flight engineer could not stabilize the engine speed. The pilot shut down the number-three engine and feathered its propeller. The B-36B had only one operating engine on the left wing, so the pilot aborted the remainder of the training mission and set course for Kelly Air Force Base.

Flight engineer Captain Samuel Baker retarded the spark, set the mixture controls to "normal", and set the engine RPM's to 2,500 to increase the power from the remaining engines. Unknown to Captain Baker, the vibration from the guns had disabled the electrical systems controlling the spark settings and fuel mixture. He immediately discovered that the turbo control knobs no longer affected the manifold pressure.

The B-36B could not maintain its airspeed on the power of the four remaining engines. It descended about 1,000 feet and its airspeed bled off to 135 miles per hour. The pilot called for more power. The flight engineer attempted to increase engine speed to 2,650 RPM and enrich the fuel mixture, but got no response from the engines except for severe backfiring. The fuel mixture indicators for all of the engines indicated lean. The second flight engineer, M/Sgt. Edward Farcas, checked the electrical fuse panel. Although the fuses appeared to be intact, he replaced the master turbo fuse and all of the individual turbo fuses. He noticed that the turbo-amplifiers and mixture amplifiers were all cooler than normal. He climbed into the bomb bay to check the aircraft power panels and fuses, but could not find any problem there.

Kelly Air Force Base had a cloud overcast at just 300 feet and the visibility was restricted to two miles. The weather at Bergstrom Air Force Base not as bad, with scattered clouds at 1,000 feet, broken clouds at 2,000 feet and 10 miles visibility. Carswell Air Force Base was clear with 10 miles visibility, but it was 155 miles farther away than Bergstrom. Air traffic control cleared all airspace below 4,000 feet ahead of the crippled B-36B.  Aircraft Commander Hildebrandt was flying on instruments in thick clouds.

The poor weather at Kelly Air Force Base convinced Hildebrandt to change course from Kelly to Carswell Air Force Base, passing by Bergstrom Air Force Base on the way in case the airplane could not make it to Carswell.  Bombardier Captain Robert Nelson made two attempts to salvo the 1,500 pounds of practice bombs in the rear bomb bay, but the bomb bay doors would not open by automatic or manual control, or emergency procedure.

There was no way to dump fuel to reduce the weight of the B-36B. The flight engineers resorted to holding down the switches used to prime the fuel system in an attempt to increase fuel flow to the engines. M/Sgt. Edward Farcas held down the prime switches for the number-two and number-four engines while Captain Baker held down the prime switch for the number-five engine and operated the flight engineer's panel. The configuration of the switches did not allow them to prime the number-five  engine and the number-six engine at the same time.

The high power demand coupled with the lean fuel mixture made the cylinder head temperatures of the engines climb to 295 degrees C. Flight engineer Baker jockeyed the throttles, decreasing the throttle setting of the engine with the highest cylinder head temperature until another engine grew even hotter.  The high temperature caused the gasoline/air mixture in the cylinders to detonate before the pistons reached top dead center, diminishing power and damaging the engines.

Despite the critical situation with the engines, Aircraft Commander Hildebrandt decided to continue past Bergstrom Air Force Base to Carswell.  Bergstrom was overcast and its runway was only 6,000 feet long. Carswell offered a much longer runway.  By the time the B-36B reached Cleburne , the backfiring on all engines increased in violence. The number-2, number-5, and number-6 engines were running at 70% power and the number-4 engine was producing only 20% power. The airspeed had dropped off to 130 miles per hour.

Aircraft Commander Hildebrandt attempted to restart the number-one engine, the one that had spouted flames on take-off, but fuel was not getting to its induction system. He tried to restart the number-three engine, but could not unfeather the propeller on that engine.  As the bomber passed to the west of Cleburne , the right scanner reported dense white smoke, oil, and metal particles coming from the number-five engine.

After a short while the number-five engine lost power, and Aircraft Commander Hildebrandt feathered the propeller on that engine while still twenty-one miles from Carswell Air Force Base. The B-36B could not stay airborne on the power of the three remaining failing engines. It was flying at just 125 miles per hour, seven miles per hour above the stall speed, losing both altitude and airspeed.  Howard McCullough and W. Boeten were flying Civil Aeronautics Authority DC-3 N342  near Cleburne . They were notified by Meacham Tower to be on the lookout for 44-92035. They spotted it about five miles south of Cleburne . They observed that the number-one and number-three propellers were feathered and the number-five engine was on fire. They turned to follow the descending bomber. Aircraft Commander Hildebrandt ordered the crew to bail out of the stricken bomber.

Bombardier Captain Robert Nelson had bailed out of airplanes on two previous occasions.  He had crash landed twice and ditched once.  He was the first man to bail out from the forward crew compartment.  He suffered contusions of his lower spine when he landed.

Radar Operator Captain James Yeingst responded to stress with laughter and  jokes.  He was a bit giddy before the bailout.  He was the second man to exit from the forward crew compartment. His parachute streamed after he pulled the rip cord. He passed Captain Nelson going down. Captain Yeingst's parachute mushroomed open just before he hit the ground, but he suffered fatal injuries.

Co-pilot Captain Wilbur Evans was the third man to exit from the forward crew compartment. He had bailed out of airplanes twice before and crash landed several times during WW-II. This time he broke both bones in his lower right leg when he landed.

Navigator Captain Horace Stewart had previously tried to get off flying status because he felt that the B-36 was too dangerous. It is reported that during the hour before bailout, he was tense, nervous, and chain-smoking. He was the fourth man to bail out from the forward crew compartment. He pulled his rip cord right as he exited the forward escape hatch on the left side of the fuselage. His parachute opened and pulled him toward the number three propeller. His head hit the downward pointing blade of the propeller, killing him instantly.

Radio Operator Cpl. Paul Myers followed Captain Stewart out the escape hatch.  Myers landed with minor injuries.  Flight Engineer M/Sgt. Edward Farcas jumped head first through the exit hatch of the forward crew compartment right after Cpl. Myers. His parachute did not open when he pulled the rip cord.  He pulled the parachute out of its pack with his hands and landed with only minor injuries.

Radar Mechanic Robert Gianerakis and Flight Engineer Captain Samuel Baker were the next to escape from the forward compartment.  Both landed with only minor injuries.  Radio Operator Sgt. Armando Villareal bailed out after Captain Baker.  Villareal did not trust his parachute to open, so he pulled the rip cord while he was still in the forward crew compartment. He held his parachute in his arms as he jumped feet first through the escape hatch. Despite his unorthodox method of escape, he landed with only minor injuries.

Pilot 1st Lt. Walter Ross was the next to last to leave the forward compartment. He landed with only minor injuries. Gunner S/Sgt. Andrew Byrne and Radar Observer S/Sgt. Ray Earl were the first two crew members to bail out of the rear crew compartment.  Both landed with only minor injuries. Gunner Cpl. Calvin Martin was the third man to exit the rear crew compartment. He was swinging under his parachute as he hit the ground. He broke his right ankle as he landed. He fell backward onto a rock, fracturing his third lumbar vertebra and compressing his tailbone.  Gunner S/Sgt. Ronald Williams followed Cpl. Martin out the rear escape hatch. He landed with only minor injuries. Gunner S/Sgt. Fred Boyd was the last man to exit the rear crew compartment. He called to Aircraft Commander Hildebrandt over the intercom to let him know that everyone had escaped from the aft compartment. When he turned back to the exit hatch, it had fallen shut. He had to open the hatch again to make his escape. He broke the fibula of his left leg when he landed farther to the north than the other crew members.

After S/Sgt. Boyd reported that all other crew members had bailed out of the rear compartment, Aircraft Commander Hildebrandt set the autopilot and jumped clear when the bomber was less than 1,000 feet above the ground. He and nine other crew members escaped from the B-36B with only minor injuries.  When McCullough and Boeten in DC-3, N342 saw the parachutes of the escaping crew members, they announced the bail-out on the emergency frequency of 121.25 megacycles.

Each report of Emergency Parachute Jump indicates that the incident occurred 20 miles south southeast of Carswell Air Force Base. The descent of the B-36B was witnessed by Mr. Buck Bell and his wife, who lived about 5 to 7 miles southwest of Crowley, Texas.  Mr. Bell saw the crew members parachuting from the bomber, but did not see it hit the ground about one mile north of his house.  Mr. James Bandy and his wife were on the road to Cleburne about 4 miles from their house on Route 1 near Joshua when they spotted the B-36B trailing smoke, flying in a nose-high attitude. They saw it hit the ground in a level attitude, raising a cloud of dust.

The  B-36B descended straight ahead in a nose-high attitude for a mile after Aircraft Commander Hildebrandt bailed out. It stalled, pitched nose down, and impacted in a terraced field on Les Armstrong's Dairy, 14 miles south of Carswell Air Force Base, 2 miles west of the South leg FTW range, and six miles west of Crowley at 9:50 in the morning. The forward crew compartment separated and folded underneath the rest of the fuselage. The tail section broke off, and the rear crew compartment came away from the mid-fuselage as the wreckage slid 850 feet along the ground and twisted to the right.

The rear sections of the airplane remained largely intact. The elevation at the crash site was approximately 700 feet.   Mr. W. Doggett witnessed the bail-out and crash from his home on Route 1 near Joshua.  The B-36B impacted about 2-1/2 miles north of his house.  He drove to the crash site in his pickup truck and helped the surviving crew members to regroup.

Four minutes after the crash, McCullough and Boeten in DC-3, N342 reported that two Navy aircraft were circling the wreckage.  The wreckage smoldered for about eight minutes before a fire broke out in the number-six engine. The 15,000 gallons of remaining fuel consumed the forward fuselage and wings. The civilians and crew members were driven away from the crash site by exploding ammunition and the knowledge of the presence of 1,500 pounds of bombs aboard the airplane.

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TheList 7493

To All.

.Good Thursday morning April 2, 2026.The weather is overcast and cool this morning. . The new dryer came without the correct gas line so they put together a couple to make it work.This is a bubba Breakfast Friday here in San Diego

Warm Regards,

skip

HAGD

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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)

Go here to see the director's corner for all 94 H-Grams 

Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/

1781 During the American Revolution, the Continental frigate Alliance, commanded by John Barry, captures the British privateers Mars and Minerva off the coast of France.

1916 Lt. R.C. Saufley sets an altitude record for a Navy aircraft, 16,072 feet in a Curtiss pusher type hydroplane at Pensacola, Fla., bettering the record he set on March 29 that was set with a record of 16,010 feet.

1943 USS Tunny (SS 282) sinks the Japanese transport No.2 Toyo Maru west of Truk.

1951 Two F9F-2B Panthers of VF-191, each loaded with four 250- and two 100-pound general-purpose bombs, are catapulted from USS Princeton (CV 37) for an attack on a railroad bridge near Songjin, North Korea. This mission is the first US Navy use of a jet fighter as a bomber.

1960  After floods cause destruction at Paramaribo, Suriname, USS Glacier (AGB 4) begins 12 days of relief operations, providing helicopter and boat transportation and emergency supplies to the residents.

1991 USS Chicago (SSN 721) arrives at San Diego, Calif., homeport following Operation Desert Storm. During the six-month deployment, the attack submarine works with US and coalition forces deployed to the Southwest Asia area of operations, conducting surveillance and reconnaissance operations.

 

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This day in World history April 2,

 

1792    The United States authorizes the minting of the $10 Eagle, $5 half-Eagle & 2.50 quarter-Eagle gold coins as well as the silver dollar, dollar, quarter, dime & half-dime.

1796    Haitian revolt leader Toussaint L'Ouverture takes command of French forces at Santo Domingo.

1801    The British navy defeats the Danish at the Battle of Copenhagen.

1865    Confederate President Jefferson Davis flees Richmond, Virginia as Grant breaks Lee's line at Petersburg.

1910    Karl Harris perfects the process for the artificial synthesis of rubber.

1914    The U.S. Federal Reserve Board announces plans to divide the country into 12 districts.

1917    President Woodrow Wilson presents a declaration of war against Germany to Congress.

1917    Jeannette Pickering Rankin is sworn in as the first woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.

1931    Virne "Jackie" Mitchell becomes the first woman to play for an all-male pro baseball team. In an exhibition game against the New York Yankees, she strikes out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

1932    Charles Lindbergh pays over $50,000 ransom for his kidnapped son.

1944    Soviet forces enter Romania, one of Germany's allied countries.

1958    The National Advisory Council on Aeronautics is renamed NASA.

1963    Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King begins the first non-violent campaign in Birmingham, Alabama.

1982    Argentina invades the British-owned Falkland Islands.

 

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Rollingthunderremembered.com .

April 2

Hello All,

Thanks to Dan Heller and the Bear

 Links to all content can now be found right on the homepage http://www.rollingthunderremembered.com. If you scroll down from the banner and featured content you will find "Today in Rolling Thunder Remembered History" which highlights events in the Vietnam war that occurred on the date the page is visited. Below that are links to browse or search all content. You may search by keyword(s), date, or date range.

     An item of importance is the recent incorporation of Task Force Omega (TFO) MIA summaries. There is a link on the homepage and you can also visit directly via  https://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/task-force-omega/. There are 60 summaries posted thus far, with about 940 to go (not a typo—TFO has over 1,000 individual case files).

     If you have any questions or comments about RTR/TFO, or have a question on my book, you may e-mail me directly at acrossthewing@protonmail.com. Thank you    Dan

 

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Thanks to Micro

From Vietnam Air Losses site for ..April  2  . .

April 2: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=2518

This following work accounts for every fixed wing loss of the Vietnam War and you can use it to read more about the losses in The Bear's Daily account. Even better it allows you to add your updated information to the work to update for history…skip

Vietnam Air Losses

Access Chris Hobson and Dave Lovelady's work at:  https://www.VietnamAirLosses.com.

 

This is a list of all Helicopter Pilots Who Died in the Vietnam War . Listed by last name and has other info  https://www.vhpa.org/KIA/KIAINDEX.HTM

 

MOAA - Wall of Faces Now Includes Photos of All Service members Killed in the Vietnam War

 The site works, find anyone you knew in "search" feature.  https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/ )

 

https://www.moaa.org/content/publications-and-media/news-articles/2022-news-articles/wall-of-faces-now-includes-photos-of-all-servicemembers-killed-in-the-vietnam-war/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=TMNsend&utm_content=Y84UVhi4Z1MAMHJh1eJHNA==+MD+AFHRM+1+Ret+L+NC

 By: Kipp Hanley

 

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.I watched Thor, Atlas, Minuteman and Titan missiles launch from Vandenberg AFB when I lived there., All had some spectacular failures that lit up the night.

This was epic…skip

 

Thanks to Mud

    Below is a good article on yesterday's launch.  There are some interesting facts that escaped me.  Several people were not aware that the mission was not in fact going to land on the moon.  In any event I think you will find this article interesting.

 

- Mud

 .

Artemis II astronauts bound for moon after rocketing away on NASA's first lunar voyage in decades

By MARCIA DUNN

AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Four astronauts embarked on a high-stakes flight around the moon Wednesday, humanity's first lunar voyage in more than half a century and the thrilling leadoff in NASA's push toward a landing in two years.

Carrying three Americans and one Canadian, the 32-story rocket rose from NASA's Kennedy Space Center where tens of thousands gathered to witness the dawn of this new era. Crowds also jammed the surrounding roads and beaches, reminiscent of the Apollo moonshots in the 1960s and '70s. It is NASA's biggest step yet toward establishing a permanent lunar presence.

"On this historic mission, you take with you the heart of this Artemis team, the daring spirit of the American people and our partners across the globe, and the hopes and dreams of a new generation," launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson told the crew right before liftoff. "Good luck, Godspeed Artemis II. Let's go."

Artemis II set sail from the same Florida launch site that sent Apollo's explorers to the moon so long ago. The handful still alive cheered this next generation's grand adventure as the Space Launch System rocket thundered into the early evening sky, a nearly full moon beckoning some 248,000 miles (400,000 kilometers) away.

Five minutes into the flight, Commander Reid Wiseman saw the team's target: "We have a beautiful moonrise, we're headed right at it," he said from the capsule. On board with him are pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada's Jeremy Hansen. It is the most diverse lunar crew ever with the first woman, person of color and non-U. S. citizen riding in NASA's new Orion capsule.

"NASA is back in the business of sending astronauts to the moon," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told reporters following liftoff, calling the half-century hiatus a brief intermission.

Tensions high in the hours leading up to launch

Tensions were high earlier in the day as hydrogen fuel started flowing into the rocket. Dangerous hydrogen leaks erupted during a countdown test earlier this year, forcing a lengthy flight delay.

To NASA's relief, no significant hydrogen leaks occurred. The launch team loaded more than 700,000 gallons of fuel (2.6 million liters) into the 32-story Space Launch System rocket on the pad, a smooth operation that set the stage for the Artemis II crew to board.

Then NASA had to overcome a flurry of last-minute technical issues — bad battery sensors and an inability to get commands through to the rocket's flight termination system. In both cases, the issues were quickly resolved, allowing the launch to proceed.

What's on tap for 10-day test flight?

The astronauts will stick close to home for the first 25 hours of their 10-day test flight, checking out the capsule in orbit around Earth before firing the main engine that will propel them to the moon.

They won't pause for a stopover or orbit the moon like Apollo 8's first lunar visitors did so famously on Christmas Eve 1968, reading from Genesis. But they stand to become the most distant humans ever when their capsule zooms past the moon and continues another 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) beyond, before making a U-turn and tearing straight home to a splashdown in the Pacific.

Once settled in a high orbit around Earth, the astronauts assumed manual control and practiced steering their capsule around the rocket's detached upper stage, venturing as close as 33 feet (10 meters). NASA wants to know how Orion handles in case the self-flying feature fails and the pilots need to take control.

Crew has an amazing sight in store

During Monday's lunar flyby, the moon will appear to be the size of a basketball held at arm's length. The astronauts will take turns peering through Orion's windows with cameras. If the lighting is right, they should see features never before viewed through human eyes. They'll also catch snippets of a total solar eclipse, donning eclipse glasses as the moon briefly blocks the sun from their perspective and the corona is revealed.

All of NASA's moon plans — a surge in launches over the next several years leading to a sustainable moon base for astronauts assisted by robotic rovers and drones — hinge on Artemis II going well.

It's been more than three years since Artemis I, the only other time NASA's SLS rocket and Orion capsule have soared. With no one aboard, the Artemis I capsule lacked life-support equipment and other crew essentials like a water dispenser and toilet.

These systems are now making their space debut on Artemis II, ratcheting up the risk. That's why NASA is waiting a full day before committing Wiseman and his crew to a four-day trip to the moon and four-day journey back.

The capsule's toilet is already acting up. Koch informed Mission Control that it shut down seconds after she activated it. Mission Control advised her to to use a handheld bag-and-funnel system for now — CCU, short for Collapsible Contingency Urinal — while engineers pondered how to deal with the so-called lunar loo.

"There's always been a lot riding on this mission," NASA's Lori Glaze said ahead of launch. But the teams are even more "energized" now that the space agency is finally accelerating the lunar launch pace and laser-focusing on surface operations — seismic changes recently announced by Isaacman.

Artemis offers a fresh beginning

With half the world's population not yet born when NASA's 12 moonwalkers left their boot prints in the gray lunar dust, Artemis offers a fresh beginning, NASA's science mission chief Nicky Fox said earlier this week.

"There are a lot of people who don't remember Apollo. There are generations who weren't alive when Apollo launched. This is their Apollo," said Fox, who was 4 when Apollo 17 closed out the era.

NASA is in it for the long haul this time. Unlike Apollo, which focused on fast flags and footprints in a breakneck race against the Soviet Union, Artemis is striving for a sustainable moon base elaborate enough to satisfy even the most hard-core science fiction fans. But make no mistake: Isaacman and the Trump Administration want the next boot prints to be made by Americans, not the Chinese.

Until Isaacman's program makeover, Artemis III was crawling toward a moon landing no sooner than 2029. The billionaire spacewalker slid in a new Artemis III for 2027 so astronauts could practice docking their Orion capsule with a lunar lander in orbit around Earth. Astronauts' momentous landing near the moon's south pole shifted to Artemis IV in 2028 — two years before an anticipated Chinese crew's arrival.

Like Apollo 13 — astronauts' only moon landing miss — Artemis II will use a free-return, lunar flyby trajectory to get home with gravity's tug and a minimum of gas. The gravity of both the moon and Earth will provide much if not most of the oomph to keep Orion on its out-and-back, figure-eight loop.

There are inherent dangers

The danger is right up there for Artemis II. NASA has refused to release its risk assessment for the mission. Managers contend it's better than 50-50 — the usual odds for a new rocket — but how much more is murky.

The SLS rocket leaked flammable hydrogen fuel during ground tests, a recurring problem that engineers still do not completely understand. The hydrogen leaks and unrelated helium blockages stalled the flight for two months, coming on top of years of vexing delays and cost overruns. Both problems also thwarted Artemis I, whose capsule returned with excessive heat shield damage. To NASA's relief, Wednesday's countdown was leak-free.

Beating the Soviet Union to the moon made the huge risks acceptable for Apollo, said Charlie Duke, one of only four surviving moonwalkers.

"I'm cheering you on," Duke said in a note to Wiseman and his crew before their flight.

During a weekend news conference, Koch stressed how humanity's path to Mars goes through the moon, the proving ground for points beyond.

"It is our strong hope that this mission is the start of an era where everyone, every person on Earth, can look at the moon and think of it as also a destination," she said.

Added Glover: "It's the story of humanity. Not Black history, not women's history, but that it becomes human history."

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. Thanks to 1440

 

Iran War Outlook

President Donald Trump, in an address to the nation last night, said the war in Iran is nearing completion, projecting another two to three weeks of US involvement. He also expressed confidence that key military objectives are close to being met, including dismantling Iran's missile production, destroying its naval capabilities, and curbing its regional proxies. Replay the address here and see takeaways here.

The operation, which began roughly a month ago following coordinated US and Israeli airstrikes, also aims to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian sent an open letter to the American people yesterday, urging a reassessment of narratives around the conflict and arguing that Iran holds no hostility toward ordinary US citizens. He also framed Tehran's military actions as defensive and questioned US foreign policy priorities. Read the letter here.

Separately, earlier in the day, Trump became the first sitting US president to appear at a Supreme Court hearing after attending oral arguments on his executive order to narrow birthright citizenship (see overview and recap).

 

 

 

Multiple Sclerosis Breakthrough

Neuroscientists have discovered a new mechanism contributing to multiple sclerosis, according to research published yesterday, opening an additional path to treating the chronic neurodegenerative disease. 

MS is a condition in which the immune system attacks the protective coating (known as myelin) around individual nerve cells, disrupting central nervous system functions throughout the body. While researchers have long focused on protecting the myelin sheaths, a second process also occurs: Neurons in the brain's cortex, the outermost layer of gray matter that controls higher-level cognition, also die. The new research reveals that chemical reactions caused by inflammation significantly damage the DNA of gray matter neurons, leading to cell death. The results suggest focusing solely on myelin is insufficient to treat the progressive symptoms of the disease.

There is no current cure for MS, and the condition is typically diagnosed by the appearance of white lesions in the brain (see images here).

 

 

 

Caste Count Returns

India yesterday launched what is expected to be the world's largest census, covering over 1.4 billion people and marking the nation's first effort to collect detailed caste data since 1931 under British rule. The move could reshape social programs and political representation.

Discrimination based on caste—a hereditary social hierarchy rooted in Hindu scripture (read 101)—has been banned in India since 1950. Since its first post-independence census in 1951, India has tracked only the lowest caste and marginalized Indigenous groups, not the population at large. The stated intention was to phase out labels long tied to profession, neighborhood, and social life. Critics have said that largely ignoring caste downplays its continued influence. About 70% of surveyed Indian adults say most of their friends are within their caste, and the majority say stopping inter-caste marriages is very important (see data).

The census, anticipated to last one year, will be the first India conducts digitally, with over 3 million government workers uploading data to mobile apps.

 

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. Thanks to Barrett

Skip, another war story.

 

I represented the aces assn at some 1980s Gathering of Eagles at Maxwell AFB because sometimes ace members could not attend.  I think it was 85 when I introduced Gabby to Dave McCampbell—I might have been the only one who knew both.  Now, Gabby was our top living ace with a two-war score of 34.5 to Dave's 34.00.  Dave asked, "Are you SURE about that half MiG?"

 

Gabby said, "Well, 5^th Air Force was!"

 

Barrett

 

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Thanks to Hoss

Skip,

Here's a Bubba Seagars story for you.  While on an Air Wing deployment to Fallon in the fall of 1974, I was Ops in 211 with F-8J's and Bubba was Ops in 55 with A-4 Super Fox's. He came up to me in the club one night and challenged us to a duel at high noon the next day.  He said send up your best because we're going to kick your tails.  I told him whoever was on the schedule for noon would go.  I checked with Gunner and it was Curry Lawler and Isaac Richardson; a P-3 puke and a nugget.  Actually both were great sticks and I wasn't worried.  Curry had flown P-3's his first tour and then instructed at Meridian in T-2's before transiting to F-8's.  He was great all around, on the boat and in ACM.  (You know them both and can attest to their capabilities.)

We had done a month of flying exclusively with Topgun going through a modified course with ground school and Flying.  We followed all their rules; set crews and didn't fly with anyone else.  Then we spent two weeks at Nellis fighting the 414th FWS that had just received the first F-4E's with maneuvering leading edge slats.  OBTW, we kicked their tails everyday.

Bubba had two birds slicked off with nothting but Aim-9's. They had 2 engagements and Curry and Ike shot Bubba and his wingman in both goes and then all bingoed back to Fallon.   Bubba did not show up for the debrief and locked himself in his BOQ room for several days. He was a much subdued person after that.  Great memories!

With best regards, Hoss.

 

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I was thinking that for the home front the end of 1944 and the first 6 months of 1945 with the Batttle of the Bulge, Iwo Jima and then Okinawa it must have been pretty rough with all the casualties. It took a long time to get any information home from the front in those days. Fast forward to the Vietnam war and it took about two weeks to get a letter home and two more to receive an answer. Nowadays they have email and cell phones . I remember my last cruise on the USS Midway in 72-73. The news went out to home very fast on Shoot downs ( no names  just aircraft type) and there were only 4 of us RF-8 PILOTS On The USS Midway so each time we lost one my parents did not know for weeks who was involved and we lost two. One POW  and one picked up by friendlies. My dad said that it was a tough time at home not knowing the real story …..Skip

Thanks to Carl

The freezing hell of the Battle of the Bulge: Colorized images show resilience of US troops in snow camouflage advancing on Ardennes and tank crews huddling together in front of camp fires ahead of one of the most brutal encounters of WWII Germany launched the offensive against the Allies on December 16, 1944 - Hitler's last offensive of the war US troops fought back and held off the Siege of Bastogne but thousands of people including civilians died These colorized photographs show the freezing conditions soldiers fighting in the battle had to content with

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8176637/The-freezing-hell-Battle-Bulge-Colorized-images-resilience-troops.html

More From Wikipedia

The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Counteroffensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II, and took place from 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in eastern Belgium, northeast France, and Luxembourg, towards the end of the war in Europe. The offensive was intended to stop Allied use of the Belgian port of Antwerp and to split the Allied lines, allowing the Germans to encircle and destroy four Allied armies and force the Western Allies to negotiate a peace treaty in the Axis powers' favor.

The Germans achieved a total surprise attack on the morning of 16 December 1944, due to a combination of Allied overconfidence, preoccupation with Allied offensive plans, and poor aerial reconnaissance due to bad weather. American forces bore the brunt of the attack and incurred their highest casualties of any operation during the war. The battle also severely depleted Germany's armored forces, and they were largely unable to replace them. German personnel and, later, Luftwaffe aircraft (in the concluding stages of the engagement) also sustained heavy losses. The Germans had attacked a weakly defended section of the Allied line, taking advantage of heavily overcast weather conditions that grounded the Allies' overwhelmingly superior air forces. Fierce resistance on the northern shoulder of the offensive, around Elsenborn Ridge, and in the south, around Bastogne, blocked German access to key roads to the northwest and west that they counted on for success. Columns of armor and infantry that were supposed to advance along parallel routes found themselves on the same roads. This, and terrain that favored the defenders, threw the German advance behind schedule and allowed the Allies to reinforce the thinly placed troops. The farthest west the offensive reached was the village of Foy-Nôtre-Dame, south east of Dinant, being stopped by the U.S. 2nd Armored Division on 24 December 1944.[15][16][17] Improved weather conditions from around 24 December permitted air attacks on German forces and supply lines, which sealed the failure of the offensive. On 26 December the lead element of Patton's U.S. Third Army reached Bastogne from the south, ending the siege. Although the offensive was effectively broken by 27 December, when the trapped units of 2nd Panzer Division made two break-out attempts with only partial success, the battle continued for another month before the front line was effectively restored to its position prior to the attack. In the wake of the defeat, many experienced German units were left severely depleted of men and equipment, as survivors retreated to the defenses of the Siegfried Line.

The Germans' initial attack involved 410,000 men; just over 1,400 tanks, tank destroyers, and assault guns; 2,600 artillery pieces; 1,600 anti-tank guns; and over 1,000 combat aircraft, as well as large numbers of other armored fighting vehicles (AFVs).[4] These were reinforced a couple of weeks later, bringing the offensive's total strength to around 450,000 troops, and 1,500 tanks and assault guns. Between 63,222 and 98,000 of these men were killed, missing, wounded in action, or captured. For the Americans, out of a peak of 610,000 troops,[18] 89,000[5] became casualties out of which some 19,000 were killed.[5][19] The "Bulge" was the largest and bloodiest single battle fought by the United States in World War II[20][21][22] and the third-deadliest campaign in American history.

Thanks to Carl

Air Force F-15 paint job honors WWII hero who gave up his parachute

BY MAX HAUPTMAN | PUBLISHED JUL 22, 2022 9:59 AM EDT

https://taskandpurpose.com/history/f15-paint-job-medal-of-honor-parachute/?utm_term=Task&Purpose_Today_04.01.23&utm_campaign=Task & Purpose_TPToday_Actives_Dynamic&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email

 

This is one slick looking F-15 Eagle.

Assigned to the Oregon Air National Guard's 173rd Fighter Wing, the aircraft's paint scheme is designed to honor the namesake of the 173rd Fighter Wing's Kingsley Field Air National Guard Base, 2nd Lt. David R. Kingsley, who received the Medal of Honor during World War II.

On June 23, 1944, Kinglsey was serving as the bombardier of a B-17 on a mission over the Romanian oil fields at Ploesti. During the raid, Kingsley's aircraft was heavily damaged and the tail gunner, Michael J. Sullivan, was wounded. Kingsley administered first aid to Sullivan and another wounded crewmember as the badly damaged B-17 lost altitude. The pilot eventually gave the order to bail out, but Sullivan's parachute had been damaged, at which point Kingsley removed his own chute and strapped in onto the wounded man. Kingsley then remained with the aircraft until it crashed.

The F-15's paint scheme was unveiled in 2019, 75 years after Kinglsey's death. Kinglsey's portrait, set over Oregon's Crater Lake, is stenciled on the tail. The rest of the paint scheme is also reflective of the Army Air Corps of Kingsley's day. The mottled greens and browns are similar to those many B-17s had, and the F-15's wings are also painted with the distinctive black and white "invasion stripes" that were meant to denote allied aircraft. The nose is also stenciled with art from the squadron and group that Kingsley flew with.

At the unveiling in 2019, the 173rd Fighter Wing's commander, Col. Jeffrey Edwards, read from a letter Sullivan had written to Kingsley's oldest surviving brother in 1945.

"'Tommy, I am more than grateful that my life was spared by your brother Dave giving up his life so that I could live,'" read Edwards. "'I am not ashamed to admit when I think of Dave I also have tears come into my eyes, if it weren't for me getting wounded Dave's life would have been saved.'"

Born in Portland, Oregon, Kingsley grew up there and worked as a firefighter before enlistingin April, 1942. Commissioned a year later, he was eventually assigned as a bombardier in the 97th Bomb Group.

At the 2019 dedication of the F-15, Edwards described Kingsley's own account of his first mission on April 29, 1944.

"'lots of flak—got a piece in the nose and missed me by two inches it seemed like it was glass off the nose, then I come to the wing-fast and a piece hit me on the hand—the pain did not stay with me,'" read Edwards.

Kinglsey was flying his 20th mission when he was killed two months later. The Medal of Honor was presented to his family the following April.

The Air Force has no shortage of interesting and unique paint schemes for some of its aircraft, and this one can certainly take its place on the list.

The Medal of Honor citation for  2nd Lt. David R. Kingsley can be read in its entirety below:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, 23 June 1944 near Ploesti, Rumania, while flying as bombardier of a B-17 type aircraft. On the bomb run 2d Lt. Kingsley's aircraft was severely damaged by intense flak and forced to drop out of formation, but the pilot proceeded over the target and 2d Lt. Kingsley successfully dropped his bombs, causing severe damage to vital installations. The damaged aircraft, forced to lose altitude and to lag behind the formation, was aggressively attacked by three ME-109 aircraft, causing more damage to the aircraft and severely wounding the tail gunner in the upper arm. The radio operator and engineer notified 2d Lt. Kingsley that the tail gunner had been wounded and that assistance was needed to check the bleeding. Second Lt. Kingsley made his way back to the radio room, skillfully applied first aid to the wound, and succeeded in checking the bleeding. The tail gunner's parachute harness and heavy clothes were removed and he was covered with blankets, making him as comfortable as possible. Eight ME-109 aircraft again aggressively attacked 2d Lt. Kingsley's aircraft and the ball turret gunner was wounded by 20-mm shell fragments. He went forward to the radio room to have 2d Lt. Kingsley administer first aid. A few minutes later when the pilot gave the order to prepare to bail out, 2d Lt. Kingsley immediately began to assist the wounded gunners in putting on their parachute harness. In the confusion, the tail gunner's harness, believed to have been damaged, could not be located in the bundle of blankets and flying clothes which had been removed from the wounded men. With utter disregard for his own means of escape, 2d Lt. Kingsley unhesitatingly removed his parachute harness and adjusted it to the wounded tail gunner. Due to the extensive damage caused by the accurate and concentrated 20-mm fire by the enemy aircraft the pilot gave the order to bail out, as it appeared that the aircraft would disintegrate at any moment. Second Lt. Kingsley aided the wounded men in bailing out and when last seen by the crewmembers he was standing on the bomb bay catwalk. The aircraft continued to fly on automatic pilot for a short distance, then crashed and burned. His body was later found in the wreckage. Second Lt. Kingsley by his gallant and heroic action was directly responsible for saving the life of the wounded gunner.

 

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. From Nice News

Health

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Doing Something "Mentally Active" While Sitting Helps Reduce Dementia Risk: Study

.

Not all sitting is created equal. That's according to a recently published study from Sweden, which found that keeping your brain engaged while you sit can help reduce the dementia risk associated with sedentary behavior. Spoiler: Watching TV and scrolling social media don't count.

 

In 1997, researchers surveyed over 20,000 Swedish adults about their weekly activity — separating "mentally active" time (like knitting, doing a puzzle, or sitting in a meeting) and "mentally passive" time (like watching TV or listening to music). They followed up 19 years later to assess each participant's cognitive health risk and status and found that those who spent more time in mentally passive sitting had a higher risk of developing dementia.

 

Using a statistical model, the researchers then calculated that adding even just one hour of mental activity a day lowered dementia risk by 4%, and swapping a passive habit for an active one reduced the risk by 7%. Combining physical activity with mental engagement was the most effective approach, reducing the risk by 11%.

 

"Sedentary behavior is common, but fortunately, it can also be modified," study co-author Mats Hallgren said in a statement. "Our study shows that not all sitting is the same — how we use our brains while sitting may be an important factor for future cognitive and mental health."

Together With The Bouqs Co.

________________________________________

 

 

Two College Roommates Solving a $100 Billion Problem

If there's ever a time to "wake up and smell the flowers," it's when the $100 billion floral market is up for grabs. And investors are running out of time to do it.

 

Roommates John Tabis (ex Disney exec) and Juan Pablo Montufar-Arroyo (third-generation farmer) founded The Bouqs Co. to reinvent the $100 billion floral industry. Now, they're featured in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, NBC News, and Entrepreneur magazine.

 

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________________________________________

Inside the Effort to Guarantee Ski Season, No Matter the Weather

 Mario Tama/Getty Images

 

If the unpredictable winters have you concerned that there won't be slopes to pair with your après-ski, rest assured — the experts are on the case. A growing number of U.S. ski areas are turning to "snow farming" to guarantee a reliable base, regardless of the weather.

 

The concept of snow farming is fairly straightforward: During the winter, resorts pile massive quantities of human-made snow into mounds (sometimes two to three stories high) and store them throughout the summer under insulated mats. These mats can keep the snow cold even at surface temperatures of 119 degrees Fahrenheit. Once autumn arrives, the piles are uncovered and spread out to kickstart the ski season.

 

"It's going to extend the viability of skiing, especially for some of the resorts that are going to be on the margin as we have warmer winters and we get less snow," Nate Shake, the director of mountain operations at Bogus Basin ski resort in Boise, Idaho, told NBC News. He credited the stored snow for the resort's ability to open last November even during a record-warm month.

 

Other areas around the country are taking point as well. Soldier Hollow Nordic Center, a cross-country venue in Utah built for the 2002 Winter Olympics, is trying snow farming for the first time this year in hopes of nailing down the system leading up to the 2034 Games in Salt Lake City.

 

 

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This Day in U S Military History April 2

1945 – On Okinawa, forces of the US 10th Army easily advance across the island to the east coast and make some progress to the north and south. At sea, in addition to the bombardment and air support missions performed by the US naval forces, there are attacks by the British carriers on Skashima Gunto Island. In Japanese Kamikaze attacks four US transports are badly damaged with many casualties among the troops aboard.

1975 – As North Vietnamese tanks and infantry continue to push the remnants of South Vietnam's 22nd Division and waves of civilian refugees from the Quang Ngai Province, the South Vietnamese Navy begins to evacuate soldiers and civilians by sea from Qui Nhon. Shortly thereafter, the South Vietnamese abandoned Tuy Hoa and Nha Trang, leaving the North Vietnamese in control of more than half of South Vietnam's territory. During the first week in April, communist forces attacking from the south pushed into Long An Province, just south of Saigon, threatening to cut Highway 4, Saigon's main link with the Mekong Delta, which would have precluded reinforcements from being moved north to assist in the coming battle for Saigon. This action was part of the North Vietnamese general offensive launched in late January 1975, just two years after the cease-fire had been established by the Paris Peace Accords. The initial objective of this campaign was the capture of Ban Me Thuot in the Central Highlands. The battle began on March 4 with the North Vietnamese quickly encircling the city. As it became clear that the communists would take the city and probably the entire Darlac province, South Vietnamese president Thieu decided to protect the more critical populous areas. He ordered his forces in the Central Highlands to pull back from their positions. Abandoning Pleiku and Kontum, the South Vietnamese forces began to move toward the sea, but what started out as an orderly withdrawal soon turned into panic. The South Vietnamese forces rapidly fell apart. The North Vietnamese pressed the attack and were quickly successful in both the Central Highlands and farther north at Quang Tri, Hue and Da Nang. The South Vietnamese soon collapsed as a cogent fighting force and the North Vietnamese continued the attack all the way to Saigon. The South Vietnamese surrendered unconditionally on April 30.

 

Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day

There were 83 Medals awarded this date for actions in the Civil War and the Indian wars in the West. Here are a few of them.

 

SWAN, CHARLES A.

Rank and organization: Private, Company K, 4th lowa Cavalry. Place and date. At Selma, Ala., 2 April 1865. Entered service at: Mt. Pleasant, lowa. Born: 29 May 1838, Green County, Pa. Date of issue: 17 June 1865. Citation: Capture of flag (supposed to be 11th Mississippi, C.S.A., and bearer.

 

THOMPSON, FREEMAN C.

Rank and organization: Corporal, Company F, 116th Ohio Infantry. Place and date: At Petersburg, Va., 2 April 1865. Entered service at: ——. Birth: Monroe County, Ohio. Date of issue: 12 May 1865. Citation: Was twice knocked from the parapet of Fort Gregg by blows from the enemy muskets but at the third attempt fought his way into the works.

 

TRACY, CHARLES H.

Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company A, 37th Massachusetts Infantry. Place and date: At Spotsylvania, Va., 12 May 1864; At Petersburg, Va., 2 April 1865. Entered service at: Springfield, Mass. Birth: Jewett City, Conn. Date of issue: 19 November 1897. Citation: At the risk of his own life, at Spotsylvania, 12 May 1864, assisted in carrying to a place of safety a wounded and helpless officer. On 2 April 1865, advanced with the pioneers, and, under heavy fire, assisted in removing 2 lines of chevaux_de_frise; was twice wounded but advanced to the third line, where he was again severely wounded, losing a leg.

 

TUCKER, ALLEN

Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company F, 10th Connecticut Infantry. Place and date: At Petersburg, Va., 2 April 1865. Entered service at: Sprague, Conn. Birth: Lyme, Conn. Date of issue: 12 May 1865. Citation: Gallantry as color bearer in the assault on Fort Gregg.

 

VAN MATRE, JOSEPH

Rank and organization: Private, Company G, 116th Ohio Infantry. Place and date: At Petersburg, Va., 2 April 1865. Entered service at: ——. Birth: Mason County, W. Va. Date of issue: 12 May 1865. Citation: In the assault on Fort Gregg, this soldier climbed upon the parapet and fired down into the fort as fast as the loaded guns could be passed up to him by comrades

 

WELCH, RICHARD

Rank and organization: Corporal, Company E, 37th Massachusetts Infantry. Place and date: At Petersburg, Va., 2 April 1865. Entered service at: Williamstown, Mass. Birth: Ireland. Date of issue: 10 May 1865. Citation: Capture of flag.

 

WHITE, ADAM

Rank and organization: Corporal, Company G, 11th West Virginia Infantry. Place and date: At Hatchers Run, Va., 2 April 1865. Entered service at: Parkersburg, W. Va. Birth: Switzerland. Date of issue: 13 June 1865. Citation: Capture of flag.

 

WILSON, FRANCIS A.

Rank and organization: Corporal, Company B, 95th Pennsylvania Infantry. Place and date: At Petersburg, Va., 2 April 1865. Entered service at: Philadelphia Pa. Birth: Philadelphia, Pa. Date of issue: 25 June 1880. Citation: Was among the first to penetrate the enemy's lines and himself captured a gun of the 2 batteries captured.

 

DEARY, GEORGE

Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company L, 5th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Apache Creek, Ariz., 2 April 1874. Entered service at:——. Birth: Philadelphia, Pa. Date of issue: 12 April 1875. Citation: Gallantry in action.

 

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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for April 2, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY

2 April

1915: President Wilson appointed the first members to the NACA.

1916: Lt Richard C. Saufley (USN), flying a Curtiss Hydroairplane at Pensacola, bettered his own American altitude record with a mark of 16,072 feet. (24)

1931: First contract for a Navy fighter with retractable landing gear, the FF-1 biplane, made with Grumman. (24)

1942: Maj Gen Lewis H. Brereton led three heavy bombers in the first Tenth Air Force combat mission to attack ships near Port Blair, Andaman Islands, in the Bay of Bengal. (24)

1944: The XX Bomber Command's first B-29 landed in India. 1954: To 6 April, the 59 ARS and its H-19 helicopters helped refugees in Iraq's flooded Tigris River Valley. In 66 sorties, the H-19s dropped 30,000 pounds of food to 4,000 victims. (2)

1959: Out of 110 candidates, NASA selected Air Force Capts L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, and Donald K. "Deke" Slayton; Navy Lt Cmdrs Walter M. Shirra, Jr., and Alan B. Shepard, Jr., and Lt M. Scott Carpenter; and Marine Lt Col John H. Glenn, Jr., as the Project Mercury Astronauts. (20)

1963: Explorer XVII, NASA's stainless steel satellite, entered an almost perfect orbit after being launched aboard a Delta Rocket. It reported data tripling all previous direct measurement of neutral gases in the upper atmosphere.

1966: SAC inactivated the 576 SMS (ICBM Atlas), its last Atlas unit. (1) (6)

1976: The last C-118A Liftmaster in the active inventory went to Davis Monthan for storage. (16) (26)

1990: In the McDonnell Douglas NF-15B Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) Maneuvering Technology Demonstrator, Maj Erwin "Bud" Jenschke demonstrated in-flight thrust reversing for the first time over Edwards AFB. (20)

1997: A C-141 assigned to the 459 AW (AFRES) at Andrews AFB left Scott AFB for Sucre, Bolivia, with enough donated medical equipment to set up two surgical rooms. The Diocese of Joliet Peace and Justice at Romeoville, Ill., donated the cargo. (22)

 

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