To All,
Good Wednesday Morning September 18. 2024. .Cool and cloudy this morning. The harvest moon last night was very bright and lit up the sky. Just got word the Vette made it to its new home.
By the way I am way behind on mail and will try to catch up today.
Warm Regards and have a great week,
skip
Make it a good Day
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This day in Naval and Marine Corps History (thanks to NHHC)
Here is a link to the NHHC website: https://www.history.navy.mil/. Go here to see the director's corner for all 83 H-Grams
Today in Naval and Marine Corps History Thanks to NHHC
September. 18
1860 The sloop of war, USS Levant, sails from Hawaii for Panama. She is never seen again. In June 1861 a mast and a part of a lower yardarm believed to be from USS Levant are found near Hilo. Spikes had been driven into the mast as if to a form a raft. Some rumors had her running aground on an uncharted reef off California; others had her defecting to the Confederacy.
1906 A Marine battalion from USS Dixie lands at Cienfuegos, Cuba to reinforce a party guarding American owned plantations, where tensions are still high from the stalled revolution attempt from
1936 Squadron 40-T, based in the Mediterranean, is established to protect U.S. interests and evacuate U.S. citizens around the Iberian Peninsula throughout the Spanish Civil War.
1943 U.S. Navy aircraft perform aerial raids on the Tarawa Makin Islands, where the aerial photography taken proves to be fruitful for the oncoming invasion of the islands.
1947 Pursuant to provisions of the National Security Act of 1947 of the previous July 26, the Department of the Air Force is established.
1993 USS Gladiator (MCM 11) is commissioned at Naval Station Newport, R.I. The 11th Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship is the third U.S. ship named Gladiator.
1993 USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) is commissioned at her homeport of Naval Station Norfolk. The guided-missile cruiser is the 26th in the Ticonderoga-class and the second Navy ship to be named after the famed Battle of Vella Gulf from the Solomons campaign of World War II.
2004 USS Chung Hoon (DDG 93) is commissioned. USS Chung Hoon is named in honor of Rear Adm. Gordon Pai'ea Chung-Hoon, first Asian-American Naval Academy graduate and first Asian-American flag officer. During World War II, he was in command of USS Sigsbee (DD 502) when a kamikaze crashed into her in Apr. 1945.
2008 USNS Carl Brashear (T-AKE 7) is christened and launched at San Diego, Calif. The dry cargo ship provides ammunition, food, repair, parts, stores and small quantities of fuel for the U.S. Marine Corps. The ship is named for Master Chief Carl Brashear, the first African American Master Diver in the U.S. Navy and the first amputee to be recertified as a diver after amputation.
2017 Hurricane Maria makes landfall with the Caribbean island of Dominica. Joint Task Force-Leeward Islands (JTF-LI) was established to support relief efforts in St. Martin and Dominica as requested by the U.S. Agency for International Development's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA). JTF-LI with the USS Wasp (LHD 1) assisted with the evacuation of
2018 American Citizens (AMCITs) from St. Martin and at least 178 AMCITs from Dominica. Additionally, the JTF-LI provided 83,020 gallons of potable water to St. Martin and assisted with distributing relief supplies to Dominica.
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This day in Air Force History
Today, (September 18th 1947) America commemorates the anniversary of the Air Force. Born of the revolutionary ideas of visionaries, America's Air Force was forged in 20th century combat. The occasion allows us to reflect on where we have been in a century of powered flight and five decades of space flight.
America's airmen survey the planet from airborne, space-based and cyber sensors. These airmen can cover the globe, watching, deterring and defeating enemies with speed, precision and lethality. They are equally capable of delivering humanitarian and disaster relief within hours to anyone in the world.
For the 21st century, we are again revolutionizing our Air Force by incorporating the lessons learned in a century of aerial warfare and by modernizing our force.
The nation requires an interdependent team of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who can defeat a broad range of threats. Your Air Force will continue to be a vital and decisive element of that team – flying, fighting and winning.
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Today in World History September 18
1758 James Abercromby is replaced as supreme commander of British forces after his defeat by French commander the Marquis of Montcalm at Fort Ticonderoga during the French and Indian War.
1759 Quebec surrenders to the British after a battle which sees the deaths of both James Wolfe and Louis Montcalm, the British and French commanders.
1793 George Washington lays the foundation stone for the U.S. Capitol.
1830 Tom Thumb, the first locomotive built in the United States, loses a nine-mile race in Maryland to a horse.
1850 Congress passes the second Fugitive Slave Bill into law (the first was enacted in 1793), requiring the return of escaped slaves to their owners.
1862 After waiting all day for a Union attack which never came at Antietam, Confederate General Robert E. Lee begins a retreat out of Maryland and back to Virginia.
1863 Union cavalry troops clash with a group of Confederates at Chickamauga Creek.
1874 The Nebraska Relief and Aid Society is formed to help farmers whose crops were destroyed by grasshoppers swarming throughout the American West.
1911 Russian Premier Pyotr Stolypin dies four days after being shot at the Kiev opera house by socialist lawyer Dimitri Bogroff.
1914 The Irish Home Rule Bill becomes law, but is delayed until after World War I.
1929 Charles Lindbergh takes off on a 10,000 mile air tour of South America.
1934 The League of Nations admits the Soviet Union.
1939 A German U-boat sinks the British aircraft carrier Courageous, killing 500 people.
1948 Margaret Chase Smith becomes the first woman elected to the Senate without completing another senator's term when she defeats Democratic opponent Adrian Scolten. Smith is also the only woman to be elected to and serve in both houses of Congress.
1960 Two thousand cheer Fidel Castro's arrival in New York for the United Nations session.
1961 UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold is killed in a plane crash while attempting to negotiate peace in the Congo.
1964 U.S. destroyers fire on hostile targets in Vietnam.
1973 East and West Germany and The Bahamas are admitted to United Nations.
1975 Patty Hearst, granddaughter of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, is kidnapped by violent radical group SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army); she will later take part in some of the group's militant activities and will be captured by FBI agents.
1977 Voyager I takes first photo of Earth and the Moon together.
1980 Cosmonaut Arnaldo Tamayo, a Cuban, becomes the first black to be sent on a mission in space.
1998 ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is formed to coordinate unique identifying addresses for Websites worldwide.
2009 The US television soap opera The Guiding Light broadcasts its final episode, ending a 72-year run that began on radio.
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Thanks to the Bear
Skip… For "The List" for the week of 16 September 2024…. Bear
BEAR SENDS… OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT (1968-1972) From the archives of rollingthunderremembered.com… This post concludes the inclusion of Rolling Thunder and Commando Hunt reposts in "The List." For the past 44-weeks, I have provided access to archive entries covering Commando Hunt operations for the period November 1968 through mid-September 1969. These posts are permanently available at the following link.
https://www.rollingthunderremembered.com/commando-hunt-post-list/
The RTR website is the domain and property of author Dan Heller and reflects his dedication and commitment to extending the site and archive into the future. The Yankee Air Pirates of Rolling Thunder and Commando Hunt and their 1965-1972 fight with North Vietnam will NOT be forgotten, thanks to Dan's assumption of this task. The RTR site is now world class and in great hands…
It has been my honor and duty to create and turnover this journal of our air war in North Vietnam to Dan Heller. It has also been a pleasure to repost the history of both Rolling Thunder and Commando Hunt ops in Skip Leonard's incomparable daily post and history lesson for the last three years. It was Skip's extraordinary commitment of twenty-years to his daily history lesson that inspired me to create Rolling Thunder Remembered in 2016… Skip goes on. I'm done… Glory gained and duty done, I now retire to my cave on Mount Ogden to contemplate my navel… Bear
(Please note the eye-watering ongoing revamp of the RTR website by Webmaster/Author Dan Heller, who has inherited the site from originators RADM Bear Taylor, USN, Retired, and Angie Morse, "Mighty Thunder")…
To remind folks that these are from the Vietnam Air Losses site that Micro put together. You click on the url below and can read what happened each day to the aircraft and its crew. .Micro is the one also that goes into the archives and finds these inputs and sends them to me for incorporation in the List. It is a lot of work and our thanks goes out to him for his effort.
From Vietnam Air Losses site for "for 18 September
18-Sep: https://www.vietnamairlosses.com/loss.php?id=1355
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
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Note from skip
My tale yesterday of the young F-8 driver getting lost on his first solo was incorrect in that he ended up ejecting in the Gulf of California not the Salton Sea. When I reread it later I realized it then a few of you let me know.
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Https://CaptainBillyWalker.com
(480) 773-2823
From Skip…Be sure to go to Captain Billy's site…You can get lost for hours there in the history of aviation
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Just found out they did it again this morning and got pagers and radios. This will be on the news soon..skip
Thanks to Brett
Israel sends a message - - WATCH: Hundreds of pagers simultaneously explode in Mideast as Israel sends deadly message to terrorist network
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Thanks to Bubbles
Skip, I was talking to former Congressman Brian Bilbray yesterday. I told me his nephew is a Nuc on the Stennis. The Navy is looking at renaming the John C. Stennis. I think this would be a first to rename an aircraft carrier.
I guess some misdirected individual think Stennis was a bad guy.
I had the super opportunity to have a lot interaction with the Senior Senator. He was the best. Of note, no black sailors were given orders to Meridian unless they were requested. These orders were high demand orders. For starters, NAS Meridian was one of the few duty stations in the Navy where black sailors could go and live middle class life style. Also, without Stennis, the USN would not of had CVN's 72, 73, 74 and 75 in the budget.
Thanks, Bubbles
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Thanks to History Facts
Marie Curie's daughter also won the Nobel Prize.
FAMOUS FIGURES
I n 1903, Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in physics for her study of radioactivity, including the discovery of the elements radium and polonium. She shared the award with her husband, physicist Pierre Curie, and engineer Henri Becquerel. The Curies' aptitude for science seems to have been hereditary, because in 1935, their daughter Irène Joliot-Curie also won the Nobel Prize, in chemistry, for her own study of radioactive elements. Like her mother, Joliot-Curie shared the prize with her husband, physicist Frédéric Joliot-Curie.
Irène and Frédéric developed a technique for inducing artificial radioactivity in previously nonradioactive elements, a breakthrough that had widespread ramifications. Scientists were better able to observe the behavior of atoms as they underwent radioactive decay, which led to new insights into atomic structure and nuclear physics. In medicine, radioactive iodine prepared using the Joliot-Curies' methods became a key means of treating thyroid diseases, and the ability to easily produce radioactive material at a commercial scale was essential to the development of new cancer treatments. In the years following her Nobel Prize win, Irène followed in her mother's footsteps once more; in 1946, she became the director of the Radium Institute in Paris, where Marie ran her own laboratory for 25 years.
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This Day in U S Military History…….18 September
1862 – Confederate General Robert E. Lee's army pulls away from Antietam Creek, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and heads back to Virginia. The day before, Lee's force had engaged in the biggest one-day battle of the Civil War against the army of General George B. McClellan. The armies struggled to a standstill, but the magnitude of losses forced Lee to abandon his invasion of Maryland. The significance of the battle was not Lee's withdrawal, but McClellan's lack of pursuit. When Lee settled into a defensive line above Antietam Creek on September 16, he had only about 43,000 troops. McClellan had around 50,000 in position on September 17, with many more on the way. On September 18, the armies remained in their positions without fighting. By this point, Lee was highly vulnerable. His army had its back to the Potomac River, just a few miles away, and a quarter of his force had been lost in the previous day's battle. And after more than two weeks of marching, his men were tired. McClellan, on the other hand, welcomed an additional 12,000 troops on September 18, with another 24,000 who had seen little or no action the day before, to join his original force. But, although he outnumbered Lee's troops by almost three times, McClellan did not pursue Lee. In fact, despite constant urging from President Lincoln and Chief of Staff Henry Halleck, McClellan did not move toward Virginia for over a month. McClellan overestimated the size of Lee's force, assuming that Lee had nearly 100,000 troops in his command, and insisted that the fall of Harpers Ferry, Virginia, on September 15 allowed an additional 40,000 Confederate troops—in his inflated estimation—to fight at Antietam. It should be noted that while McClellan's soldiers were extremely fatigued after the Battle of Antietam, which was the bloodiest day of the war, it would be difficult to rally them for another attack; but certainly not impossible. Instead, Lee was allowed to escape with his command intact. A chance to destroy the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was lost, and the war lasted another two and a half years.
1931 – The Mukden Incident was initiated by the Japanese Kwangtung Army in Mukden. It involved an explosion along the Japanese-controlled South Manchurian Railway. It was soon followed by the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and the eventual establishment of the Japanese-dominated state of Manchukuo. The neutrality of the area, and the ability of Japan to defend its colony in Korea, was threatened in the 1920s by efforts at unification of China. Within three months Japanese troops had spread out throughout Manchuria, an occupation that finally ended at the conclusion of the Second World War in 1945.
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
DAY, MATTHIAS W.
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, 9th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Las Animas Canyon, N. Mex., 18 September 1879. Entered service at: Oberlin, Ohio. Birth: Mansfield, Ohio. Date of issue: 7 May 1890. Citation: Advanced alone into the enemy's lines and carried off a wounded soldier of his command under a hot fire and after he had been ordered to retreat.
DENNY, JOHN
Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company C, 9th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Las Animas Canyon, N. Mex., 18 September 1879. Entered service at: 1867 Elmira, N.Y. Birth: Big Flats, N.Y. Date of issue: 27 November 189i. Citation: Removed a wounded comrade, under a heavy fire, to a place of safety.
EMMET, ROBERT TEMPLE
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, 9th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Las Animas Canyon, N. Mex., 18 September 1879. Entered service at: New York, N.Y. Birth: New York, N.Y. Date of issue 24 August 1899. Citation: Lt. Emmet was in G Troop which was sent to relieve a detachment of soldiers under attack by hostile Apaches During a flank attack on the Indian camp, made to divert the hostiles Lt. Emmet and 5 of his men became surrounded when the Indians returned to defend their camp. Finding that the Indians were making for a position from which they could direct their fire on the retreating troop, the Lieutenant held his point with his party until the soldiers reached the safety of a canyon. Lt. Emmet then continued to hold his position while his party recovered their horses. The enemy force consisted of approximately 200.
JACKSON, ARTHUR J.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps, 3d Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division. Place and date: Island of Peleliu in the Palau group, 18 September 1944. Entered service at: Oregon. Born: 18 October 1924, Cleveland Ohio. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the 3d Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on the Island of Peleliu in the Palau group, 18 September 1944. Boldly taking the initiative when his platoon's left flank advance was held up by the fire of Japanese troops concealed in strongly fortified positions, Pfc. Jackson unhesitatingly proceeded forward of our lines and, courageously defying the heavy barrages, charged a large pillbox housing approximately 35 enemy soldiers. Pouring his automatic fire into the opening of the fixed installation to trap the occupying troops, he hurled white phosphorus grenades and explosive charges brought up by a fellow marine, demolishing the pillbox and killing all of the enemy. Advancing alone under the continuous fire from other hostile emplacements, he employed similar means to smash 2 smaller positions in the immediate vicinity. Determined to crush the entire pocket of resistance although harassed on all sides by the shattering blasts of Japanese weapons and covered only by small rifle parties, he stormed 1 gun position after another, dealing death and destruction to the savagely fighting enemy in his inexorable drive against the remaining defenses, and succeeded in wiping out a total of 12 pillboxes and 50 Japanese soldiers. Stouthearted and indomitable despite the terrific odds. Pfc. Jackson resolutely maintained control of the platoon's left flank movement throughout his valiant 1-man assault and, by his cool decision and relentless fighting spirit during a critical situation, contributed essentially to the complete annihilation of the enemy in the southern sector of the island. His gallant initiative and heroic conduct in the face of extreme peril reflect the highest credit upon Pfc. Jackson and the U.S. Naval Service.
JOHNSON, OSCAR G.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company B, 363d Infantry, 91st Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Scarperia, Italy, 16-18 September 1944. Entered service at: Foster City, Mich. Birth: Foster City, Mich. G.O. No.: 58, 19 July 1945. Citation: (then Pfc.) He practically single-handed protected the left flank of his company's position in the offensive to break the German's gothic line. Company B was the extreme left assault unit of the corps. The advance was stopped by heavy fire from Monticelli Ridge, and the company took cover behind an embankment. Sgt. Johnson, a mortar gunner, having expended his ammunition, assumed the duties of a rifleman. As leader of a squad of 7 men he was ordered to establish a combat post 50 yards to the left of the company to cover its exposed flank. Repeated enemy counterattacks, supported by artillery, mortar, and machinegun fire from the high ground to his front, had by the afternoon of 16 September killed or wounded all his men. Collecting weapons and ammunition from his fallen comrades, in the face of hostile fire, he held his exposed position and inflicted heavy casualties upon the enemy, who several times came close enough to throw hand grenades. On the night of 1617 September, the enemy launched his heaviest attack on Company B, putting his greatest pressure against the lone defender of the left flank. In spite of mortar fire which crashed about him and machinegun bullets which whipped the crest of his shallow trench, Sgt. Johnson stood erect and repulsed the attack with grenades and small arms fire. He remained awake and on the alert throughout the night, frustrating all attempts at infiltration. On 17 September, 25 German soldiers surrendered to him. Two men, sent to reinforce him that afternoon, were caught in a devastating mortar and artillery barrage. With no thought of his own safety, Sgt. Johnson rushed to the shell hole where they lay half buried and seriously wounded, covered their position by his fire, and assisted a Medical Corpsman in rendering aid. That night he secured their removal to the rear and remained on watch until his company was relieved. Five companies of a German paratroop regiment had been repeatedly committed to the attack on Company B without success. Twenty dead Germans were found in front of his position. By his heroic stand and utter disregard for personal safety, Sgt. Johnson was in a large measure responsible for defeating the enemy's attempts to turn the exposed left flank
*MANN, JOE E.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company H, 502d Parachute Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. Place and date: Best, Holland, 18 September 1944. Entered service at: Seattle, Wash. Birth: Rearden, Wash. G.O. No.: 73, 30 August 1945. Citation: He distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry above and beyond the call of duty. On 18 September 1944, in the vicinity of Best., Holland, his platoon, attempting to seize the bridge across the Wilhelmina Canal, was surrounded and isolated by an enemy force greatly superior in personnel and firepower. Acting as lead scout, Pfc. Mann boldly crept to within rocket-launcher range of an enemy artillery position and, in the face of heavy enemy fire, destroyed an 88mm. gun and an ammunition dump. Completely disregarding the great danger involved, he remained in his exposed position, and, with his M-1 rifle, killed the enemy one by one until he was wounded 4 times. Taken to a covered position, he insisted on returning to a forward position to stand guard during the night. On the following morning the enemy launched a concerted attack and advanced to within a few yards of the position, throwing hand grenades as they approached. One of these landed within a few feet of Pfc. Mann. Unable to raise his arms, which were bandaged to his body, he yelled "grenade" and threw his body over the grenade, and as it exploded, died. His outstanding gallantry above and beyond the call of duty and his magnificent conduct were an everlasting inspiration to his comrades for whom he gave his life.
*ROAN, CHARLES HOWARD
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Born: 16 August 1923, Claude, Tex. Accredited to. Texas. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the 2d Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Peleliu, Palau Islands, 18 September 1944. Shortly after his leader ordered a withdrawal upon discovering that the squad was partly cut off from their company as a result of the rapid advance along an exposed ridge during an aggressive attack on the strongly entrenched enemy, Pfc. Roan and his companions were suddenly engaged in a furious exchange of handgrenades by Japanese forces emplaced in a cave on higher ground and to the rear of the squad. Seeking protection with 4 other marines in a depression in the rocky, broken terrain, Pfc. Roan was wounded by an enemy grenade which fell close to their position and, immediately realizing the eminent peril to his comrades when another grenade landed in the midst of the group, unhesitatingly flung himself upon it, covering it with his body and absorbing the full impact of the explosion. By his prompt action and selfless conduct in the face of almost certain death, he saved the lives of 4 men. His great personal valor reflects the highest credit upon himself and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his comrades.
*WILLIAMS, DEWAYNE T.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps, Company H, 2d Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division. Place and date: Quang Nam Province, Republic of Vietnam, 18 September 1968. Entered service at: Saint Clair, Mich. Born: 18 September 1949, Brown City, Mich. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a rifleman with the 1st Platoon, Company H, in action against communist insurgent forces. Pfc. Williams was a member of a combat patrol sent out from the platoon with the mission of establishing positions in the company's area of operations, from which it could intercept and destroy enemy sniper teams operating in the area. In the night as the patrol was preparing to move from its daylight position to a preselected night position, it was attacked from ambush by a squad of enemy using small arms and hand grenades. Although severely wounded in the back by the close intense fire, Pfc. Williams, recognizing the danger to the patrol, immediately began to crawl forward toward a good firing position. While he was moving under the continuing intense fire, he heard one of the members of the patrol sound the alert that an enemy grenade had landed in their position. Reacting instantly to the alert, he saw that the grenade had landed close to where he was Lying and without hesitation, in a valiant act of heroism, rolled on top of the grenade as it exploded, absorbing the full and tremendous impact of the explosion with his body. Through his extraordinary initiative and inspiring valor in the face of certain death, he saved the other members of his patrol from serious injury and possible loss of life, and enabled them to successfully defeat the attackers and hold their position until assistance arrived. His personal heroism and devotion to duty upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
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AMERICAN AEROSPACE EVENTS for 18 September, FIRSTS, LASTS, AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THANKS TO HAROLD "PHIL" MYERS CHIEF HISTORIAN AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE AGENCY
18 September
1912: Lt Bernard L. Smith, the second Marine assigned for flight training, reported for instruction at the Naval Academy's Aviation Camp. Lt Alfred A. Cunningham provided his flight training. (10) (24)
1918: At Dayton, Maj Rudolph W. Schroeder flew a Bristol airplane to a 28,897-foot FAI altitude record. (9)
1919: Rolland Rohlf set a world altitude record of 32,450 feet in a Curtiss Triplane with a K12 engine (450 hp) at Garden City, N. Y. (9)
1943: A 3-carrier task force attacked Tarawa, Makin, and Abemama Atolls in the Gilbert Islands. (24)
1948: Convair test pilot Sam Shannon flew the XF-92 for the first time at Muroc Dry Lake. It was the first true jet-powered delta-wing aircraft. (21)
1950: The 92 BG and 98BG dispatched 42 B-29s to drop 1,600 bombs on enemy troop concentrations near Waegwan, South Korea. The raid allowed the Eighth Army to advance rapidly from the Pusan perimeter toward Seoul. (21) (28)
1954: The USAF assigned the first F-100A to TAC's 479th Fighter-Bomber Wing at George AFB. It arrived on 27 September.
1959: Vanguard III, the last Navy Vanguard project satellite, launched into an orbit expected to last 30 to 40 years. (24)
1962: NASA launched TIROS VI, a weather satellite on a three-stage Delta booster from Cape Canaveral. It started filming the earth's cloud cover on its second orbit. This was the sixth consecutive successful launch with the Delta booster. (24)
1963: The United Technology Center at San Jose, Calif., fired the Titan III booster, a solid fueled rocket motor with l,000,000 pounds of thrust.
1967: SECDEF Robert S. McNamara approved production of a "thin" Nike-X anti-ballistic missile to give regions in the US at least one battery of warhead interceptors.
1969: Atomic Energy Commission and NASA officials announced that end testing on the NERVA nuclear experimental rocket engine (XE) had ended at Jackass Flats, Nev. From March through 28 August, the engine accumulated 3 hours 48 minutes in operating time. George A. Stokes used a Semco balloon to set FAI duration and distance records of 51 minutes and 9.6 miles for subclass AX-3 hot air balloons (400-600 cubic meters) at Richmond, Va. (9)
1970: TAC's C-130 aircrews from Langley AFB, Dyess AFB, Pope AFB, and Forbes AFB conducted humanitarian airlift operations to Jordan. (11)
1980: An explosion destroyed Titan II Launch Complex 374-7, assigned to the 308 SMW at Little Rock AFB. One maintenance technician died in the accident. The event led to the inactivation of the entire Titan II system.
1982: Exercise DISPLAY DETERMINATION. Through 30 September, USAFE augmented the weak air defenses of Southern Italy by integrating E-3A Sentry AWACS capabilities into the existing ground systems. (16)
1984: FIRST SOLO ATLANTIC CROSSING BY BALLOON. Col Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr., (USAF Retired) completed the first solo crossing of the Atlantic in a balloon. He lifted off from Caribou, Me., and flew to Savona, Italy, in 84 hours. His 3,550-mile flight set a balloon distance record. (21)
1986: Through 20 September, the 436 MAW sent two C-5s with 93 tons of medical supplies and food to Luzon, Philippines. President Acquino personally accepted the relief supplies at Andrews AFB. (16) (26)
1987: The Defense Acquisition Board approved six concepts for the Strategic Defense Initiative: a Ground Based Surveillance and Tracking System, Boost Surveillance and Tracking Systems, Space-based Surveillance and Tracking Systems, Battle Management/Command, Control and Communications System, Space-Based Interceptor, and Exoatmospheric Reentry-vehicle Interceptor.
1990: Through 28 September, the 436 MAW and 438 MAWs moved 107 pallets of tents, cots, and blankets as well as 360 passengers to Jordan. The supplies provided relief to 100,000 foreign workers from Kuwait, who fled to Jordan after Iraq's invasion. (16)
2000: At Edwards AFB, the Boeing X-32A Joint Strike Fighter concept demonstrator made its first flight. Boeing test pilot Fred Knox flew the aircraft on its 20-minute flight from Boeing's Plant 42 in Palmdale. (3) Maj Tom Currie flew the first CV-22 Osprey, the USAF's specialized version of the V-22, from the Bell Helicopter Flight Research Center at Arlington, Texas, to Edwards AFB to begin a twoyear test program. (3) (21)
2001: Operation NOBLE EAGLE. NORAD maintained constant combat air patrols over Washington DC and New York City with ANG fighters. Furthermore, NORAD maintained a pair of ANG fighters on alert at 26 locations for a quick response to any new threats. (32)
2007: The first C-5 (Tail No. 87-0035) fitted with Northrop-Grumann's AN/AAQ-24 Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasure (LAIRCM) system made its inaugural flight. The countermeasures system protected large transports from missile attacks by detecting a missile launch, determining the validity of the threat, and activating a high-intensity system to track and defeat the threat. Lockheed Martin received the contract to install the kits on eight additional C-5Bs in February 2008. (22)
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Thanks to Shadow
I think this is the last one
I will say that me and my RF-8 friends did the same thing over the same territory and we have some tales and pictures that are pretty good…skip
BUZZ JOB
Let's take a break… Just got a book from C.P. Weiland yesterday and read some
comments about flathatting… which in my day we called buzz jobs. It is the bane of
every squadron commander and the JO's dream… what good is flying one of these
marvels if you can't share the experience with someone on the ground… Sorry C.P., but like any other junior birdman… I loved it! My last tour in the Corps, I was flying the RF-4B Recon-Phantom. The mission and the plane were a flathatters' dream. Ninety percent of our mission was single plane, solo sorties. And we made our living "down in the dirt"… We were about the only people left in the military; that did low level, VFR Operations on almost a daily basis. A normal mission for us was to leave El Toro, fly the standard instrument departure (SID)… and upon crossing Saddle Back Mountain, heading for the Salton Sea… call LA Center, request descent to FL 180 and upon arrival cancel the instrument flight plan for the next 40 minutes and go VFR down into the desert. We'd usually fly pre-planned routes and take pictures of all kinds of targets. This was usually from no higher than five hundred feet and seldom at less than five hundred knots. You have no idea what real speed feels like… until you've been 1.1 Mach, at less than 100 feet! What a rush! On occasion… targets of opportunity would pop up in the desert and the hunt was on… the only worry we usually had, was who was in the back seat… most guys in the squadron knew within a month who the players were… compared to the passengers… and if you had a good guy back there… You could have a lot of fun. Things were a little loose then, most of us had been to Vietnam and we were a pretty salty bunch. The kids flying in the military today couldn't imagine the freedom we had… and the limits we
could stretch it to.
My secondary MOS was as a Maintenance Officer… I was also a post maintenance check pilot and as such, used to fly most of my functional flight tests over the Salton Sea… I hated the idea that if I ever had to shuck the bird (ejecting)… of coming down in the cold waters in Warning Area. The desert; from the Salton Sea east to the Gila Bend Range and south to the Mexican border and north to Hoover Dam was our playground… Got to know to know the area like the back of my hand.
About a month before the fateful day… one of the twidgets from the electronics shop… came up to me and said, "Boss… the next time you're out in the desert… have the backseater crank this frequency into the HF Radio… and see what happens".
Now my family's Coat of Arms… bears a Latin inscription that roughly translates…
"Beware of those bearing gifts". Heritage and experience made me alert… and suspicious (This bunch had already gotten me once… when they submitted… and I approved… a requisition chit for fallopian tubes). I looked this young stud right in the eye and said, "What is it"?
He was coy and evasive at first… but finally said, "I don't know if it'll work in the
airplane… but in the shop… with a dummy load on the antenna and on the lower
sideband… we can talk to the truckers up and down the freeway out here". He went on to say he thought it might be fun. I took the frequency, put it into my survival vest and promptly forgot about it.
About a month later, Denny Fitz and I and our two backseaters set out to make a parts run over to Hill AFB. Hill was the Air Force Supply Depot for F-4 parts… and I had
made the acquaintance of an Air Force MSgt. there… who… with adequate priming,
could produce any hard to get part… RFI… Regardless of the paper work! Since the
Marine Corps was always sucking hind teat when it came to parts… this Air Force MSgt. became an irreplaceable cog in my maintenance management plan. In plain English… It was easier to steal the shit from the Air Force than to get it through our own supply system! The Sgt. was our inside man, who made all things possible.
We had the forward camera bay of Denny's airplane loaded with two inop parts (CSD
generators), which we would turn in for new ones… and two bottles of Jack Daniels
(primer fluid). We had a 0600 brief and by 0700 were on our way out to the aircraft…
It was a beautiful day… the stars and moon were in all the right places… the air was crisp and I was about to leave the surly bonds of earth once again. I used to love these early morning takeoffs! The lights were still bright and the nine to fivers'… were just getting up. Looking down on them, you couldn't help but feel superior… the drones were just getting up to service the queen bee and here I was… high above them, seeing what they could only dream about… and I was getting paid to do it! Life was good.
In the brief, I was to lead going over and Denny would lead coming back… At the end of the runway, we did our run-ups, nozzle checks, controls, gauges… and I looked over at Denny and he gave me a thumb's up… "Show Time… Rock and Roll"!
I absolutely loved the acceleration of the Phantom… it was awesome. After I rotated and got airborne, I came out of burner at 350 knots and let the good times roll… a few seconds later, Denny radios, "Two's up" and I looked down on him as he joined up and slid into position.
The Phantom was an airplane that could look so different from various angles… from the side, it could look sleek and fast, especially the RF with its' long slender nose… But if you looked down on top of the aircraft in flight… it looked fat and brutish… like a down lineman in football… ugly and not something you'd want to fuck with. From below, the way the wings melded with the fuselage… it once again looked rakish… The RF-4 looked like… and was the thoroughbred of the species. Like a young stallion… it just wanted to run… there was not a fighter on the west coast that could stay with us in basic engine or burner… We probably had the last true… Mach II birds left in the fleet… time and weight had slowed all the other F-4's down. At the top end, only the Vigilante's could give us a run for our money.
Note: Lost a race to a Vigi one day… passing 1.8 he just walked off and left me… I asked the guy in the wardroom later… "Just how fast is the son of a bitch"? With a twinkle in his eye he said, "Don't know… never had enough gas to find out".
Back to paradise; We're climbing through about 23,000 feet… when my aircraft gave a noticeable thump, lurch and the "Master Caution" light came on… I looked down at the telelight panel and saw the right generator had dropped off line and the buss tie had stayed open… I already knew that from the planes actions and I'd started losing some of the associated equipment… I reset the generator and all seemed well for about two minutes when it failed again. Hmmm… Not looking good. I called Denny on the radio and explained what was going on.
Now flying on one generator was no big deal… but taking off with only one was
forbidden. If I continued on to Hill and landed… I'd be stuck there until the thing was
fixed. We talked it over and decided the best course of action was for Denny to go on and I'd RTB (return to base) to El Toro. I called LA Center on the radio and made
arrangements to split the flight… with Denny proceeding as planned… and me returning to El Toro.
That settled, I kissed Denny off and turned back to the southwest. Hooters was my
backseater that day (He was so named, because his wife had the biggest set of all the
wives in the squadron). As soon as I set course, I tried to re-set the generator once
again… voila… it worked. I looked down and we were approaching the town of Thermal, near the north end of the Salton Sea… and I still had almost a full bag of gas… 13,000 lbs internal… and still had some fuel in my drop tank. I decided it would be a shame to waste all that gas by dumping in order to land… So I called LA Center and asked for a descent to FL 180 and canceled my IFR flight plan and told them I would do a pickup in 45 minutes. Center approved and upon reaching 180… we canceled instruments.
Now Marines can get pretty creative, especially living on the edge as we were in those days… and we generally flew on hot mike… that way we didn't have to key the mike in order to have a conversation. I asked Hooters if there was any place he wanted to see…
"Naw, let's just cruise around". After circling the Salton Sea… we were bored. Then I
remembered the note in my survival vest! I then said, "Hey Hoots… Crank up the HF radio". A little explanation here... The RF-4 was the only Phantom that had the HF installed… as far as I know. It was so we could communicate while over "Indian territory" (North Vietnam) and out of UHF range. The frequency control box for the radio was in the rear cockpit and only the backseater could set frequencies… The pilot could however… once the frequency was set… take control
of the radio in the front cockpit by simply flipping a switch (a feature obviously designed by a pilot).
The radio itself was a boomer… 300 watts output and the whole tail of the aircraft was the antenna… and of course whatever altitude you were at (in this case about 17,000 feet)
… that was the height of the antenna. Plainly put… we were a 300 watt, mobile radio
transceiver… with a 17,000 foot antenna. We had a lot of range!
Hoots then asked me if I wanted to make a phone patch through NORAD? "Nope" I
replied, "I got a new frequency for you to try". Hoots plugged in the frequency and tried to load the antenna… which in Marine parlance… meant he blew and whistled into the radio mike… No go… The antenna was not responding (actually this was common procedure with HF radios, base or mobile). I then said, "Let me try". I took control of the radio and I blew into the mike and almost instantly… we started hearing… "Breaker,breaker one nine" and all kinds of other gibberish…
Reading my mind (not hard in those days); Hoots says… "You're Not"! I said…
"Fuckin' A… This is too good to pass up"! For the next minute or so, we carried on the
last rational and sane conversation that would emanate from the cockpit for the next half hour… "Shadow… You know how many watts we put out"? "Yeah, 300… Now shut up and let me find one close". "Do you know what the average CB radio puts out"? "No…listen". "It's about 6 watts max". (Fuckin' backseaters… they were always so anal retentive… and tech oriented) "So what"? "Well I was just thinkin'… If you do this, you may fry a few radios". "Naw, ain't gonna happen".
No sooner had I said that, then we hear… loud and clear… "Breaker, breaker one nine… any station… this is Georgia Boy… How do you hear me…over?"
The thought then occurred to me, that great moments in life… can be preceded, by the simplest of statements!
Before Hoots could throw water on this great opportunity… I keyed the mike and said,
"Georgia Boy… This is Recon 05… I hear you loud and clear… How me, over"?
Immediately he came back… "Ooweee man"! "What kind of radio is that…?" "You just about blew me outta my cab! Hell Bubba… I'm illegal… and you pegged my needles"…
You a base station or something…?" "Nope", says me… "I'm mobile".
"Mobile my ass… You must be on some mountaintop around here… You better shut that thing down Bubba… before the Feds are on you… like stink on poo"!
"Georgia Boy, I assure you I'm mobile".
"Yeah, right".
At this moment… I had a stroke of pure genius… if I do say so myself… I had turned
back toward Thermal… I keyed the radio and said, "Georgia Boy… Where are you…?
I'll prove to you I'm mobile".
"Where are you"? He replied.
"I'm near Thermal", I said.
"Well Son… I'm east bound, down… and just passed Desert Center… I got my… peddle
pegged to the metal… and I ain't stopping until I gets to Phoenix…Arizona"!
"I'll catch you before you get to Blythe… I'll prove to you I'm mobile"…says I.
"Oowee… Shit man… you ain't fooling me… You in Thermal… you got to be a base
station on a mountain top".
"I assure you… I'm mobile"!
He then said something that was too good to be true…
"Recon… Old Georgia Boy… is east bound and down… You ain't catching me… 'Lessen
you in a Rocket ship"!
Hoots says, "Aww fuck… Why'd he have to go and say that"?
This was going to be one of those cherished little moments in life… By now, I knew he
was on Interstate 10… between Desert Center and Blythe… We had to be just southwest
of him about fifty miles away… Now if the genies of fate… didn't urinate on the best of intentions of man… this was gonna be one for the ages!
I brought the power up…. and started downhill!
One of the marvels of the desert… is that on a clear day… from altitude… you could
literally see forever…. for miles and miles and miles. My mind went tactical… I knew he still believed I was really stationary… but just in case… I figured he would be checking his rear view mirrors. My plan was to come from the southwest… the desert… He wouldn't be expecting me to come from there.
Hoots then chimes up… "You gonna boom 'em"? You're .98 and accelerating".
(Sometimes I think the only reason those guys were back there… was to bring an extra conscience along… in case your own went into… fail mode… which I was fast
approaching)
"No… Don't think I wanna do that". (But my mind was saying… Great fucking idea
though!) With both consciences in order; I backed off about 3%…
Going supersonic was now off the table… so I had to think of something else… In a
nano-second it came to me… A few of us had discovered… that if you get fast enough… and low enough… out in the desert… You can leave a dust trail about a quarter of a mile behind you from your shock wave and wing vortices! (Before you say bullshit… I have plenty of others who can back me up on this… You also need to understand… Low and fast was where we had to live in order to survive our mission… Some of us just liked to
go a little lower… and a little faster… than others.
Glenn Hyde saw it first hand one day when he tried to follow me down in the weeds in a straight F-4 (he was supposed to be flying chase at 5,000 feet)… his backseater later
accused both of us of trying to kill him. Glenn tried to follow me up the contour of a
mountain and then through a saddle in a ridge line… where he hit my jet wake; which
flipped him upside down at less than 100 feet AGL and at over 580 knots! Glenn had
been a crop duster before joining the Marines… and kept his cool, pushed on the stick
and climbed inverted until he had enough altitude to roll upright. His backseater was still
shaking over an hour later, during the de-brief. By the way, Glenn's call sign was
"Crazy"… obviously a well deserved tribute.
Back to Georgia Boy...after less than five minutes… I was now down to about a thousand
feet, holding .98 Mach and could see the back of a white truck about 10 miles just
northeast of me… I keyed the radio and asked… "Georgia Boy… What color is the back
of your truck"?
"It's white… like my Georgia Cracker ass"!
As he answered, I saw the truck ahead do a little wiggle in the road… He was obviously clearing his six!
I saw no other traffic on the road in either direction for over ten miles (even the car Gods
were co-operating). I told Hoots over the ICS… "Man, we're getting' down in the dirt…
it's Show Time!
I dropped down as low as I dared… and timed the merge for me to be in the center
divider (it is very wide in that part of the desert)… just as we would pass abeam Georgia
Boy… About a half mile in trail… Hoots confirmed a dust trail behind us as I moved into
the center divider, keyed the radio and said…
"GEORGIA BOY… LOOK OUT YOUR LEFT WINDOW"!!!
At this point… and at those speeds and low altitude, everything is usually a blur in your
peripheral vision if you're not looking sideways; all I remember seeing was the two
biggest white eyes I ever saw… Looked like goose eggs! I didn't see much else… 'cause
I was soo low and soo fast…
As the cab passed my peripheral vision… I stroked both engines into afterburner… and
pulled up at about 5 G's… When the nose reached 60 degrees… I unloaded and did two
full deflection rolls…
Simultaneous with this I hear two voices… "Holy… Sweet Peter… Mother… Joseph and
Jesus… he swapped lanes!" Hoots exclaimed.
"Oh my Gawd… You were in a fucking Rocket Ship"!!! Yelled out Georgia Boy.
That my friends… as they say in the commercial… was priceless… and worth what ever price there was to pay, short of losing ones' wings.
Then Hoots says… "Holy Shit… You almost blew him off the road… Man, he swapped
lanes two times"!
I continued out ahead for about 2 or 3 miles and pulled up through the vertical… over the
top… and started downhill for another merge… this time head on… As I rolled upright;.
Georgia Boy could see me… and he read my mind…
"Oh God No… Don't do that!" "Puleease… Don't do that"! Passing through about
5,000 feet… I regained my senses and I leveled off and made a wide sweeping turn
around the truck.
Now relieved of another attack… Georgia Boy gets diarrhea of the mouth…. "Hot
damn… Nobody's gonna believe this! Nobody will believe I got run off the road by a
Rocket Ship…! Recon… Give me your phone number… I'm gonna win some money at the
bar tonight… Shit… Fire… this is unbelievable!" Even Hoots was laughing now… I
happened to look up into the side mirror and noticed the crows feet around my eyes that
the oxygen mask caused from my smiling… this was a wonderful moment… one you'll
never forget.
I finally came back to reality and saw I was below 7,500 lbs. of fuel… I called him on the
radio and said… "Georgia Boy… We'd love to stay around a play… But I'm running out
of gas… We're gonna have to break it off and head back to base". If I'd had one ounce of
gray matter still working… instead of operating on pure adrenaline… I wouldn't have
said another word… But whoever said Marines were smart?
Now I didn't want some Redneck calling my house in the middle of the night… drunk
and trying to settle a bar bet… I wasn't about to give him my home phone number. But
my mouth engaged before my brain reacted… and I said, "Hey, here's the Ready Room
phone number… call me there and I'll back you up".
What a stupid son of a bitch I was!
The rest of the flight was uneventful… The generator stayed on line, I picked up my
clearance, flew back to El Toro, landed and as I signed the Maintenance forms… Phil
Seward… my Maintenance Chief… said "Boss… Don't know what you did… But the
CO, XO and OPS-O… are waiting for you in the Ready Room"!
Euphoria was about to turn into HACQ (House Arrest, Confined to Quarters)… I'll spare
you the details… I got a butt chewing and thought I was toast… until the XO smiled
when he said I had to answer all these damn phones calls from all over the West Coast (Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona and California)… 300 watts does indeed… go a long way… One poor old lady who heard my next to last radio transmission and was sure I
was running out of gas out in the desert, said someone needs to go… "Help that Boy".
He then said, "What freq were you using"? I handed him the note from the twidget… and he smiled and tore it up. When word got around the squadron… I enjoyed new status with the troops… But I had to "check six" for a long time… especially around the Heavies… But you want to know the truth…
I ENJOYED EVERY FREAKIN' SECOND OF IT!
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