Book Report(s)…

Damn you Murph… 🙂 You just ‘had’ to put that post up about the Misty FACs didn’t ya…  


So… I go read that one, and it reminds me of Ed Rasimus books about going ‘Downtown’.  Ed’s books are butt in the seat, first person memoirs of his two tours flying out of Korat, first in F-105s (When Thunder Rolls) then in the early 70s in F-4D/Es (Palace Cobra).  Ed also did a third book on Robin Olds (Fighter Pilot).


I like both the first person books, because they are from a JO’s perspective, and also show the true stupidity of the way we fought that ‘police action’… He also gets the details right on the politics/peccadilloes of the USAF policies, some of which had me rolling on the floor laughing (not that the Navy wasn’t ALSO doing stupid things). All of those books are highly recommended!!!


Next is Only Son,  written by our own Wyatt and Pam Meister. Again a well written book; a murder mystery with plots, sub-plots and sub-sub-plots, all tied up nicely, and an excellent inside look at the reality of police work!  This is another highly recommended read!


Next up is JD Kinman’s, Above Reproach, I was honored to be one of the pre-readers on this book, and it’s about ‘average’ Joes that stand up for their and other’s rights in the face of a cell of Jihadists! JD’s background has allowed him to build a believable story, and take it all the way to a surprise conclusion. I ‘will’ say you might recognize a person or two in the book!  🙂 This is another highly recommended read!


And I truly hope JD writes a sequel to this one… (hint, hint)


And lastly, since it just came out (well kinda sorta), is Larry Correia’s Monster Hunter Legion, but it’s only available as an e-arc from Baen.  Once again the gang is back, and in Vegas!  Owen, Julie, Earl and the rest plus some newcomers start with an oopsie bar fight, and things go ‘sideways’ from there (as usual)… And damn you Larry for the cliff hangar at the end! 🙂


The ‘real’ book is due out in August/Sept 2012, again a highly recommended read!


All good folks, all good writers, and IMHO, MUCH better than 90% of the drivel out there today…  


Go. Read. ENJOY!  I know I did!

Tribute to Bob Hoover…

Bob Hoover, one of the greatest and longest flying acrobatic demonstration pilots got a rather special 90th birthday tribute

This is what Jeppesen did for him; definitely one of a kind, for one of a kind!!!

This ‘approach’ plate was designed as a tribute, and all the little ‘stars’ are people he knew and flew with… 

And in case you’ve never seen him in action…


Did ya notice, the engines were OFF for the last half of that demo? He calls that part of the show “Energy Management”…

Sadly he was grounded in the early 90’s due to a medical condition, but if you ever had a chance to see him fly, he was TRULY one of the greats!

50 Years Ago…

That was the start of the Vietnam ‘police action’…

Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall 


There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including those added in 2010. 


The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties. 


The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth , Mass. Listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on Sept. 7, 1965. 


There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Wall. 


39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger. 


8,283 were just 19 years old. 


The largest age group, 33,103 were 18 years old. 


12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old. 


5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old. 


One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old. 


997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam .. 


1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam .. 


31 sets of brothers are on the Wall. 


Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons. 


54 soldiers attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia . I wonder why so many from one school. 


8 Women are on the Wall. Nursing the wounded. 


244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall. 


Beallsville , Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons. 


West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall. 


The Marines of Morenci – They led some of the scrappiest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. 5,058) had ever known and cheered. They enjoyed roaring beer busts. In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado Trail, stalked deer in the Apache National Forest . And in the patriotic camaraderie typical of Morenci’s mining families, the nine graduates of Morenci High enlisted as a group in the Marine Corps. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. Only 3 returned home. 


The Buddies of Midvale – LeRoy Tafoya, Jimmy Martinez, Tom Gonzales were all boyhood friends and lived on three consecutive streets in Midvale, Utah on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh avenues. They lived only a few yards apart. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field. And they all went to Vietnam . In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three would be killed. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Jimmy died less than 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day. Tom was shot dead assaulting the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. 


The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 ~ 245 deaths, during the TET OFFENSIVE. The most casualties suffered on January 31st – 2nd BN., 5th Marine Reg., 1st Marine Division Regiment FMF (Pacific) Reinforced – III MAF at Hue . 


The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 – 2,415 casualties were incurred. 


For most Americans who read this they will only see the numbers that the Vietnam War created. To those of us who survived the war, and to the families of those who did not, we see the faces, we feel the pain that these numbers created. We are, until we too pass away, haunted with these numbers, because they were our friends, fathers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters. There are no noble wars, just noble warriors. 


And this song is apparently NOT getting on radio because it’s not politically correct… By Diamond Reo…


Range Report…

Got a new addition to the ‘stable’ and took it to the range today, along with the Ruger 22/45 and the big 1911.

It’s the NEW Colt Mustang 🙂

Left profile

Right Profile

Slide Open
I put 25 rounds through it, cleaned it and shot another 25 just to break it in.  It’s ‘comfortable’ to shoot, and the one thing I don’t care for is the grey front sight.  I was shooting steels at 15 yards and they were dirty, so I had problems picking up the front sight against them.  I guess I’ll do ‘something’ to the front ramp to make it a bit more visible. 

This was the one ‘target’ I shot with it at 7 yards. The first round was low, the next four were a ‘tad’ low and the last one was a bull (I quit with that one…LOL).

 
22/45 with new sights and Volquartzen trigger
Put a couple of hundred rounds through it, working on sight picture and trigger press, as it now matches the .45 below for both 🙂
And .22 is not worth a DAMN for knocking over steel, unless you hit em ALL the way at the top… dammit…  I never did get a clean run where I actually knocked all six down…  sigh…

Size comparison for Mustang with ‘normal’ 1911


Yep, I think this one is a keeper, and it will be my primary BUG, and I can ‘retire’ Momma’s .38 to the safe for fun shoots!

DHS is at it again, and other stupidity…

Big Brother in the form of the Department of Homeland Security has a list of hot words where upon when they monitor emails will select yours for scrutiny.  But it took the Brits to gain the list.  Go HERE for the Daily Mail list… sigh

And how’s that texting working out for ya now???

And speaking of DHS/TSA…

May or may NOT be a joke… Sigh…

And then there’s THIS from PMSNBC.  Hayes video from his MSNBC show yesterday morning of the too-refined-by-half Hayes explaining why he is “uncomfortable” in calling America’s fallen military members “heroes.” 

And I’ll leave you with a positive one…
This is what Military pilots see on final into Offutt AFB 

A farmer does this with his tractor. He uses GPS to get the letters readable.

Hat tip to the Bellevue farmer who made it happen!


h/t JP and Woody

In Memoriam…


Capt Larry Getzfred, USN

Capt Jack Punches, USN (Ret)

CDR Bill Donovan, USN

LT Mike Lamana, USN

LT Jonas Panik, USN

AW1 Joseph Pycior, USN

All were killed in the Pentagon, 9/11/2001


“Hand Salute!”

“Ready, Two.”

You are NOT forgotten Gentlemen…

More Memorials…

Arlington Cemetery…

The Old Guard puts a flag on EVERY headstone in Arlington every Memorial Day.

This one is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia…

It’s small, in an out of the way location on the base, but they remember too…

Remember, 3 pm local time Monday, stop and say a little prayer for those who gave all.

Thank you…

NIne Minutes Worth Watching…

The first “commercial” spacecraft docks with the ISS…



This is good news, as we can now put our own payloads (albeit small ones) up and down from ISS.


Kudos to SpaceX and the Astronauts that assisted them…

Memorial Day…

This weekend marks the 41st observance of Memorial Day since it became an official federal holiday in 1971.  This patriotic tribute to fallen servicemen and women stems from the Civil War era, when communities gathered in the spring to decorate the graves of fallen soldiers.  It has gone by different names since its inception over a century ago, but the message remains the same – honor those that have died defending our country and most importantly, our freedom. 

Please take a moment to remember all Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen and others who have given their lives to ensure our Nation’s safety.  The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation.


There is a good article in the Washington Times (HERE) that talks about the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory and the work it does…

And Monday will be the 25th Anniversary of Rolling Thunder, and the early estimate is 500,000 will be here for it (HERE).

Remember, some gave all…



Jarhead added this in comments…

Let me leave you with this:

Who are the Veterans?…”Veterans are Fathers, Mothers, Sons, Daughters, Brothers, Sisters, Friends and Lovers. They are the elderly people who can barely stand but refuse to sit when old glory passes by. They are the people who sit quietly thinking of a plan when everyone else is panicking; the ones who stand up for somebody’s rights even though they may disagree with them. They are the ones who celebrate Memorial Day and Veterans Day everyday of the year. They are the people who keep going when everybody else gives up. They know the meaning of “The Ultimate Sacrifice” and are willing to make it without a second thought. They do not ask for praise or glory, only that you Honor those who have given their all.”