Aviation, Freemasonry, Tech nerdery, random musings and anything else that interests me.
On this day, May 12th in 1949, and the Berlin Blockade ends after 318 days. Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union, abandoned a blockade of the city that began on 24 June 1948. Germany had been partitioned into four zones of occupation by the Allies in 1945, with its capital Berlin also split into…
Unique places and ways for re-enlisting in the military aren’t a new thing, but I thought this was pretty cool. Not only is her last name Pi, she took her re-enlistment oath on “Pi Day” and on a C-130 aircraft with a tail number ending in 314. That’s fantastic! Serving up a slice of service…
The man on the left in the photo is Dr. Richard Hornberger (aka Richard Hooker), who wrote the original M*A*S*H novel in 1968. The man on the right was one of Dr. Hornberger’s tent mates, Dr. Agrippa (“Grip”) Kellum that signed the photo. Another tent mate not pictured here was Capt. Michael Johnson, the basis…
Once the SR-71 reached cruising speed and altitude, it was time to focus on the mission, which was to collect information about hostile and potentially hostile nations using cameras and sensors. The pilot’s job was to handle the aircraft and watch over the automatic systems to ensure they were doing their jobs properly. Meanwhile, the…
Admiral William Halsey, who once said “I never trust a fighting man who doesn’t smoke or drink,” was not a supporter of the Navy’s ban on alcohol on ships. During WWII, he requisitioned 100 gallons of bourbon so that flight surgeons could issue shots to his pilots. h/t – US Naval Institute
The USS Connecticut’s collision last week was not the first time the submarine unexpectedly came into contact with something. After the Connecticut had surfaced in an ice pack in 2003, a polar bear approached and began to lick the exposed rudder before deciding that he was not in the mood for a sub and wandered…
The Berlin Airlift ended in 1949, months after the blockade was lifted. The allies airlifted supplies to the city for nearly a year. They delivered 2.3 million tons of supplies, and raised spirits for over 2 million Berliners.This morning, Ambassador Haber called it, “a show of solidarity Germans will never forget.” The Berlin Airlift remains…
On this day in 1927, a gust of wind pushed the airship USS Los Angeles into an almost vertical position as it was moored to a mast at NAS Lakehurst. The crew tried to right the airship by climbing the keel towards the tail before it settled back down with only minor damage and no…
The rifle is affixed with a bayonet and inverted, signifying that the Soldier went down fighting. The boots signify the Soldier’s last march onto the battlefield. Dog tags are imprinted with the Soldier’s name and hung from the rifle so their identity will never be forgotten. The helmet is placed atop the rifle representing what…
I came across this interesting little story posted by Linda Sheffield in her “Habubrats” group online: A few paragraphs from my father’s (Col. Richard “Butch” Sheffield) unpublished book.North Korea, November 22, 1969, SR-71 number, 972First SR to overfly North Korea and first to land in South Korea.Some years later General Minter told me that this…