Author Archives: Ed

A Gift of Wings – Forever Young

Testimony of Pilot# 23 Be courageous and be brave And in my heart you’ll always stay Forever Young, Forever Young, Forever Young  Rod Stewart Throughout our lives we receive multiple gifts, many simply because we are loved. But for aviators, … Continue reading

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Testimony of Pilot: The Silver Waterfall

Testimony of Pilot# 22 Stephen Crane once said that he wrote The Red Badge of Courage because reading the cold history was not enough; he wanted to know what it was like to be there, what the weather was like, … Continue reading

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Testimony of Pilot: The Little Things

Testimony of Pilot# 21 No matter what they might tell you, people do not enter into aviation by chance.  Some may leave, but those that stay have dreamed and they come to comprehend the gift that came out of the … Continue reading

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Testimony of Pilot: Pilgrimage of Honor

Testimony of Pilot# 20 On the evening of 10 January 1973 , VA-115 “A-rabs” aircrew Lt. Mike “Mondo” McCormick and Ltjg. Alan “Arlo” Clark, were catapulted from the  USS Midway, flying  “Arab 511.” They were on a single plane low … Continue reading

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1942- The Year of the Aircraft Carrier; Part 22 – Guadalcanal – Enterprise, Cactus and the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, (2)

Blown Slick Series #13 Part 22 Japanese cargo ship Kinugawa Maru  beached on the Guadalcanal shore.  She had been sunk by U.S. aircraft on 15 November 1942 while attempting to deliver men and supplies to Japanese forces holding the northern … Continue reading

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1942- The Year of the Aircraft Carrier; Part 21 – Guadalcanal – Enterprise, Cactus and the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal (1)

Blown Slick Series #13 Part 21 On the morning of 13 November 1942, Marine aircraft of the “Cactus Air Force” attacked and caused the destruction of the Japanese battleship Hiei off Savo Island.  F4F Wildcat fighters of Marine squadron VMF-121, … Continue reading

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1942- The Year of the Aircraft Carrier; Part 20 – Guadalcanal – Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands: Discussion

Blown Slick Series #13 Part 20 (2/2) Who won? As the two navies carrier battle groups retreated from the fourth and last carrier battle of 1942, the Japanese by multiple metrics could be judged to have won the day. Both … Continue reading

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1942- The Year of the Aircraft Carrier; Part 19 – Guadalcanal – Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands

Blown Slick Series #13 Part 19 (1/2) On the morning of 26 October, during the attack on the Enterprise,  Task Force 61 Commander Admial Thomas Kinkaid remarked with pardonable hyperbole to AP correspondent Eugene Burns: “You’re seeing the greatest carrier … Continue reading

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Testimony of Pilot (19): Chapter 3 Ending -Such Men and Women

Testimony of Pilot# 19 “… They leave this tiny ship and fly against the enemy.  Then they must seek the ship, lost somewhere on the sea.  And when they find it, they have to land upon its pitching deck.  Where … Continue reading

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Testimony of Pilot (18): Eulogy For a Fighter Pilot

Testimony of Pilot# 18 They do tell stories about fighter pilots and indeed, fast mover combat pilots of the fighter/attack  clan are seldom reluctant to pass on a little this is no s..t  (TINS) with quite possibly some embellishment of … Continue reading

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