Category Archives: Vietnam War

National Vietnam Veterans Memorial Day -Reflections

Testimony of Pilot #34 War and remembrance No matter the old, “smart” decision makers No matter the politics Or “statecraft” of the DC pundits It was our war We fought it Some lost years Some lost lives Some lost family … Continue reading

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H-Grams – The Easter Offensive—Vietnam 1972

War and Remembrance The actions of Navy aircraft and surface ships in defeating the NVA offensive arguably represent one of the U.S. Navy’s finest hours since World War II.  Rear Admiral Samuel Cox (USN, Ret), Director of the Naval History … Continue reading

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Missmus Bismus #4: Epilogue

Testimony of Pilot# 26 I never would have made it if I could not have laughed. It lifted me momentarily out of this horrible situation, just enough to make it livable. — Viktor Frankl All I claim to know is … Continue reading

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Missmus Bismus #3: Shangri-La…found

Testimony of Pilot# 25 The comic and the tragic lie inseparably close, like light and shadow. Socrates The human race has only one effective weapon, and that is laughter. Mark Twain Shangri-La is a fictional place sought and wished for by … Continue reading

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Missmus Bismus #2: The Ornaments

Testimony of Pilot# 24 Missmus Bismus, Feliz Navidad, Merry Christmas USS Midway in San Diego Harbor. Photo by Sandi Whitteker. Remembered Sky was introduced on September 15th of 2012 and the first post included the introductory piece of Ghosts Of Christmas Past written … 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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TOPGUN – Book Recommendation (2)

Highest recommendation for Dan Pedersen’s (CAPT. USN, Ret) just released book TOPGUN; An American Story … we sent our people out there not trained for dogfighting. We sent the aircraft out there not equipped for dogfighting… and we got into nose-nose combat … Continue reading

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Scream of Eagles – Happy Birthday TOPGUN (1)

As the first of two parts recognizing 50 years of training fighter pilots/instructors the below is a modified version of the article written for TOPGUN’s 40th anniversary and serves as introduction for a book review of TOPGUN; An American Story … Continue reading

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Christmas ’72 Stories, Epilogue: Linebacker II and the POWs – Prelude to Coming Home

Note this post includes two videos, the first discussing B-52 tactics and the second finishing with comments from our POWs during the days of the Christmas operations. On the third night of LB II three B-52s were shot down on … Continue reading

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Christmas ’72 Stories: (Final) Gifts, a Tree, and a Turkey with all the Trimmings

As the story has been told – as I noted previously- the end of the war in Vietnam is considered the result of the Christmas bombing operations of Linebacker II, and so the convention of telling this story. I’ll end … Continue reading

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