Memorials
What kind of war was it? – “How do I know, I saw the whole thing backwards!” June 4-7, 1942 at Midway
Battle of Midway, Commanding Officer, USS Enterprise, Serial 0133 of 8 June 1942 At Sea June 8, 1942 From: The Commanding Officer. To: The Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet Via: Commander Task Force Sixteen. (Rear Admiral R.A. Spruance, U.S. Navy). Subject: Battle of Midway Island, June 4 – 6, 1942 — Report of. 1.) The attack delivered upon enemy carriers by the torpedo squadrons of our forces is believed to be without parallel for determined and courageous action in the face of overwhelming odds. These crews were observed to commence their attack against heavy anti-aircraft fire from the enemy carriers and [...]
Operation Homecoming Part 5: Always Leading and Always Will
by Orson Swindle (USMC, Ret) Prisoner of War in North Viet Nam (Orson Swindle was shot down on November 11, 1966, released on March 4, 1973) Reproduced with permission of USNI and the author … for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while Senior Naval Officer in the Prisoner of War camps of North Vietnam on 4 September 1969. Recognized by his captors as the leader in the Prisoners’ of War resistance to interrogation and in their refusal to participate in propaganda exploitation, Rear Admiral Stockdale was singled out [...]
Christmas ’72 Stories: (7) A Gentlemen’s Gentleman
Linebacker II was halted on 29 December 1972. The North Vietnamese agreed to come back to the negotiations in Paris. Having enjoyed Christmas, Midway left Singapore and celebrated New Years Eve at sea on the way back to the Gulf of Tonkin to continue combat missions into both North and South Vietnam. Missions were restricted above the 20th Parallel - no flights into Route Pac 6, the Red River Valley, Hanoi or Haiphong. Still it was wartime footing and operations off of a carrier are always problematic. Within days of recommencing we were to learn that lesson twice more. On [...]
Smokey- For love of the game
This post was originally done for Memorial Day 2012. It includes a link to the eulogy to Smokey, read into the Congressional Record by another of my VA-56 pals, and another of Smokey’s great friends, Max Carey. I have brought it over from the blog on Project White Horse 084640 as part of Remembered Sky in honor of Smokey Tolbert, my great friend and fellow Champ during the Midway/CAG 5 1972 war cruise. Smokey was shot down over North Vietnam on November 6, 1972. Those of us who came home will never forget those who did not. […]
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Memorials
What kind of war was it? – “How do I know, I saw the whole thing backwards!” June 4-7, 1942 at Midway
Battle of Midway, Commanding Officer, USS Enterprise, Serial 0133 of 8 June 1942 At Sea June 8, 1942 From: The Commanding Officer. To: The Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet Via: Commander Task Force Sixteen. (Rear Admiral R.A. Spruance, U.S. Navy). Subject: Battle of Midway Island, June 4 – 6, 1942 — Report of. 1.) The attack delivered upon enemy carriers by the torpedo squadrons of our forces is believed to be without parallel for determined and courageous action in the face of overwhelming odds. These crews were observed to commence their attack against heavy anti-aircraft fire from the enemy carriers and [...]
Operation Homecoming Part 5: Always Leading and Always Will
by Orson Swindle (USMC, Ret) Prisoner of War in North Viet Nam (Orson Swindle was shot down on November 11, 1966, released on March 4, 1973) Reproduced with permission of USNI and the author … for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while Senior Naval Officer in the Prisoner of War camps of North Vietnam on 4 September 1969. Recognized by his captors as the leader in the Prisoners’ of War resistance to interrogation and in their refusal to participate in propaganda exploitation, Rear Admiral Stockdale was singled out [...]
Christmas ’72 Stories: (7) A Gentlemen’s Gentleman
Linebacker II was halted on 29 December 1972. The North Vietnamese agreed to come back to the negotiations in Paris. Having enjoyed Christmas, Midway left Singapore and celebrated New Years Eve at sea on the way back to the Gulf of Tonkin to continue combat missions into both North and South Vietnam. Missions were restricted above the 20th Parallel - no flights into Route Pac 6, the Red River Valley, Hanoi or Haiphong. Still it was wartime footing and operations off of a carrier are always problematic. Within days of recommencing we were to learn that lesson twice more. On [...]
Smokey- For love of the game
This post was originally done for Memorial Day 2012. It includes a link to the eulogy to Smokey, read into the Congressional Record by another of my VA-56 pals, and another of Smokey’s great friends, Max Carey. I have brought it over from the blog on Project White Horse 084640 as part of Remembered Sky in honor of Smokey Tolbert, my great friend and fellow Champ during the Midway/CAG 5 1972 war cruise. Smokey was shot down over North Vietnam on November 6, 1972. Those of us who came home will never forget those who did not. […]