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Eugene Bullard: World’s First Black Fighter Pilot

Eugene Bullard: World’s First Black Fighter Pilot

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A largely unsung and non-known hero of the World War One was the fascinating Eugene James "Jacques" Bullard of the Lafayette Flying Corps. Biography Eugene Jacques Bullard Bullard was born in a three-room house in Columbus, Georgia, the seventh of ten children born to William (Octave) Bullard, a black man who was from Martinique, and Josephine ("Yokalee") Thomas, a Creek Indian. His father's ancestors had been slaves in Haiti to French refugees who fled during the Haitian Revolution. They reached the United States and took refuge with the Creek Indians. An adventurer by nature, he left the small town of Columbus and moved to Atlanta by himself while still in his teenage years. He had been told that the way to escape racial prejudice was to head to Europe, particularly France (he once said he witnessed a near lynching of his dad). A long time back his father had pointed out to him that Bullard was a French name and that at least one ancestor had hailed from there. Stirred by all the...

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In Which Box? by Bob Sheldon

In Which Box? by Bob Sheldon

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Retired Navy officer Bob Sheldon, the author of 'In Which Box?', has drawn from 26 years of experience and his extensive world travels to weave a dramatic tale. About the Book Michael Renaldi, a former regional security officer for the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service, is the protagonist of this globe-trotting debut novel by retired U.S. Navy officer Bob Sheldon. Renaldi is pulled out of retirement by his former colleagues in the DSS, who are desperate for his special skills in the interrogation field. Saudi Arabia requires help with a captured Islamist terrorist, and the need for alternative interrogation techniques will spur Renaldi on his next mission. Along with agent Yuri Hagino, he travels to Japan’s Kansai International Airport in search of a solution, but gets drawn undercover once more into the high-stakes world of espionage. As he strives to implement an efficient replacement for waterboarding, he tests new pain delivery methods on a terrorist. However, an unbelievable...

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Lt. Col. Charles Kettles, U.S. Army (1953-1978)

Lt. Col. Charles Kettles, U.S. Army (1953-1978)

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During the early morning hours of May 15, 1967, personnel of the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, were ambushed in the Song Tra Cau riverbed near the Duc Pho District in the South Central Coast of Vietnam by an estimated battalion-sized force of the North Vietnamese Army. The NVA attacked with numerous automatic weapons, machine guns, mortars, and recoilless rifles from a fortified complex of deeply embedded tunnels and bunkers that were effectively shielded from counter fire. Maj. Charles Kettles Volunteered to Lead a Flight of Six UH-1D Upon learning that the 1st Brigade had suffered casualties during an intense firefight with the enemy, then - Maj. Charles Kettles volunteered to lead a flight of six UH-1D helicopters to carry reinforcements to the embattled forces and to evacuate wounded personnel. As the flight approached the landing zone, it came under witheringly deadly enemy fire from multiple directions, with reinforcements hit and killed before they could even leave the...

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ADJ3 Steve Weaver, U.S. Navy (1972-1976)

ADJ3 Steve Weaver, U.S. Navy (1972-1976)

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Can you recount a particular incident from your service, which may or may not have been funny at the time but still makes you laugh?:

My first sea duty was aboard the aircraft carrier, USS Forrestal, CVA-59 for a Mediterranean Deployment in 1974. I was attached to RVAH-6 and my rate was AD-J (Jet Mechanic) where I worked out of my squadron’s P/P shop as an Aircraft Troubleshooter on the flight deck.

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ET1 Kenneth (Ken) Fron, U.S. Coast Guard (1969-1974)

ET1 Kenneth (Ken) Fron, U.S. Coast Guard (1969-1974)

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Can you recount a particular incident from your service, which may or may not have been funny at the time but still makes you laugh?:

During the time spent on Lampedusa records were kept about issues, shortages, and other things that impeded progress. There always seemed to be a shortage of parts and it wasn’t certain why that was. In the event of another ATLS deployment, the brass wanted to be sure that most of the shortage issues encountered on Lampedusa would be avoided. To accomplish this, a small group of us were selected for a temporary duty assignment at NAD Hawthorne NV where the remaining two ATLS were stored. This assignment pre-empted my assignment at RADSTA Miami for about four months. Our task was to inventory the two ATLS in storage and make sure any shortages were filled.

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CDR John F. (JC) Cole, U.S. Navy (1964-1994)

CDR John F. (JC) Cole, U.S. Navy (1964-1994)

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Can you recount a particular incident from your service, which may or may not have been funny at the time but still makes you laugh?:

It was a bright sunny day in Vietnam, and the word was out, “Bob Hope is coming to town!” The troops had waited all year to see Bob Hope, Les Brown and his Band of Renown, and of course, the “Gold Diggers.” On the day that the Christmas Show was to be given, my Squadron Commander summoned me to his office and gave me a mission. As the unit’s adjutant, I was used to getting some bazaar tasks, but this one was out in left field. The mission, “Captain, take this Black Cavalry Hat and personally give it to Bob Hope and asked that he wear it on stage.” Simple right? Wrong.

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TSgt Bob Kolhouse, U.S. Air Force (1970-1978)

TSgt Bob Kolhouse, U.S. Air Force (1970-1978)

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Can you recount a particular incident from your service, which may or may not have been funny at the time but still makes you laugh?:

The boss of the U-Tapao Control Tower during my first U-Tapao assignment (71-72) was MSgt John Finnegan. I liked him. I was the lowest ranking controller in the Tower (E-3 vs all others E4) and got more than my share of crap jobs, but understood and still liked him. My best ever practical joke was played on MSgt Finnegan at about 08:05 one morning in early 1972. I had just got off duty and was walking down the Control Tower stairs headed to the barracks. A few floors below me I could hear a lot of yelling: “Get back…Dammit…Stop it…Let go…Dammit…get back…M-fr…shit…Get off…”

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Capt Donald Miller, U.S. Marine Corps (1970-1984)

Capt Donald Miller, U.S. Marine Corps (1970-1984)

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Can you recount a particular incident from your service, which may or may not have been funny at the time but still makes you laugh?:

If there was one thing that could strike fear into any Marine recruit back when we actually received service numbers, it was the fear of being sent back for some mischief, thus prolonging our time in purgatory. I faced that very real possibility between Phase 2 and Phase 3 at MCRD, San Diego, and it was Mess and Maintenance week.

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AX2 Tim Hinds, U.S. Navy (1963-1969)

AX2 Tim Hinds, U.S. Navy (1963-1969)

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Can you recount a particular incident from your service, which may or may not have been funny at the time but still makes you laugh?:

My all time favorite story is from my time as a Radio Operator aboard a P-2 at P31-31 DET NI. One of our pilots, nicknamed Porkie by the enlisted because he was portly and had a chubby face, had an incident the previous day training a new pilot. As three crew later told us. The student was high on glideslope and close to landing. He repeatedly told the student to get it down, get it down. He failed to do so adequately, and Lt. “Porkie” got angry and yelled, “I SAID GET IT DOWN!” Now they were already over the apron (Ideal touchdown area), and he wasn’t about to make a long landing. So he pulled back the power and dropped it like a rock onto the runway. The plane hit so hard it had to be towed back to the hangar.

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A1C Carlos “Chuck” Ray Norris, U.S. Air Force (1958-1962)

A1C Carlos “Chuck” Ray Norris, U.S. Air Force (1958-1962)

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You may know Chuck Norris is a champion martial artist, and movie and television star of titles such as Walker, Texas Ranger, The Delta Force, and The Hitman. A martial arts legend who has contributed greatly to the development and popularization of martial arts in the United States and around the world, he has a long and impressive martial arts career, both as a competitor and as a teacher. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo. However, before he became a Hollywood icon, Norris served in the United States military, where he honed his skills and developed the discipline that would later help him achieve great success. In this article, we'll take a closer look at Chuck Norris' military service, including his accomplishments and how they shaped his life and career. Chuck Norris’s Early Life Carlos Ray “Chuck” Norris was born on March 10, 1940, in Ryan, Oklahoma. Norris' paternal grandfather and maternal grandmother were of Irish descent, while his paternal...

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Refined by Fire by Ruth Vandyke and Yvonne Doll

Refined by Fire by Ruth Vandyke and Yvonne Doll

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Privates Joyce Kutsch and Rita Johnson became the first women to graduate from a modified Basic Airborne Course on December 14, 1973. In 2007, Army medic Specialist Monica Lin Brown was only the second female soldier since World War II to receive the Silver Star. Eight women were admitted to Army Ranger School for the first time in 2015. All failed, but three were invited back for another try. Obviously, these were historical inroads in what had been the male soldiers' exclusive domain and evidence that the military is on the path for even more inclusion of women in traditional combat roles. Surprisingly, however, it wasn't until the summer of 1976 that women were allowed to become cadets in college ROTC programs and plebes in the United States Military Academy at West Point.  "Refined by Fire," their first book in the Guarding of Peace historical fiction series about women in the military, Ruth Vandyke and Yvonne Doll masterfully entertain readers while providing accurate depictions...

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