On This Day in Aviation History: The H-21 Shawnee and the USNS Card Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com, US Army, Military Sea Lift Command, The Flagship, Wikipedia If you were not informed, or if informed but didn’t look closely, you might mistake the Piasecki (and then the Vertol) H-21 Shawnee pictured below as the…
On This Day in Aviation History: Buried Near the Dock of the Bay Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com, Reddit, Wikimedia Commons. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame If there’s a more iconic beach music song than ‘Sittin On the Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding, I don’t know what it is. That…
This Day in Aviation History: “For the sake of humanity” Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com. Ashai.com, The Mirror, USAF, USN, PBS Today. Eighty-three years ago in 1941. The day before “a date which will live in infamy”. We Americans like to think of ourselves as a people who don’t start wars, but we sure…
On This Day in Space History: Unexpected Fragrances Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: NASA, Space.com, Space@smartbrief.com As we enter the season of the Thanksgiving Day leftovers stuff-o-rama, we recall (well, at least, I recall) those time when the ladies in our lives uncork and sniff the milk before pouring the milk…even if the milk was…
On This Day in 1968: A Daring Rescue Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com, United States Air Force, wearethemighty.com Some of us just don’t listen. America has many examples of those who ignore orders to cease and desist—despite the odds—and return to home base. We disregard pleas and advice or “guidance” to discontinue, to pull off…
The Night Witches Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: History.com, The Morning Brew, Alamy, Getty Images As an “early bird”, I’m up before light (it’s 5:45am as I type this—early get-ups were “beat” into me by the Marines). And like most of you, I’m sure, I’m always in bed well after dark, especially these days of…
On this day in 2001–New York City is devastated. Again. Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: Wikipedia, History.com, “The Aviators” by Winston Croom We aviation enthusiasts celebrate aviation. I would argue we do this, rightfully so. The invention of man breaking the chains that shackled him to earth has been a force for good, right?…
Eddie Rickenbacker…One More Time on His “Anniversary” Contributor: Barry Fetzer Sources: Max Lucado, “In the Eye of the Storm”, (pp. 21, 225-226), History.net Happy 249th Birthday to my fellow Marines out there and best wishes for a memorable Veteran’s Day, today, to all the veterans who so selflessly serve and served. An end of…