This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Blue Skies

  • Seventy Years

    Seventy years ago – on 6 August 1945 at roughly 08:15:45 AM Japanese Standard Time, which converts to 7:15:45 PM Eastern Daylight Time the previous day – the Japanese city of Hiroshima ceased to exist.  On 9 August 1945, the Japanese city of Nagasaki followed suit.

    Less than a week afterwards, the Emperor of Japan publicly announced his acceptance of Allied surrender terms.

    I’ve written about the US nuclear missions against Japan previously.  I have no reason to change what I said then.  Read the original article if you like; it can be found here.

    But I’ll again say this much: if you’re so inclined, perhaps take a moment to say a prayer for the souls of those who died that day at Hiroshima, and for those who died three days later at Nagasaki.  And while you’re at it, maybe add a second prayer – that we never again have the need to use such weapons.

  • Another Group Doing Good Things

    In 2011, a lady died in Washington state.  Her name was Shirley McNaughton.  She was 57.

    Shirley McNaughton was a veteran.  She’d served in the USAF for two years during the Vietnam War (1971-1973), and in the ANG for an additional two years thereafter.  She was honorably discharged from the ANG as a Sergeant.

    Unfortunately, at the time of death her surviving daughter had lost her job and did not have the money for a proper funeral.  So Sgt. McNaughton’s remains were cremated (a local program funded that), then were placed in storage for a protracted period at the county coroner’s office.

    Enter the Missing In America Project.

    Per its website, the MIAP is organized to “to locate, identify and inter the unclaimed cremated remains of American veterans through the joint efforts of private, state and federal organizations.”  They learned of Sgt. McNaughton’s yet-to-be-interred cremains, and arranged for them to receive a proper military funeral.

    However, the MIAP this year selected a limited number of cremains to be interred in Arlington vice local state or national cemeteries.  (It’s unclear if this is a one-time event or something that MIAP does periodically.)  Sgt. McNaughton’s remains were among the 6 sets of such cremains selected for that honor – one from each of the 5 military services, plus the cremains of a US Army “Buffalo Soldier” who’d served during World War I.

    Sgt. McNaughton’s cremains will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery on 1 September 2015.  Her surviving family is currently attempting to raise the funds to allow them to attend her funeral via a GoFundMe site.

    I don’t know much about MIAP, so I can’t recommend or endorse them.  But FWIW:  MIAP does post their financials on their website (2014 IRS Form 990).  A quick look at that document leads me to believe they don’t seem to pay their corporate officers or waste a lot of money on fluff, either.  And Guidestar seems to think well of them also.

    So if you have a few spare dollars that you plan to donate to charity anyway, it might be worth your while to investigate them further.  They do appear to be approved to receive donations under the Combined Federal Campaign – though that in and of itself is no guarantee they’re particularly well-run (caveat emptor).  And what they’re doing is certainly IMO worth supporting.

    Everyone deserves a proper burial.  It’s great to see an organization dedicated to trying to make that happen for the unclaimed cremains of veterans.

    . . .

    (Material for this article was obtained from published reports – specifically, this article and this article.)

  • “I just saw what was going on and did what I could to help.”

    Imagine, for a moment, that a man saves the lives of 669 people.  Then imagine that his good deeds remain hidden for almost 50 years – even from his wife.

    You don’t have to imagine that; it’s not fiction.  Such a man died one week ago today.

    His name was Sir Nicholas Winton, of Great Britain.  In late 1938, he was a young stockbroker.  He went to continental Europe on holiday.

    What happened next was . . . remarkable.  In many ways.

    Go here, here, and here for additional details.  I think you’ll be impressed – and likely awed.  You might also want to have a tissue handy.

    Afterwards, Winton kept quiet about what he’d done for nearly 50 years.  The title of this article is how Winton described his actions after they’d become public.

    That to me is nearly as impressive as the acts themselves.

    Sir Nicholas Winton passed away on 1 July 2015.  His last birthday was on 19 May of this year; it was his 106th.

    Rest in peace, Sir Winton.  Rest in well-earned peace.

    . . .

    Postscript:  Ironically, Winton has never received one honor that you might expect.  Although Winton was British and was baptized – and presumably raised – as a Christian, his parents were originally Jewish.  They emigrated from Germany to England 2 years before Winton was born; they converted to Christianity after arrival in England.

    The fact that Winton’s parents were originally Jewish apparently prevents him from being declared a “Righteous Gentile” by Israel and so honored at Yad Vashem.  Go figure.

  • LTC Roy Tisdale

    LTC Roy Tisdale

    Roy Tisdale

    On June 28th, 2012, Lieutenant Colonel Roy Tisdale was murdered while he was giving a safety briefing to his troops in preparation for the 4th of July weekend at Fort Bragg, NC.

    Smitty served under him and wanted to remember him on the anniversary of his early departure, so these are Smitty’s words;

    In early 04, rumors started to spread that the 1/509th inf (Airborne) was going to deploy for the first time since ww2. We had a BC that wanted to get famous, and pushing for the JRTC Opfor to get deployed seemed an easy way to do it. I was in B co at the time, a pretty young private not even 19 yet when we were told that our 2 infantry companies would deploy, but D troop and HHC would stay in Ft Polk. About this same time, the company commander of B co broke his leg on a training jump, and a man named Captain Roy Tisdale, at the time the commander of D troop, stepped up and volunteered to lead B co into Iraq. Captain Tisdale was a very unique comander, he was approachable and valued every one of his soldiers. There wasn’t a lower enlisted guy in our company that he wouldn’t walk up to and shoot the breeze with, just to see how everyone was doing and get their feed back. People might have gotten the idea he actually cared about his soldiers, then he proved it.

    About a month before our deployment, Captain Tisdale was promoted to Major and given the option to take a battalion level job and have our executive officer take over B co. Now Maj Tisdale said that these were his men, he trained up with them, he wasn’t going to leave them right on the verge of going to war. If Major Tisdale was respected before hand, he was loved at that point. The entire time we were deployed, Major Tisdale continued to lead the same way we had come to expect of him. Every chance he had, he would be on of our patrols, doing 18 hours right next to the “joes”. We were attached to 4/31 inf 10th mountain, and it didn’t take long for the 10th mountain guys to notice Major Tisdale either. Numerous times some of their guys would ask who screwed up that a Major was tagging along with us or why we were being baby sat. Eventually they came to expect to see Major Tisdale helping load up the trucks at the staging area. I had an E-6 from 4/31 tell me once that I didn’t know how lucky I was to have a Co like Major Tisdale. His Co had left the wire maybe a dozen times the entire deployment, and that was usually to go to camp victory for the dining facility. He was right, I was too young and new to the unit, I didn’t know anything about the previous Co, (can’t even remember his name now) and was in for a shock when we got home and Major Tisdale left B co. Major Tisdale hung around the battalion for a while, then moved over to ops group. Until the day I discharged, Major Tisdale would still come out to the box and come find us just to shoot the breeze and see how every one was doing.

    We come up on the anniversary of his murder, and I’m flooded by memories a decade old. Of a man who was so much more than a company commander to all of B co 1/509. I hear of this kid that shot him, and knowing nothing else, I am certain the only reason that kid wasn’t still locked up at that time, was because LTC Tisdale stuck up for him. Right after we came home, a good friend of mine and a young E-5 got addicted to pain killers and did everything he could to trash his military career. One night, after Kevin took a few too many pills and a few too many beers, he spotted a pizza delivery car still running, and decided to liberate it. He didn’t get too far before post was locked down and the MPs were all over him. Maj Tisdale went and got that young buck sergeant first thing the next morning, insisting rather strongly that Kevin be released to him. Maj Tisdale got my friend into rehab and helped him get his act straight. What should have been a fast dishonorable discharge if not prison time, turned around and finished his enlistment. Kevin ended up with an honorable discharge and keeping his E-5 because Maj Tisdale was always willing to go to bat for his soldiers, and willing to give anyone a chance. I can tell many stories of Maj Tisdale doing similar things for his “joes” that didn’t work out as well in the end, but it never stopped him from doing everything he could for any of them.

    Knowing nothing about what happened at Ft Bragg, only that the kid had been popped and arrested for stealing from the motor pool, I’d say it is a safe bet that LTC Tisdale had tried to help him the same way he had helped Kevin, and so many others, so many years ago. My prayers are still with his family, but it makes me smile that such a man, willing to give anything of himself to help his men, was a part of my life.

    The army lost a great man and officer 3 years ago. I can’t believe it has already been that much time. More than anything, ill always remember the half smirk he gave people when they did something stupid. I don’t think I ever heard him yell, but he had no problems telling someone they were an idiot when they did something stupid.

    R.I.P LTC Roy Tisdale, the world is a better place for the brief time you were on it.

    Roy Tisdale son

  • Salisbury, NC welcomes Tech Sergeant Edwin Morgan home

    Salisbury, NC welcomes Tech Sergeant Edwin Morgan home

    Edwin Morgan

    The town of Salisbury, North Carolina welcomed home Technical Sergeant Edwin Everton Morgan after 49 years. Morgan was the loadmaster of an AC-47D gunship aircraft that failed to return from a mission in March, 1966. From WBTV;

    Morgan enlisted in the Navy in June of 1945 when he was 17 years old and served until June of 1949. Morgan served in the Army from 1949 to 1955. While in the Army, he served in Germany and France.

    In 1955 Morgan reenlisted in the Air Force. While in the Air Force, Edwin was stationed in Bermuda, Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City, Okla. and Joint Base in Charleston, S.C., before leaving for Tan Son Nhut AB in the Republic of Vietnam at the end of January 1966. Morgan remained at Tan Son Nhut until he was reported as MIA on March 13, 1966. Morgan was awarded the Purple Heart, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal posthumously.

    From Task Force Omega;

    On 9 March 1966, Capt. Howard W. Henninger, pilot; Capt. Robert E Pasekoff, co-pilot; Capt. Gerald E. Olson, navigator; then TSgt. Edwin E. Morgan, loadmaster; SSgt. Gene E. Davis, flight mechanic; SSgt. Marshall I. Pauley, aerial gunner and Sgt. Dean A Duvall, aerial gunner; comprised the crew of an AC47D gunship, call sign “Spooky 73.” They departed DaNang Airfield at 0300 hours on an armed reconnaissance mission along Route 92 that ran through the dense jungle covered mountains of Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam.

    The mission was scheduled to last 3 hours. Weather conditions were good. It was a moonlit night with scattered to broken clouds, smoke and haze. Approximately 22 minutes after Spooky 73 took off, Capt. Henninger established radio contact with a standard communications check. At that time there was no indication of any trouble with the aircraft.

    When Spooky 73 failed to return to base as scheduled, a ramp check of all bases that the AC47D could have diverted to was made. At 0800 hours the aircraft was declared overdue and initial search and rescue (SAR) operations initiated. At 0740 hours on 14 March 1966, full SAR operations using 2 AIE and 1 HE16B aircraft combed the dense jungle covered mountains along Route 92 and their briefed flight path of Spooky 73. This search effort was terminated at 1430 hours with no findings or sightings of the missing aircraft or its crew observed.

    The last known location of Capt. Henninger’s aircraft and crew placed them over rugged mountains covered in triple canopy jungle. At that time Spooky 73 was on a heading of 250 degrees; approximately 9 miles south of the South Vietnamese/Lao border, 33 miles southeast of Kham Duc and 58 miles west-southwest of DaNang, Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam.

    A service will be held tomorrow for the returning airman who has promoted to Chief Master Sergeant since he was lost.

    Thanks to Jon the Mechanic for the link.

  • RIP, Beau Biden

    Dead of brain cancer at age 46.

    I didn’t agree with his politics, or care much for his dad. Regardless, reportedly Beau Biden was a decent fellow and a good man. He was an officer in the Army National Guard.

    RIP, Mr. Biden. Gone far too soon.

  • Update on Lost USMC Helicopter in Nepal

    The USMC UH-1 helicopter that was missing in Nepal has been located approximately 15 miles from the town of Charikot. Regrettably, the aircraft appears to have crashed and burned.

    Three sets of remains have been recovered so far. Though search and recovery operations continue, at this point survivors from the crash are not expected.

    The eight personnel were on board the aircraft at the time of loss – 2 Nepalese soldiers and 6 US Marines. At the time of its loss, the aircraft was participating in the delivery of relief supplies to Charikot in the aftermath of the recent Nepal earthquake.

    Rest in peace, my brothers in arms. May God comfort your surviving family and friends.

  • Colonel Melvin Garten passes

    Colonel Melvin Garten passes

    Melvin Garten

    David sends us a link to the sad news that Melvin Garten has passed. Colonel Garten was described as the most decorated colonel in the Army at the time he retired. He began his military service as an enlisted soldier during World War II. In the ensuing years, he says that his wife had received notice of him being wounded, missing or dead seven times. According to the Fayetteville Observer;

    When Col. Garten retired at Fort Bragg, he held many of the Army’s top medals, including the nation’s second highest award – the Distinguished Service Cross, as well as three Silver Stars, five Purple Hearts, four Bronze Stars, the Legion of Merit, two Joint Commendation Medals and two Air Medals.

    His last position was as chief of staff for the 12th Support Brigade.

    According to the Oregonian, Colonel Garten was involved in the rescue of American POWs at Los Banos Japanese prison camp in the phillipines and earned the DSC for his actions on Pork Chop Hill during the Korean War. The citation for his DSC reads;

    [W]hile serving with Company K, 3d Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division[,] Captain Garten distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces near Surang-ni, Korea, on 30 October 1952. On that date, observing that assault elements of Companies F and G were pinned down by withering fire on a dominant hill feature, Captain Garten voluntarily proceeded alone up the rugged slope and, reaching the besieged troops, found that key personnel had been wounded and the unit was without command. Dominating the critical situation through sheer force of his heroic example, he rallied approximately eight men, assigned four light machine guns, distributed grenades and, employing the principle of fire and maneuver, stormed enemy trenches and bunkers with such tenacity that the foe was completely routed and the objective secured. Quickly readying defensive positions against imminent counterattack he directed and coordinated a holding action until reinforcements arrived. Major Garten’s inspirational leadership, unflinching courage under fire and valorous actions reflect the highest credit upon himself and are in keeping with the cherished traditions of the military service.