Shut-In Gazette #08

As this COVID-19 pandemic drags on because of a multitude of causes and rationales, we are still hunkered down in our new house in a new community not being able to get to know our new neighbors when we would be normally visiting, having friends over for dinner or watching that marvelous Broadway show “Hamilton” on Disney Plus.  I’m finding it difficult at times to remain positive as the national medical and political ramifications seem to bombard our country on a daily basis.

But let’s continue to plunge on ahead.  As I wait for the future, I periodically remember Eric Idle’s brilliant song from Monty Python’s The Life of Brian, “Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life”, or FDR’s theme song from his successful 1932 presidential campaign “Happy Days Are Here Again.”

In this edition of The Shut-In Gazette I’ve included some airplane stuff, one instructional piece that, hopefully, will help you to look on the sunny side of life and a heat-warming video.

Our friend Larry Haglund sent me this great video clip in May about a true World War II incident.  I had, in fact, read a book entitled A Higher Call about it.  I wrote Larry “Thanks my friend!  I've read Mr. Brown's accounting Adam Makos' book "A Higher Call".  I reviewed it on [this] blog in April 2013 (http://225observer.blogspot.com/2013/04/messerschmitt-109-escorts-b-17.html).  The two pilots and crew of the B-17 met at the Museum of Flight in Seattle several years ago.  The German then lived in Vancouver BC.  I'll rerun the review I did so others can see it too.  Thanks again, and I hope all is well with you and your family!  Stay safe!”

Click on this link to see what Larry sent me.

As you might have seen, British Airways has announced that it is retiring its entire fleet of 747s, and Airbus will also cease to build new A-380s.  For those who have ridden on a Jumbo Jet, this seems like a great re-use of one of these giants.  Large aircraft have been used in the past for fire fighting; there was an episode on the Smithsonian channel episode on Mighty Planes about the Martin Mars firefighting flying boat some months ago.  Here’s a link to Wikipedia about this remarkable 1942 airplane.  Click on the link below that my neighbor sent me about a repurposed 747.

Our friend Roger Kent sent me this educational video that might be of some help to many of us.

My neighbor sent me this and I’m share this with you.  For me remembering this provides a little bit help in my keeping the proper perspective as we slog through the next few months…

And now, also from Roger Kent, for something a little different…and inspiring.

The Shut-In Gazette #07

Well, I'm still here enjoying the bright Northwest sun (not being in the least sarcastic given our often rainy weather up here in Washington State); it's supposed to be in the 80s west of the Cascades and in the 90s on the other side of the state!  We are slowly opening up, but who knows how long the will last.

Anyway, on to more cheerful things...my friend Barb Michieli sent three wonderful items that I'm including this time around...

First is a belated birthday wish for the US Army!

Next is the new look for the Army:

Also from Barb...And most of us are old enough to remember Francis Gary Powers and the U2.  I remember clearly that I was in the 7th grade at Highland Junior High in Mr. Farrell's class when we got the news that he was shot down over the Soviet Union.  I also remember that while we were on the runway at Anderson AFB in Guam on my way to (or maybe coming back from) R&R I looked out my window of the passenger jet we were on and saw a U2 take off literally straight up in to the air.  What a sight!  Click on this link for an article on the Dragon Lady.

I hope all is well with you and yours!  Stay safe!

DEROS + 18,227

SP5 Darragh in early 1970

My son Tim and me at the  Udvar-Hazy National Air Museum in 2017

That flight-follow mission day began like most other mission days.  Up at zero-dark-thirty, get into my Nomex flight suit, strap on my World War 2 or Korea-era .45 caliber M1911A1 pistol, get some chow and, most importantly, coffee!  Report to the ready room, review the mission and prepare my mission maps.

Then I met my pilot at the revetment.  We did whatever preflight stuff we did in those days and I got into the Mohawk’s right seat.  More pre-takeoff stuff and then off into the wild black yonder (remember that I got up at zero-dark thirty).  As I remember it was a pretty normal flight-follow mission.  I listened for the other aircraft as they called on and off their targets, all the time hoping that each individual mission radioed that they were indeed off each of their low level runs.

The sun had finally come up and it was gonna be another hot and humid day in the Republic of Vietnam.  As we headed southeast towards the South China Sea, I radioed to CPT Larry Stallard, who was piloting another mission, to say goodbye a final time and quote a Bible verse I had memorized since we had met several months earlier.  He and I became friends when he took me under his wing and we had had some Bible study together.  I had learned Philippians chapter 4 verse 13 (“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”) during that time together.

Then my pilot, a Warrant Officer named George Drago, banked our aircraft and we were off to Cam Ranh Bay.  But that wasn’t our destination yet!

You see, when pilots DEROSed from the 225th, they usually left the unit in a Mohawk after they had made a very low pass over the company area.  But I was not a pilot; I had been with the Blackhawks/Phantomhawks since February 1968 and it was now 11 June 1970, so after 28 continuous months with the same outfit I wanted a low pass also!  Mr. Drago knew this so he was going to oblige!

As we headed out over the beautiful multi-shaded azure waters of the South China Sea we climbed to I don’t know how many thousands of feet.  Then, at the top of our climb he dropped the nose and a pad of paper and the maps I had on the dash board just floated in mid-air!  In the wind shield all I could see was the bright blue expanse of the ocean.  Then in the distance our target appeared…a pure white radome.

As the globe began to get really big really fast, Drago began to  pull out of the dive and we zoomed right over the top of the radome, really close, and climbed rapidly climbed again.  I don’t know how many Gs were pressing my body onto that oh-so-comfortable Martin Baker election seat I had been on since the flight began several hours earlier, but it was amazing feeling!  I had gotten my low pass!

Next stop Cam Ranh Air Force Base!  As we got close we were cleared for landing, and we set down on the gigantic 10,000 foot runway and taxied to the base passenger terminal.  I remember that there was a brand new blue and white PanAm 747 in the parking area, and boy did our OV-1 look tiny!

We opened our cockpit doors, got down out of our aircraft, and pulled my luggage out of one of the cargo bays.  We said our goodbyes, I saluted Mr. Drago and off I went to begin processing out of Vietnam.

I was on my way home and out of the Army.  June 11, 1970.  That was fifty years ago today!

The Shut-In Gazette #06

Good Morning Everyone!

Another week has passed and we've mowed our lawns, planted more flowers and watched more TV than should ever be allowed.  And have just about finished another holiday weekend in this awful pandemic.

Please take a moment to remember our friends who gave their lives in the service to their country while serving with us in the 225th Aviation Company in Vietnam.

Our friend Larry Haglund sent me this note a few days ago:  "This is a touching story. I have read of other similar accounts from both sides of the European theater, but first time for this one."  I wrote to him that I had read the book by Adam Makos, "A Higher Call", and posted a review on the 225th Observer in April 2013.  Here's the link to that review: http://225observer.blogspot.com/2013/04/

The Shut-In Gazette #05

Welcome to another week of our once-in-a-lifetime shared pandemic event...

This week I've linked three military stories that I thought you would enjoy.  Just click on the appropriate links to get to them.

The first is a video story that I found on the BBC online service about the USS Nevada.  (Note there may be a brief Windows commercial at the beginning of the video.) https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-52684890/world-war-two-us-navy-ship-discovered-in-pacific-ocean

Story number two, also from the BBC, is about the Navy's newest aircraft carrier USS Doris Miller (to be commissioned in 2028) and the history of her namesake.  This is an article that you have to read, no video is included.  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51168798

Item number three is a wonderful collection of still photos of the  Cascade Warbirds members flying a V-E Day Remembrance Flight on May 8th this year.  Click on one of the still photos to get to the albums.  My friend Barb Michieli sent this to me.  https://www.cascadewarbirds.org/2020/05/07/cascade-warbirds-members-to-fly-in-v-e-day-remembrance-flight/?fbclid=IwAR1Ep8nQMmtUSuK67e34ZdKPuqk3Oc8qcRJAhO9XkAuSxUswv5KXA0h-bmw

Enjoy these and stay safe!

The Shut-In Gazette #04

I'm Bored!  Let's Go Somewhere!

As Karin and I were watching TV last evening it occurred to me that even though we didn’t make our trip to Baja California this spring as had been our habit for the past few years, we had actually been traveling to a lot of other places in this great nation and around the world using our television machine instead of one of those parked 737s.

Where have we gone you ask?  Well, one of our favorite places is to the zoo!  Yes, I said the Zoo.  But not just any zoo, specifically the Bronx Zoo.  Every week we see what goes on behind the scenes and how some of these amazing creations of our Lord’s are cared for everyday.  They even had a show specifically about what has happened during this pandemic around the two tigers and several lions were treated after they were diagnosed with the covid-19 virus.  For a while we have also gone to one of our favorite places, the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park, until we ran out of episodes.

As we continue on our armchair adventure, eventually we end up in Columbus, Ohio, at the famous Columbus Zoo.  Then heading southeast we arrive in the town where my Basic Training Buddy Taylor Davis lives…Tampa.  National Geographic channel has a new series called Secrets of the Zoo: Tampa.  Go north into Georgia and we will see you at the Aquarium in Atlanta (on Animal Planet).

As we continue to travel thousands of miles in our very own and very safe recliners, we have ended up in Cheshire, UK at the Chester Zoo.  Their TV show Secret Life of the Zoo is produced in England and shown on Animal Planet in the US.  This zoo’s mission is to  be a major force in conserving biodiversity worldwide.  It’s a wonder place to stop on the zoo tour.  Then from England we go to Australia and visit Taronga Zoo Sydney (Australia’s largest zoo).  It’s wonderful to see so many people really concerned about conserving wildlife!

Karin and I also like traveling to other places and historical times by sitting in front of our 48” screen.  Some of our favorites are England where we find Call the Midwife, Silent Witness and the brand new Masterpiece series World on Fire.  When you find you have some extra time to just veg in front of the boob tube, check out some of these wonderful shows.

I’ll continue sharing our adventures with you next time in the Shut-In Gazette.

Someone on Facebook posted this great governmental explanation of the next steps in reopening this great country of ours.......

We have a 6 phase plan to reopen the state.

The plan will be a phased plan that we will plan to utilize in phases.

The phases will be planned and the planning will be phased.

We will move quickly and slowly to open but remain closed.

I have created a staff of staffers who will plan the phase and planning while phasing their phases.

And that is our reopening plan.

Thank you.

Our friend Roger (Superman) Kent sent me this wonderful link (below) that relates both to travel and flying.  (My first long trip over the Pacific Ocean [crammed into a very long tube for 17 hours with 200+ other soldiers] certainly was not luxurious like these flying boats were!)

https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2018/12/21/at-this-time-in-1941-a-clipper-plane-was-trying-to-get-home-the-hard-way-flying-around-the-world/

The Shut-In Gazette #03

During this pandemic the projects don't seem to end, and that's a good thing!  I've continued to work on finishing our backyard here at our new house.  Yesterday afternoon I went to Home Depot (for about the umpteenth time since we moved in last May) and stood in their version of a Disneyland line for about a half hour to buy some 4"x8" concrete bricks to build a base for an iron arbor-trellis-bench-like-thing to sit on.

Well, of course I was about one brick short, so I had to go back and get another one.  I went early (about 6:15am) to avoid the going to Disneyland again and walked right in.  I got my brick and, after taking a shower in Purell, got back in the car and drove home.  As I turned into the entrance drive to our community I noted some big dogs in the road; I slowed dow and they suddenly became deer instead of Great Danes!  There were seven of them lazily munching on the grass and some of the other ornamental shrubbery.  What a fun sight at 6:45am!  Isn't the Lord great to provide these guys for us to enjoy!

Here are a couple of gems from Barb Michieli with whom I worked at Seattle Children' Hospital...

My Coast Guard friend Dave Pitkin sent this video of "Jimmy Buffett's Take on Coronavirus".  Dave and I met for the first time while I was on R&R in Honolulu in 1969 and we were reunited because of the internet several years ago.

Our friend Roger (Superman) Kent sent this amazing Youtube video of a very large parking lot out in the Mojave Desert.  We have a similar but much smaller one with parked 737-Max airliners in Grant County in Central Washington.  Click on the link and enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIbXai0l174&feature=youtu.be

My neighbor Dan Batman periodically feeds me interesting pictures and cartoons.  Here's one that he sent me a few days ago: