Veterans...Get the hell in here now!

scumrot derelict

Well-Known Member

"For years, many aviators believed that man was not meant to fly faster than the speed of sound, theorizing that transonic drag rise would tear any aircraft apart. All that changed on October 14, 1947, when Yeager flew the X-1 over Rogers Dry Lake in Southern California. The X-1 was lifted to an altitude of 25,000 feet by a B-29 aircraft and then released through the bomb bay, rocketing to 40,000 feet and exceeding 662 miles per hour (the sound barrier at that altitude). The rocket plane, nicknamed “Glamorous Glennis,” was designed with thin, unswept wings and a streamlined fuselage modeled after a .50-caliber bullet.

Because of the secrecy of the project, Bell and Yeager’s achievement was not announced until June 1948. Yeager continued to serve as a test pilot, and in 1953 he flew 1,650 miles per hour in an X-1A rocket plane. He retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1975 with the rank of brigadier general."
This is cool as fuck.
 

raratt

Well-Known Member
The guy who broke the sound barrier?

What's the beef with him? Just curious.
He is an arrogant prick that forgot where he came from. He lives nearby so we thought he'd be happy to come to a graduation for an NCO training class, he was all about the $$$$ and didn't give a damn about the accomplishments of the students. There is a reason he only had one star. I understand his accomplishment, however it has gone to his head, he is not a god.
 

curious2garden

Well-Known Mod
Staff member
I think I remember that @curious2garden met BGen Yeager during an air show maybe?
Actually Chuck Yeager was a friend of my UPT instructor. They were both stationed at Edwards at the same time. Yeager was retiring out of Norton and he flew down to visit with Paul at Santa Ana. I was in the FSS when he showed up, drinking a coke and getting weather. Paul introduced me and we talked for a moment. He was kind to me but I can't say I really knew him. I was pretty shy and he was there to speak with Paul so after a few minutes of gawking I went flying.

I saw him again here: https://www.edwards.af.mil/News/Article/1376290/planes-aviation-legends-highlight-70th-anniversary/
The flyover was spectacular. I think I posted a short video of it.
 

BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member
Today in military history:

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On October 19, 1781, British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered his army of some 8,000 men to General George Washington at Yorktown, giving up any chance of winning the Revolutionary War. Cornwallis had marched his army into the Virginia port town earlier that summer expecting to meet British ships sent from New York. The ships never arrived.

In early October, approximately 17,000 American and French troops led by Generals George Washington and Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau, respectively, surrounded British-occupied Yorktown. Off the coast, French Admiral François de Grasse strategically positioned his naval fleet to control access to the town via the Chesapeake Bay and the York River.

The Franco-American siege exhausted the British army’s supplies of food and ammunition. With no hope for escape, Cornwallis agreed to the terms of Washington’s Articles of Capitulation, signing the document at Moore House on October 19. Hours after the surrender, the general’s defeated troops marched out of Yorktown to the tune “The World Turned Upside Down.”

During his occupation of Yorktown, General Cornwallis set up headquarters in the Thomas Nelson House. The residence saw wartime action again during the Civil War, when it was used as a hospital.

Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown effectively ended the Revolutionary War. Lacking the financial resources to raise a new army, the British government appealed to the Americans for peace. Almost two years later, on September 3, 1783, the signing of the Treaty of Paris brought the war to an end.
 

too larry

Well-Known Member
Today in military history:


On October 19, 1781, British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered his army of some 8,000 men to General George Washington at Yorktown, giving up any chance of winning the Revolutionary War. Cornwallis had marched his army into the Virginia port town earlier that summer expecting to meet British ships sent from New York. The ships never arrived.

In early October, approximately 17,000 American and French troops led by Generals George Washington and Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau, respectively, surrounded British-occupied Yorktown. Off the coast, French Admiral François de Grasse strategically positioned his naval fleet to control access to the town via the Chesapeake Bay and the York River.

The Franco-American siege exhausted the British army’s supplies of food and ammunition. With no hope for escape, Cornwallis agreed to the terms of Washington’s Articles of Capitulation, signing the document at Moore House on October 19. Hours after the surrender, the general’s defeated troops marched out of Yorktown to the tune “The World Turned Upside Down.”

During his occupation of Yorktown, General Cornwallis set up headquarters in the Thomas Nelson House. The residence saw wartime action again during the Civil War, when it was used as a hospital.

Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown effectively ended the Revolutionary War. Lacking the financial resources to raise a new army, the British government appealed to the Americans for peace. Almost two years later, on September 3, 1783, the signing of the Treaty of Paris brought the war to an end.
King's Mountain was where that army was broken. {a great battlefield to visit, especially if you like climbing} The Overmountain Men were the difference.

 

GreatwhiteNorth

Global Moderator
Staff member
Vets in Congress Renew Medal of Honor Plea for Army 'Legend' Alwyn Cashe

Fourteen years ago today, Army Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe likely could've walked away relatively unscathed after his Bradley Fighting Vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in Iraq.
Instead, the soldier chose to head back into the burning vehicle to save his comrades. He did so even though they were still facing enemy gunfire and his uniform was soaked with fuel.

Cashe risked his life and went beyond the call of duty, which is why he deserves the Medal of Honor, three members of Congress wrote in a letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy on the 14th anniversary of the soldier's actions.
Cashe has become "something of a legend in military circles," Reps. Dan Crenshaw, Michael Waltz and Stephanie Murphy wrote. The Silver Star he received for his 2005 actions in Iraq, they added, should be upgraded to the Medal of Honor.
"We believe that SFC Cashe has earned the highest award for military valor that our nation bestows, and we hope you will ensure that his case is scrutinized with the utmost care," the letter states.
The Silver Star is the nation's third-highest award for battlefield bravery.
Cashe kept going back into that vehicle even after his uniform ignited, and flames severely burned most of his body.
He got all of his soldiers out, and refused medical evacuation they were tended to first. Three soldiers, Staff Sgt. George Alexander Jr., Sgt. Michael Robertson and Spc. Darren Howe, later died from burn wounds.
Cashe also died three weeks later.
A spokesman for Cashe's family could not immediately be reached for comment about the lawmakers' letter.
Crenshaw, a Texas Republican, is a retired Navy SEAL officer. Waltz, a Florida Republican, served as an Army Special Forces officer. And Murphy, a Florida Democrat, worked for the Defense Department as a national security specialist.
"Each of us proudly served in the United States military or worked at the Department of Defense," they wrote on Thursday. "In addition, each of us cares about the process our nation uses to award medals for military valor, believing this process should satisfy the most rigorous standards of independence and integrity."
The three lawmakers aren't the first to call on Pentagon leaders to reconsider Cashe's award. As the Defense Department wraps up a years-long review of its post-Sept. 11, 2001, valor awards, several have pushed to see his Silver Star upgraded.
More that 55 valor awards have been upgraded as a result of that review.
Doug Sterner, who runs an extensive military awards database, called Cashe's case "the most perfect example of a Medal of Honor I've ever seen." The soldier's case highlights the problems with the military's awards process.
"If the review is done and Alwyn Cashe hasn't been awarded the Medal of Honor, I won't be a happy camper," Sterner told Military.com in April.
Officials said in April that four Army awards would be upgraded before the end of the year. The service has since awarded or announced two Medal of Honor upgrades to Staff Sgt. David Bellavia and Master Sgt. Matthew Williams and two Distinguished Service Crosses to Maj. Nicholas Eslinger and Spc. Gregory Waters.
That's despite Cashe's commander at the time -- now-Maj. Gen. Gary Brito, the head of the Army's Maneuver Center of Excellence -- taking the rare step of speaking out on this case. Brito has said he didn't know the extent of Cashe's injuries at the time he put him up for the Silver Star.
The two-star has since submitted sworn statements in an effort to see the award upgraded.
Cashe was determined to protect his soldiers before they even got to Iraq.
When his sister, Kasinal Cashe, told him not to play a hero on his deployment, to "learn how to duck and come home," he told her he had to take care of his boys, the Associated Press reported after his death.
And that's exactly what Cashe did, Murphy, Crenshaw and Waltz wrote.
"SFC Cashe--who was thrown from the vehicle and virtually unharmed--returned again and again to the burning vehicle to extract his fellow soldiers," their letter states. "SFC Cashe saved the lives of multiple soldiers, but suffered severe burns in the process and ultimately died from those burns."
 

scumrot derelict

Well-Known Member
Vets in Congress Renew Medal of Honor Plea for Army 'Legend' Alwyn Cashe

Fourteen years ago today, Army Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe likely could've walked away relatively unscathed after his Bradley Fighting Vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in Iraq.
Instead, the soldier chose to head back into the burning vehicle to save his comrades. He did so even though they were still facing enemy gunfire and his uniform was soaked with fuel.

Cashe risked his life and went beyond the call of duty, which is why he deserves the Medal of Honor, three members of Congress wrote in a letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy on the 14th anniversary of the soldier's actions.
Cashe has become "something of a legend in military circles," Reps. Dan Crenshaw, Michael Waltz and Stephanie Murphy wrote. The Silver Star he received for his 2005 actions in Iraq, they added, should be upgraded to the Medal of Honor.
"We believe that SFC Cashe has earned the highest award for military valor that our nation bestows, and we hope you will ensure that his case is scrutinized with the utmost care," the letter states.
The Silver Star is the nation's third-highest award for battlefield bravery.
Cashe kept going back into that vehicle even after his uniform ignited, and flames severely burned most of his body.
He got all of his soldiers out, and refused medical evacuation they were tended to first. Three soldiers, Staff Sgt. George Alexander Jr., Sgt. Michael Robertson and Spc. Darren Howe, later died from burn wounds.
Cashe also died three weeks later.
A spokesman for Cashe's family could not immediately be reached for comment about the lawmakers' letter.
Crenshaw, a Texas Republican, is a retired Navy SEAL officer. Waltz, a Florida Republican, served as an Army Special Forces officer. And Murphy, a Florida Democrat, worked for the Defense Department as a national security specialist.
"Each of us proudly served in the United States military or worked at the Department of Defense," they wrote on Thursday. "In addition, each of us cares about the process our nation uses to award medals for military valor, believing this process should satisfy the most rigorous standards of independence and integrity."
The three lawmakers aren't the first to call on Pentagon leaders to reconsider Cashe's award. As the Defense Department wraps up a years-long review of its post-Sept. 11, 2001, valor awards, several have pushed to see his Silver Star upgraded.
More that 55 valor awards have been upgraded as a result of that review.
Doug Sterner, who runs an extensive military awards database, called Cashe's case "the most perfect example of a Medal of Honor I've ever seen." The soldier's case highlights the problems with the military's awards process.
"If the review is done and Alwyn Cashe hasn't been awarded the Medal of Honor, I won't be a happy camper," Sterner told Military.com in April.
Officials said in April that four Army awards would be upgraded before the end of the year. The service has since awarded or announced two Medal of Honor upgrades to Staff Sgt. David Bellavia and Master Sgt. Matthew Williams and two Distinguished Service Crosses to Maj. Nicholas Eslinger and Spc. Gregory Waters.
That's despite Cashe's commander at the time -- now-Maj. Gen. Gary Brito, the head of the Army's Maneuver Center of Excellence -- taking the rare step of speaking out on this case. Brito has said he didn't know the extent of Cashe's injuries at the time he put him up for the Silver Star.
The two-star has since submitted sworn statements in an effort to see the award upgraded.
Cashe was determined to protect his soldiers before they even got to Iraq.
When his sister, Kasinal Cashe, told him not to play a hero on his deployment, to "learn how to duck and come home," he told her he had to take care of his boys, the Associated Press reported after his death.
And that's exactly what Cashe did, Murphy, Crenshaw and Waltz wrote.
"SFC Cashe--who was thrown from the vehicle and virtually unharmed--returned again and again to the burning vehicle to extract his fellow soldiers," their letter states. "SFC Cashe saved the lives of multiple soldiers, but suffered severe burns in the process and ultimately died from those burns."
savage. he was definitely a credit to his unit. hope he and his family receives proper recognition for his sacrifice - and hope that the petty bullshit gets set aside for a second so we can give this a chance to happen.
 

GreatwhiteNorth

Global Moderator
Staff member

too larry

Well-Known Member
That's close to home.
My families condolences my friend.
Thanks.

I didn't really know Tracy as he was raised in Texas. He was my uncle's grandson. My wife and her assistant did work with the Gold Star families, so they set it up for the grandparents to be presented with one. Since then the wife had become really good friends with Tracy's mom.
 

BarnBuster

Virtually Unknown Member
1571995751765.png
Jack Eaton (left), the oldest living Tomb Sentinel, speaks to new recruits with U.S. Army Capt. Harold Earls (center), Commander of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, in the Tomb Quarters at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, Oct. 23, 2019. (U.S. Army photo by Elizabeth Fraser / Arlington National Cemetery / released



1571995834513.png

A 100-year-old World War II veteran finally got to scratch a much-deserved, long-awaited bullet point from his bucket list.
Jack Eaton, the oldest living sentinel of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, arrived at Detroit Metropolitan Airport Wednesday afternoon after spending the morning in Arlington, Virginia, where he saw, for the first time, a recently erected plaque recognizing his guardianship of the monument from January 1938 to December 1939.

The former U.S. Army sergeant and current Burton, Michigan, resident was met at American Airlines Gate D28 by dozens of cheering, clapping and saluting veterans, public servants and other supporters, all while "America the Beautiful" played.
 
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