It seems that the last pilot still on active service to fly UH-1 “Huey” helicopters in the Vietnam War retired from flying yesterday. Lawrence Castagneto wiped tears from his eyes today as he walked away from the Huey helicopter. It was his last flight as an active-duty military man and quite possibly his last Huey… Continue reading The last of the many
Tag: Military memories
So Henry Hook wasn’t a boozer after all!
It seems the 1964 film “Zulu” cast unfair and untrue aspersions on the character of Private Henry Hook. In the film Zulu he was portrayed as a drunken malingerer who became a reluctant hero. But while Hollywood was right to show Private Henry Hook as a hero, the rest of his screen depiction was fiction.… Continue reading So Henry Hook wasn’t a boozer after all!
The need for speed?
Courtesy of boingboing, we learn of Robert Maddox. He’s developed a pulse-jet that can be fitted to a bicycle, and which (he claims) can propel you at 75 mph. It’s available on eBay right now. At the time of writing, the high bid was $861. According to the auction description, it generates 50 pounds of… Continue reading The need for speed?
A maritime mystery solved
His Majesty’s Australian ship (HMAS) Sydney was a modified Leander-class cruiser launched in 1934 and commissioned in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) in 1935. She was the second vessel to bear that name in RAN service and was often referred to as the Sydney II, although the latter numeral did not form part of her… Continue reading A maritime mystery solved
Military patches
There’s an entire sub-culture that’s evolved around the development of military patches by units and individuals. In his Danger Room military blog Noah Schachtman recently ran a series of posts on the Most Awesomely Bad Military Patches. This DR post summarizes the latest developments and links to all the many other posts on the topic.… Continue reading Military patches
Congratulations to the Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is 90 years old today, the oldest independent air force in the world. It was officially established on 1st April 1918, when the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) merged with the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) to form a single air arm for Great Britain. Its history is pretty amazing by any… Continue reading Congratulations to the Royal Air Force
On military leadership
Skippy has a good post about military leadership. I thought I’d take up his challenge and consider three examples of leadership that inspired me during my service. First example. (I told my buddy Lawdog about this and he posted the story on his blog some time ago, so some of you may have read it… Continue reading On military leadership
Of newly-hatched officers and their ways
Sergeant Murphy posted a story about an officer cadet who got too big for his boots. It brought back memories. For anyone below the rank of, say, Lieutenant-Colonel, getting crossways with a Sergeant-Major can get interesting in a hurry, believe me. (How do I know this, you ask? Trust me. I know this.) Anyway, it… Continue reading Of newly-hatched officers and their ways