In like a nice bath now and then. Something I'll take up again once I displace less of the water. Figured the thread could use a visual too...
Today is a day I will lower my flags to half staff, to honor the loss of our fallen Cal Fire air tanker pilot. Tanker 81, an S-2T based out of Hollister, crashed Tuesday afternoon while fighting the Dog Rock Fire in the Merced River canyon area, near the west entrance of Yosemite National Park. This is a very sad time for everyone in my fire service world. Please join me in a prayer to honor and support the pilot's family, the men and women of Cal Fire and the entire family at Dyna Corp. Thank you all very much.
Today is, Alvin C. York Day! Oct 8, 1918. While in the Argonne Forest, France, and separated from his patrol, Sergeant Alvin C. York killed 20 enemy soldiers and captured a hill, 132 enemy soldiers and 35 machine guns. He was awarded the US Medal of Honor and French Croix de Guerre. Ironically, York had petitioned for exemption from the draft as a conscientious objector but was turned down by his local draft board.
Well that would be nice but I've been stuck in the Philly airport for 3 hours! Where's Dave when you need him?
Today, 67 years ago... Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier. And he did it with broken ribs at that... Comment made by somebody....
I have a model of the X-1 autographed by Chuck Yeager. Now you've got me digging through my DVDs to find my copy of "The Right Stuff". That, and "The Worlds Fastest Indian" are two of my all time favorites.
Burt Munro's granddaughter used to work here with me (well, technically in a different department). Very cool lady...unfortunately she passed away last year.
We all know Chucks balls clanged when he walked. Granted I would probably agree to be strapped into a rocket with wings, for science of course. I bet that was one hell of a wild ride. Granted, they would probably have trouble telling me anything with me screaming WAHOOOOOO at the top of my lungs the whole time
I wasn't going to post this, as it was again another sad day in our fire service family. However, the Chuck Yeager post above prompted me to comment. Today was the day we honored our fallen Tanker 81 pilot, G. Craig Hunt, with a beautiful memorial service in San Jose. He was a deeply respected member of our fire department and will be missed by everyone. We learned that while a Navy aviator, he had become friends with Chuck Yeager. A photo of the two of them was a part of the slide presentation tribute. Thank you Craig, for your 13 years of Cal Fire service, providing aerial support for our firefighters on the ground and for your dedication in protecting the citizens of California from hundreds of wildfires. Our son, who serves our Department as an Honor Guard member, sounded Craig's last alarm on the Department's memorial bell. As I watched and listened to the ringing of the bell, 3 - 3 - 3, I was truly honored that my son was the one to send Craig home.