A Hero Passes ...



Pete George, a Dallas native, passed away this past week at the age of 93.  Mr. George was a Marine, serving in China before WWII, and then in the Phillipines when the war started.  Assigned to coastal defense on Corregidor, he fought until he received serious shrapnel wounds in May of 1942.  The day after he was wounded, Corregidor fell, and he began 42 months of hell being a POW of the Japanese.

18 months were spent in a prison hospital and then the Cabanatuan prison camp.  He was then transferred to Yokkaaichi Prison Camp No. 5, where he remained until liberated in August of 1945.

Mr. George was laid to rest at the DFW National Cemetery, with full military honors.

Godspeed, Mr. George ...

A Hero Passes ...

Howard Pardue, a legend in the Warbird community, has passed away. His F8F Bearcat fighter crashed on takeoff at his home field of Breckenridge, TX this afternoon. Howard did not survive.

I knew Howard, though not well. I had spent some time over dinner with him and my cousin, and at various airshows over the years. Though I was not a member of the 'pilot clique', he always treated me well.

I am stunned. This man was larger than life, one of those characters you think will live forever.

Godspeed Howard ... you will be missed.

Fire And Ice - Combat Art

Michael Fay runs a blog called Fire and Ice.

Michael is a very talented artist. He is also a former Marine who experienced combat firsthand in Afghanistan. His postings contain a fascinating look at life on the ground in that war. It would be well worth your time to take a look.

Warlords Resurrected

Marine Fighter Squadron VMFA-451 (Warlords) has been resurrected from the dead, at least for a little while. The squadron stood up this week after a 13 year absence.

VMFA-451 started it's service back in 1944. It saw action in every major conflict the US has had, up to and including Desert Storm. The squadron last flew F-18As, and was deactivated back in 1997 as the military drawdown of the Clinton Administration rolled on.

The Navy, Marines, and Air Force try hard to keep historical lineage going in its flying squadrons. VMFA-451 was re-established in order to officially keep it's heritage intact. The squadron will be renumberd VMFA-501 today at Eglin AFB, where it's initial cadre will begin training in preparation to receive the F-35B (when it finally makes it into fleet service). The resurrection of -451 and then renaming it to -501 keeps the Warlords lineage intact. However, I really don't know why they didn't just leave it as -451.



Photos - F-18A 163118, seen landing at NAS Dallas on Dec. 7, 1991, while conducting ACM missions against the locally based Phantoms of VMFA-112.

F-4J 153860 carrying the spectacular markings the squadron had during the BiCentennial of 1976, seen at its home base of MCAS Beaufort.