Chuck Yeager retraces history, breaking the speed of sound -- again

Chuck Yeager retraced history on Sunday, 65 years to the minute, as the first test pilot to break the sound barrier, taking to the skies once again to fly faster than the speed of sound.

The 89-year-old Yeager broke the sound barrier in a U.S. Air Force F-15 at 10:24 a.m. over the Mojave Desert, the same location where he first flew past Mach 1 on October 14, 1947, the military said in a statement.

Yeager possessed outstanding eyesight (rated as 20/10, once enabling him to shoot a deer at 600 yards (550 m)[7]), flying skills, and combat leadership; he distinguished himself by becoming the first pilot in his group to make "ace in a day:" During WWII he shot down five enemy aircraft in one mission, finishing the war with 11.5 official victories, including one of the first air-to-air victories over a jet fighter (a German Messerschmitt Me 262). Two of his "ace in a day" kills were scored without firing a single shot; he flew into firing position against a Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the pilot of the aircraft panicked, breaking to starboard and colliding with his wingman; Yeager later reported both pilots bailed out.   You can read the full story here: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/15/us/nevada-yeager-anniversary-flight/index.html?hpt=hp_c3



Basil Plumley, Army veteran of 3 wars, dies at 92

Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Basil L. Plumley, who fought in some of the U.S. Army's bloodiest battles in three wars, died Wednesday in Columbus, Georgia. He was 92.  Plumley enlisted in the US Army on March 31, 1942, as a private. Plumley was a veteran of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. He was a member of the 320th Glider Field Artillery Battalion, with which he made 4 combat jumps and was awarded medals. He confirms this during interviews conducted with author Phil Nordyke, who has written 4 books relating to the 82nd Airborne Division in WWII. He went on to make one combat jump in Korea with the 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment. He retired as a Command Sergeant Major on December 31, 1974, having been awarded 28 different medals (40 total) in almost 33 years of service. After his retirement, he worked 15 more years for the Army as a civilian in administration at Martin Army Community Hospital (Fort Benning, Georgia), retiring again in 1990.

Pearl Harbor payback

70 years ago a huge wave of U.S. Marines bent on delivering Pearl Harbor payback waded onto the beach of the Solomon Island of Guadalcanal on Aug. 7, 1942, a Japanese radio operator frantically vowed to his superiors, "we will defend our posts to the death."

I've always been curious about this campaign as I had an Uncle that served in the Marines and was involved in the attack of Guadalcanal. Read the this article for a Vet's personal story of that first strike 70 years ago today.

Ernest Borgnine dies at the age of 95‎

We all know of Ernest's contributions to Hollywood, but he was also in the Navy durring World War II.

Borgnine joined the United States Navy in 1935, after graduation from James Hillhouse High School in New Haven, Connecticut. He was discharged in 1941, re-enlisted when the United States entered World War II, and served until 1945 (a total of ten years), reaching the rate of gunner's mate 1st class. He served aboard the destroyer USS Lamberton. His military decorations include the Navy Good Conduct Medal, American Defense Service Medal with Fleet Clasp, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.

Borgnine received the honorary rating of chief petty officer in October 2004 from Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Terry D. Scott for Borgnine's support of the Navy and naval families worldwide.

World War II vet, 95, finally gets high school diploma

Its never too late to get that high school deploma.....

A World War II veteran from western Pennsylvania at long last has a high school diploma, earned as a 95th birthday present.

George Hovanec dropped out of school to work, then joined the Marine Corps, serving in a howitzer battalion in Guadalcanal and New Zealand.

Hovanec's family tell WTAE-TV most of his relatives didn't know the family patriarch never graduated. So granddaughter Karen Murray approached Steel Valley High School administrators about a birthday surprise.

Hovanec says he's glad to finally get his diploma 67 years after he came home from World War II.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/27/world-war-ii-vet-5-finally-gets-high-school-diploma/?test=latestnews#ixzz1z0LGDUUP

Rugged mountains yield hundreds of WWII-era plane crashes of lost "Hump Airmen"

The mountainous region known as The Hump may contain as many as 700 WWII-era crash sites. Here, the wing of a C-109 bulk fuel transport plane appears in the dense jungle. This plane went down over the Hump on July 17, 1945.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/24/rugged-mountains-yield-hundreds-wwii-era-plane-crashes-lost-hump-airmen/#ixzz1ycvbYGM9

You can also read more about the search at: http://www.miarecoveries.org/

D-Day medic still haunted by 'the boy on the beach'

D-Day from the point of view of a surviving medic. Full story here.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/06/68-years-later-wwii-medic-paratrooper-recount-d-day-invasion/#ixzz1x1XxIe35