Can anyone name all the Marines and the one sailor in this photo?
Top Harper
____________
Great photo, Top. Thanks for sharing. I know many but not all of those unmasked men.
Det 4, Headquarters 4th Marine Division - Chicago Marines
Sunday, February 28, 2021
Thursday, February 25, 2021
Lynn Wardlow - Some Det History
Some DET 4 History
Lynn Wardlow
After coming off 4 years of active duty I went back to school, got my mathematics degree, and started teaching in MN. I joined an MTU and later was encouraged by OIC Col Burke to apply for SMCR duty with Det 4 in Chicago as they were seeking 0800 officers. I did and Col Weinlieder (sp?), the OIC then, called me and we set up an interview.
What is amusing is I had just had a vasectomy on Friday but though still quite sore I agreed to meet the Col in Tomah, WI, on Saturday. He was shocked and a little embarrassed when he asked me why I was walking so timidly and I told him about the vasectomy. For me to drive 4 hours or so for this interview while in pain must have impressed him. I was hired and began drilling the next month. This was in the fall of 1982 or 1983, not exactly sure of the time frame.
Colonel Waters was our next OIC and then things got serious. We learned this new war game called Steelthrust and the training of Reserve Battalion command staffs began. Soon whenever a Battalion was slated for a CAX they would invite Det 4 to come do an exercise for them. I think we usually had 28 controllers surrounding a large map board, we gave them an order and the fun began. As far as the Bn staff knew it could have been a real exercise in the field because all of the com lines were active and radio traffic came across just as it does in actual combat.
I remember Col Waters had one of our drills in Washington D.C. where we were informing the Marines about Steelthrust and how it could be an aid to Bn staffs. My memory is foggy here but we may have been advertising our expertise at MCCRES as well at that same meeting as we had moved into that arena.
Speaking of MCCRES, we did one for a Bn at Camp Ripley, MN. There was a restaurant/bar just outside the base where we ate (and had a few beers). There was an Army officer and an Army medic there having a beer at the bar. We got along well with the officer but the medic, a Vietnam vet starting bad mouthing Marines and relating how he had seen some of them die in a very derisive manner.
Colonel Waters was our next OIC and then things got serious. We learned this new war game called Steelthrust and the training of Reserve Battalion command staffs began. Soon whenever a Battalion was slated for a CAX they would invite Det 4 to come do an exercise for them. I think we usually had 28 controllers surrounding a large map board, we gave them an order and the fun began. As far as the Bn staff knew it could have been a real exercise in the field because all of the com lines were active and radio traffic came across just as it does in actual combat.
I remember Col Waters had one of our drills in Washington D.C. where we were informing the Marines about Steelthrust and how it could be an aid to Bn staffs. My memory is foggy here but we may have been advertising our expertise at MCCRES as well at that same meeting as we had moved into that arena.
Speaking of MCCRES, we did one for a Bn at Camp Ripley, MN. There was a restaurant/bar just outside the base where we ate (and had a few beers). There was an Army officer and an Army medic there having a beer at the bar. We got along well with the officer but the medic, a Vietnam vet starting bad mouthing Marines and relating how he had seen some of them die in a very derisive manner.
Col Waters was sitting there and took offense to that and this idiot said, "you are a Col? You look more like a Gunny to me." I was right next to the Col and was already upset with his comments but calling our Col a gunny was the last straw. I stood up and was ready to punch him but the Army officer stepped in and escorted the drunk medic out.
This guy had pissed all of us off and we decided if we saw him again we would do something. I believe we brought a rope along the next night (MCCRES hadn't started yet) and were prepared to tie him up and just let him sit there. When he came in we gathered around him with the rope but he got scared and ran out. If anyone remembers this episode please correct me as my memory may not be accurate. Maybe we did not have a rope and just talked about it, but I do remember we chased him out of the bar.
I have several more stories but my memory is waning although I fondly remember the “Town Cars in attack”. We worked hard in the field but often came back for some “comfort time” in nice motels.
I was with the Det 13 years, longer than I was supposed to but I enjoyed it immensely. The Det even gave me a rocking chair when I retired. The friendships formed will last for ever.
Lynn Wardlow
I have several more stories but my memory is waning although I fondly remember the “Town Cars in attack”. We worked hard in the field but often came back for some “comfort time” in nice motels.
I was with the Det 13 years, longer than I was supposed to but I enjoyed it immensely. The Det even gave me a rocking chair when I retired. The friendships formed will last for ever.
Lynn Wardlow
________________
Lynn D. Wardlow (born November 11, 1943) is a former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, where he represented District 38B from 2003-2009. The district includes over half of the city of Eagan in Dakota County, which is in the southeastern part of the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
A Republican, he was elected to the open seat vacated by Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty in 2002. As a legislator, he focused on the issues of education, transportation, tax reduction, small business promotion, and health care reform.[1]
While in office, Wardlow served on the following House committees: E-12 Education, Early Childhood Learning Finance Division, Education Finance and Economic Competitiveness Finance Division, Mental Health Division, and Veterans Affairs Division.[2]
1st Lt. Lynn Wardlow receiving Navy Commendation with "Combat V"
Before running for political office, Wardlow was a middle school and high school mathematics teacher and coach for over 30 years in the Rosemount-Eagan-Apple Valley School District. He also served in Vietnam in 1969 as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps, earning two Navy Commendation Medals with one a Combat V. He retired from the Marine Corps Reserve in 1995 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He holds a B.A. from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and a M.S. in Mathematics from Mankato State University in Mankato.[3][4]
In the November 2008 general election, Wardlow was unseated by Democrat Mike Obermueller in his bid for a fourth term.[5] His son, Doug Wardlow, subsequently ran for the same seat in the 2010 general election, unseating Obermueller.[6
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Wardlow
A Republican, he was elected to the open seat vacated by Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty in 2002. As a legislator, he focused on the issues of education, transportation, tax reduction, small business promotion, and health care reform.[1]
While in office, Wardlow served on the following House committees: E-12 Education, Early Childhood Learning Finance Division, Education Finance and Economic Competitiveness Finance Division, Mental Health Division, and Veterans Affairs Division.[2]
Before running for political office, Wardlow was a middle school and high school mathematics teacher and coach for over 30 years in the Rosemount-Eagan-Apple Valley School District. He also served in Vietnam in 1969 as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps, earning two Navy Commendation Medals with one a Combat V. He retired from the Marine Corps Reserve in 1995 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He holds a B.A. from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and a M.S. in Mathematics from Mankato State University in Mankato.[3][4]
In the November 2008 general election, Wardlow was unseated by Democrat Mike Obermueller in his bid for a fourth term.[5] His son, Doug Wardlow, subsequently ran for the same seat in the 2010 general election, unseating Obermueller.[6
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_Wardlow
Monday, February 15, 2021
George P Schultz
A Fitting Gift For A Man Of Honor The Icon
We lost a national treasure on 6 February 2021. Those of us privileged to know the Honorable George P. Shultz have lasting memories of him. I first met Secretary Shultz when I was a national security affairs fellow at the Hoover Institution. He loved teaching and sharing his wisdom. According to one story I heard about his time as secretary of state, he would meet every ambassador before they headed overseas. He would invite the ambassador to his office, where he kept a large globe, and when he asked the envoy to point to his or her country, each would fall into his trap. As they pointed to Burkina Faso or Finland, Secretary Shultz would move their finger, spin the globe, and point to the United States. “That’s your country,” he would say. He caught me off guard a few times, too, I have to admit. But I’m pleased to say there was one special occasion where a few of us successfully conspired to catch the Secretary himself off guard. It’s a story worth sharing.
The Idea
Major George P. Shultz, USMCR (Ret.), was about to be ambushed. No, the year was not 1942 and the location was not the Pacific theater of World War II. That was seventy-three years in the past. This ambush was being laid at San Francisco International Airport. The Honorable George P. Shultz had chosen a significant day to return home from a trip to Washington. November 10, 2015, was the 240th birthday of the United States Marine Corps. All across the globe, Marines pause on that day to conduct a formal cake-cutting ceremony, share camaraderie, and reflect on those who went before.
Colonel Tom Prentice was making final preparations, directing a detachment of Marines clad in dress blue. As the commanding officer of 23d Marines, he had been tipped off to the details of Secretary Shultz’s travel schedule by
Major General Mike Myatt, USMC (Ret.), then-president and CEO of the Marines’ Memorial Club. Colors, cake, beverages, script for the ceremony, all was in order.
The captain’s voice came over the loudspeaker: “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m going to ask you to remain in your seats as we allow a special guest to deplane first this afternoon.” Before anyone knew what was happening, Colonel Prentice had approached Secretary Shultz and escorted him off the plane to a private space in the terminal. There, the traditional reading of the commandant’s message, cake cutting, and singing of the “Marines’ Hymn” ensued. When the formalities ended, Secretary Shultz held school— bootcamp wisdom. He shared the story of being issued his M1 rifle at bootcamp and rule number one from his drill instructor: don’t point your rifle at anything you don’t intend to kill. No empty threats—a lesson he never forgot and later shared with President Reagan.
Secretary Shultz shook hands with every Marine present. Then, as he started to leave for home, he paused. “You gentlemen look sharp in your dress blues,” he remarked. “You know, I never got my dress blue uniform. In World War II, I was issued only camouflage utilities and greens.” (Greens refers to the olive-colored Marine Summer Service Alpha uniform—military for business attire.) As the guest of honor left the airport, Major General Myatt issued a mission order.
“We need to get Secretary Shultz his dress blues!”
The Project
Mission orders are simple. Marines love mission orders because they tell you what to do but not how to do it. That night I scribbled a project outline on a notepad. In the margin, I started a list of people whose help we’d need. We would have to find out the Secretary’s measurements. We needed his military records to know his awards and decorations. We would need a venue. We would need to inform Headquarters Marine Corps in Washington
and ask the Marine Commandant to write a letter.
George Pratt Shultz was born on 13 December 1920 in New York City. He served on active duty in the Marines from 1942 to 1945. As an artillery officer, he saw action in the Pacific, including the battles for Tarawa and Peleliu. After the war, he remained an officer in the Marine Corps Reserve for eight years, finally leaving military service as a major.
Secretary Shultz was ninety-four years old when he remarked that he had never received his dress blue uniform. His ninety-fifth birthday was fast approaching. What a perfect opportunity to publicly rectify an oversight from 1942. One month to recreate a uniform that was never issued? No problem. Our first trusted agent had to be the Secretary’s wife, Charlotte. She was read into the plan before anyone else, and she loved the idea. With timing and venue set, it was on to the next task.
A person’s clothing measurements can be like a Social Security number or e mail password: a bit personal. So how do we get them? I knew Secretary Shultz was a friend of renowned clothier Wilkes Bashford. A wonderful man and an iconic figure for decades in San Francisco, Wilkes had fitted the Secretary for a suit or two, so he became the second trusted agent read into the plan. He was delighted, embracing the plan as if it were his own. A few privacy regulations violated, perhaps . . . but with no arm twisting, the measurements of one George P. Shultz were delivered via the phone. E-mail was a no-go. Matters such as these are best done telephonically so as not to leave a paper trail. Wilkes offered to custom tailor the garments once they were delivered from the manufacturer on the East Coast. Most important, we agreed to the highly classified nature of this project. Loose lips sink ships and ruin birthday parties.
With the information from Wilkes, we contacted the Marine Shop in Quantico, Virginia, and placed the order. Dress Blue Coat, Dress Blue Trousers, White Dress Shirt, Khaki Belt and Buckle, Cuff Links, Sam Browne Belt, Collar Strip, Gold Oak Leaves, White Gloves, and Field Grade Cover. For
black socks and shoes, the honoree would be on his own.
From Secretary Shultz’s military record, also obtained through undisclosed sources, we were able to list the medals and ribbons authorized for wear. The Living Memorial Director at the Marines’ Memorial Club requisitioned exact replica medals and expedited their delivery. It was coming together.
The next day I contacted Headquarters, Marine Corps, to request a letter from the Commandant of the Marine Corps to Major Shultz, USMCR. In my time at the Pentagon, I had met the Commandant’s secretary. It’s important to know that generals come and go at the Pentagon, but the civil servants who work in their front offices, and who know everything, remain. They’re the single best source of intelligence in the puzzle palace. With the help of the Commandant’s secretary, we expedited this piece of correspondence. Within a fortnight, a letter from the Commandant, General Robert B. Neller, had been signed and sent to San Francisco.
Make Ready
On 10 December 2015, three days before the big event, I went to retrieve the uniform from Wilkes Bashford. He and his tailoring staff were justly proud of their work. Final cuts and hems were complete, and the uniform had been placed on a mannequin. For security, we placed a garment bag over the entire ensemble. I thanked Wilkes profusely. It was the last time I saw the famous clothier, who succumbed to cancer only six weeks later.
My main co-conspirator in the birthday jinks was a gentleman named Ed Flowers, a veteran of the Marines and the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department and a persistent force for good in the world. As we emerged from the Wilkes Bashford store on Sutter Street with what looked like a human body wrapped in burlap, we attracted a bit more attention than we intended. Under the gaze of onlookers who had probably all seen Weekend at Bernie’s, we struggled to unlock Ed’s car and ungracefully jammed the mannequin into the back seat and took off in a hurry. Destination: safe
house, to complete assembly and inspection of the final product.
The Sam Browne Belt, with its shoulder strap threaded through the shoulder epaulet, was buckled into place. Devices, insignia, and medals were carefully placed to comply with strict Marine Corps uniform regulations. Thanks to Ed,
the letter from the Commandant of the Marine Corps had been expertly matted and framed.
Birthday Jinks
Everyone knows that when Charlotte Shultz throws a party it will be original, exquisite, and memorable. Her husband’s ninety-fifth on 13 December 2015 was no exception. The theme was golf, a game the Secretary enjoyed well into his nineties. Each guest received a gift bag with chocolate and commemorative golf balls. Light and dark blue balloons made a sky out of the ceiling. A large banner read “95 is the new 72.” Or, as golfers would say, “95 is the new par for life.”
Ed Flowers and I arrived at the Shultz residence an hour early. A detachment from the 23rd Marines also arrived; they would actually present the uniform. We also enlisted the services of a Marine musician to play the “Marines’ Hymn” on the trumpet. There was barely time for a single, rudimentary rehearsal. Fortunately, Marines realize that detailed planning and rehearsals are overrated. How you execute is what counts.
The space filled quickly. The guests included senators and San Francisco’s mayor, Ed Lee. Just as the dining and entertainment, capped by Beach Blanket Babylon show tunes, seemed to be winding down, a lone trumpet sounded from atop a spiral staircase. Secretary Shultz was the first to his feet. Marines instinctively stand at attention when their hymn is played. Every guest followed suit and stood for the playing of the “Marines’ Hymn.” Two Marines in dress blues then marched to the stage and unveiled the final gift of the night.
Colonel Prentice, who had escorted the Secretary off the plane a month before, made the official presentation and read aloud the Commandant’s letter. Then Secretary Shultz took the stage. He touched the fabric, acknowledging the medals he had earned. He told his guests about the special calling and the making of a Marine.
In his letter, General Neller expressed gratitude for the Secretary’s “years of leadership and diplomacy” and his contributions to “decades of peace and prosperity.” He also recalled Major Shultz to duty in the Inactive Reserve, noting approvingly that he was “still in compliance with our stringent height and weight standards and have maintained your personal fitness and rifle marksmanship.”
“Knowing your seabag is packed and that you are ready to ship out on short notice,” the Commandant’s letter concluded, “makes all of us here at Headquarters Marine Corps sleep a bit easier.”
Mission accomplished.
On Parade
This uniform was not going to hang in a closet or be a decoration. The sacred cloth was meant to be worn. After his ninety-fifth birthday, Secretary Shultz wore his uniform to numerous functions, including appearances at a Fleet Week Tribute to Marine Forces Reserve in 2016 and as the guest of honor at the Marine Corps Birthday Ball in San Francisco in 2018.
George P. Shultz continued to contribute to critical issues of the day even past the century mark. To the end, he was a prolific writer and found ways to serve the nation while educating and inspiring practitioners and students of all generations. The cornerstone of his philosophy and attitude toward life, he would always tell you, is to never give up. Always be engaged. Always be working on something important and worthwhile.
Bootcamp wisdom, indeed.
Semper Fi, Marine, and carry on.
_____________
Thanks to Larry Magilligan For Sharing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Shultz
Sunday, February 14, 2021
Major General Douglas J. Peacher - 23 Nov 1912 to 11 Sep 1995 Rest in Peach Semper Fi
Douglas J Peacher - Middle Row, Second From Right
Bob Dart
________________
Thanks, Bob. There is not too much about Major General Peacher. I found the article below online.
Craig Hullinger
Marines to Attack Cong Village in County (Section B) Fri.. Aug. 12, 1966 By KARL R. EDGERTON Sun - Military Editor
________________
An American general living in Canada will lead 2,000 Marines in an assault on a Viet Cong village in San Bernardino County next week. It's all part of '"Operation Sidewinder, ''an air-ground training exercise to be staged Tuesday through Thursday at the sprawling Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Base. Marine Reservists from Salt Lake City. Utah, to Indianapolis, Ind., will storm a thatch hut village at the base of a mountain to climax two weeks of intensive summer training.
Heading Operation Sidewinder is a 37 year veteran. Brig. Gen. Douglas J. Peacher, 53, who in civilian life is President of Simpsons-Sears Ltd. of Canada. One of 10 Marine Corps Reserve general officers, Peacher flew from his home in Toronto to command the summer training exercise at the high desert base.
The reservists from 10 specialized units are undergoing training conditions similar to those faced daily by regulars fighting in Viet Nam, including" extreme heat. The three day battle will be fought over __ acres with fighter planes from Yuma. Ariz., furnishing aerial support for the leathernecks.
Huts and shrines in the Viet Cong village will be hooln-traped with devices and snares, including bamboo lined pits. Marines recently returned from combat in Viet Nam will act as Vietnamese villagers and attempt to harass the invaders with demonstrations and ambushes. The exercise will be a full fledged combat type, complete with infantry, tanks and planes, according to Gen. readier. "It is designed to furnish the reservists with the same te of problems Marines contend with at this time.
Peacher, who enlisted in the Marines when be was 17, saw action from Guadalcanal to Bougainville during World War II. Born in the Deep South he is "the first member of my family to cross the Mason-Dixon Line and now I'm living in Canada.'
There has never been a day since his enlistment in 1929 that he has not been associated with the Marine Corps, either as a reserve or on active duty. 'J remember the early days of the reserve when we had to grub for every piece of equipment we got," Gen. Peacher recalled.
Dedication of Peacher Memorial Hall Held
Dedication ceremonies were held on Friday, 13 October 2000 in the main ballroom of the Cadet Activities Center, officially renaming it the “Peacher Memorial Hall” in memory of Major General Douglas J. Peacher, USMC and Mrs. Gwendolyn E. Peacher.It was approximately 11 years ago that General and Mrs. Peacher visited the campus of the Marine Military Academy. They, like all Marines, became enamored with the Academy and were truly impressed with the cadets with whom they came into contact. Thus began a love affair between the Peachers and the cadets of the Marine Military Academy.
General Peacher rose to become a prominent citizen of America from very humble beginnings. He wrote of having lived through a wonderful and dramatic period in history. “From the mule, wagon, horse and buggy period to seeing my first airplane as a country school kid, (not realizing that I would one day pilot a plane myself) to flying 2 1/2 times the speed of sound, longing to fly to the moon and beyond. Few people in the world have equaled my rich experiences- farm and nature, Marine Corps, civilian life, USMC air, ground and sea,” he stated. “God has been good and God has been kind.”
General Peacher was both a Marine Corps warrior and a very successful businessman. He not only rose to the rank of Major General in the Marine Corps Reserve, but also was the CEO of all Sears in Canada before his retirement. He saw many young men here whom he felt could reach a position in life similar to his and he wanted to assist them.
Gwendolyn Peacher, not only the wife of a Major General in the Corps, was a most successful woman in her own right. She had a great interest in the arts, particularly dance, folk art and music. She longed to make, and actually did make, the world a better place in which to live. She was a true humanitarian; she was kind, generous and compassionate; she was quick to recognize and appreciate these qualities in others. She was recognized for these qualities by becoming knighted, Dame of the Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem.
The Peachers, though having no children, will live on in perpetuity through their generous gift to the Academy and the cadets of MMA.
The unveiling of the memorial plaque was done by Mr. Douglas Monroe, grand nephew of the Peachers, assisted by the Cadet Battalion Commander, C/Lt.Col Boire. The memorial plaque was read by Mrs. Laura Peacher Monroe, niece of the Peachers. Mr. Monroe was also a former MMA graduate, Class of 1992.
Mrs. Peacher obituary
Kicking off a fund-raising drive for Young People's Theatre at St. Lawrence Centre yesterday, Douglas Peacher (right), honorary chairman of campaign and president of Simpson-sears Ltd., and Mrs. William Francis, project chairman, host Metro children who attended performance of Joey's Surprise Party.
Friday, February 12, 2021
4th Marine Division History
https://www.marines.mil/Portals/1/Publications/History%20of%20the%204th%20Marine%20Division%201943-2000%20%20PCN%2019000306300_1.pdf
https://www.marforres.marines.mil/Major-Subordinate-Commands/4th-Marine-Division/
The 4th Marine Division is a reserve division in the United States Marine Corps. It was raised in 1943 for service during World War II, and subsequently fought in the Pacific against the Japanese.
This Week the 4th Marine Division would like to spotlight Hospital Corpsman (
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In January 1944 the 4th Marine Division sailed from San Diego for the Marshall Islands, Roi-Namur in the Kwajalein Atoll. Operation "Flintlock" was the first ...
Oct 1, 2018 — Unit Information. Fourth Marine Division is the largest ground combat element in the Marine Corps and is comprised of approximately 22,000 ...
This 2d Marine Division shoulder patch was worn on Saipan. ... All the units were now finally together, and thus the 4th Marine Division was formally activated on ...
Wednesday, February 10, 2021
Super Bowl Fly Over 2021
Click to view a video
Background and Planning - Simulation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHrRZfhU6Tw
Folks, below is a letter my friend Pepper sent me that he had received from friends involved in the flyby, which I believe was three aircraft - a B1, a B2, and a B-52.
John Wilkes
__________
Subject: Super bowl flyby
Dear Friends,
Please allow a proud father to tell you the rest of the story.
Talked to Chris yesterday on his way home and congratulated him on a great flyby. Turns out it was a lot more challenging than it looked!
Despite all the pre-briefings, advance coordination, a practice run, and a major emphasis on things going according to a to-the-second schedule, CBS and the Super Bowl folks almost caused a 2 and 1/2 minute early arrival. Chris had requested a definite "stake in the ground" time for the last commercial to start prior to the National Anthem so he could have his flight at the IP (Initial Point) at the right time for the run-in. After Chris started the bombers in from their holding pattern (that was 14 miles away) so as to arrive at the IP on time, they delayed the commercial for 2 and 1/2 minutes, meaning the flight would arrive 2 and 1/2 minutes early. While that might seem like a lot of time to perform a racetrack orbit, it's not a lot of time to turn three large bombers in formation.
Folks, below is a letter my friend Pepper sent me that he had received from friends involved in the flyby, which I believe was three aircraft - a B1, a B2, and a B-52.
John Wilkes
__________
Subject: Super bowl flyby
Dear Friends,
Please allow a proud father to tell you the rest of the story.
Talked to Chris yesterday on his way home and congratulated him on a great flyby. Turns out it was a lot more challenging than it looked!
Despite all the pre-briefings, advance coordination, a practice run, and a major emphasis on things going according to a to-the-second schedule, CBS and the Super Bowl folks almost caused a 2 and 1/2 minute early arrival. Chris had requested a definite "stake in the ground" time for the last commercial to start prior to the National Anthem so he could have his flight at the IP (Initial Point) at the right time for the run-in. After Chris started the bombers in from their holding pattern (that was 14 miles away) so as to arrive at the IP on time, they delayed the commercial for 2 and 1/2 minutes, meaning the flight would arrive 2 and 1/2 minutes early. While that might seem like a lot of time to perform a racetrack orbit, it's not a lot of time to turn three large bombers in formation.
As Chris was calculating the size of the pattern they needed or rather to try to come up with a zigzag run-in, Super Bowl officials started the next segment (the award for the man of the year) before the commercial was over, meaning the bombers were only going to be 49 seconds early, so a 360-degree turn would have made them late.
Fortunately, Chris, having planned for all contingencies, had prepared an elaborate excel spreadsheet with timing/airspeed adjustments needed for each point along the approach based on what was happening on the ground -- he even had time-to-go calculations for key words in the National Anthem! Remarkably, he was able to slow these big aircraft enough to have them cross the 50-yard line right on the last note of the anthem, as planned. Added to the pressure, the lead aircraft was not able to use one of its radios because of an antenna malfunction, so they had to use a wingman to talk to approach control so they could talk to Chris on the remaining radio. The run-in produced some tense moments!
Interesting facts for my pilot friends: because the B-2 (flight
lead) has a very small vertical profile and no tail structure (after all, it is a stealth aircraft!), the two wingmen had to fly a little bit higher than lead to give them a reference point to focus on to stay in position. The formation had a block altitude of 1200 - 1400 feet (AGL) to give them the FAA-required 1,000 feet above the highest light towers at Raymond James Stadium.
Thanks for all the messages of thanks for advising you of the flyby and Chris' role in it. I thought all of you would enjoy his team's efforts to provide a perfect flyby and produce a little national pride.
Interesting facts for my pilot friends: because the B-2 (flight
lead) has a very small vertical profile and no tail structure (after all, it is a stealth aircraft!), the two wingmen had to fly a little bit higher than lead to give them a reference point to focus on to stay in position. The formation had a block altitude of 1200 - 1400 feet (AGL) to give them the FAA-required 1,000 feet above the highest light towers at Raymond James Stadium.
Thanks for all the messages of thanks for advising you of the flyby and Chris' role in it. I thought all of you would enjoy his team's efforts to provide a perfect flyby and produce a little national pride.
He and his 3-person run-in crew made the perfect flyby look easy. Lots of behind-the-scenes work for a few seconds of thrills and pride!
God bless you all. And God bless America.
Ken and Ginny
God bless you all. And God bless America.
Ken and Ginny
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