Archive for the ‘Tributes’ Category
Tuesday, November 11th, 2014
This year for Veteran’s Day, I thought I would take the time to recognize some of SF’s writers who served in the Armed Forces. Although mainly looking at U.S. writers, I’ll also be recognizing some of the British Commonwealth writers as well.
Robert A. Heinlein, one of SF’s Three Grand Masters, ...
Posted in Armed Forces, SF Fandom, Tributes | Comments Off on SF Writers Who Served
Thursday, April 18th, 2013
Today marks the 71st Anniversary of the Doolittle Raid, the famous raid on the Japanese homelands in the opening months of the U.S. involvement in World War 2. Only four of the Raiders are still with us, and they held their last public gathering, with three of the men gathering ...
Posted in Armed Forces, Tributes | Comments Off on 71ST Anniversary of the Doolittle Raid
Wednesday, June 6th, 2012
68 years ago today, the Normandy Invasion took place. This would put one of the final nails into the coffin of Hitler’s regime, bring about the liberation of France and the rest of Western Europe, and cost thousands of Allied lives. One of the bloodiest battles in WWII, those who ...
Posted in Armed Forces, Tributes | Comments Off on D-Day, 68 Years Later
Saturday, May 26th, 2012
On May 26th, 1907, 105 years ago, John Wayne (born Marion Robert Morrison, and later changed to Marion Mitchell Morrison) was born.
For those who know me, you know that I am a big John Wayne fan. He has always been, and always will be, my favorite movie star. He is ...
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Tuesday, January 11th, 2011
I read about it first on BigPeace last night, and one of my writing partners on LibertySF has also written about this.
Major Richard "Dick" Winters has passed away at the age of 92. He was the company commander of Easy Company, 2nd, Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry, of the 101st Air ...
Posted in Armed Forces, Tributes | Comments Off on Rest Well, Major Winters
Thursday, September 23rd, 2010
Captain Robert C. Truax (USN - Retired) passed away over the weekend. According to the notice on the AIAA website, "Capt. Robert C. Truax, past president of the American Rocket Society, organizer of the U.S. Naval Missile Test Center's propulsion research laboratory at Point Mugu, Calif., and AIAA Honorary ...
Posted in Science, Space, Tributes | Comments Off on Bob Truax, Last of the Rocketmen
Thursday, August 19th, 2010
D-Day Piper Bill Millin has passed away at the age of 88. For those of you who don't know who he was, he was the British commando under Lord Lovat who played the pipes during the D-Day invasion and immortalized in the movie "The Longest Day".
From the NY Times:
Mr. Millin ...
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Monday, December 7th, 2009
It was 68 years ago today that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into World War 2. The Empire of Japan planned and executed the surprise attack; although their intentions were to have a Declaration of War delivered just prior to the beginning of the attack, that ...
Posted in Armed Forces, Tributes | Comments Off on Pearl Harbor 68 Years After
Friday, December 4th, 2009
Gregory "Pappy" Boyington was born on this day in 1912. Pappy was a Marine Corps fighter pilot during World War 2, being awarded our nation's highest medal, the Congressional Medal of Honor. Boyington also served in the American Volunteer Group, the Flying Tigers, during the lead-up to the u.S. entry ...
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Friday, August 14th, 2009
I laid Tasha to rest on Saturday.
She had been suffering from arthritis for some time, but we didn't know to what extent. Early last month, the folks at the pet clinic we go to took some new x-rays. They spotted the worst case of arthritis they had ever seen in ...
Posted in Tributes | Comments Off on Tasha, Now running the Great Iditarod in the Sky
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009
I heard about this story while listening to Greg and Melissa on KS95 this morning. It is a heart-wrenching story that stopped me in my tracks. It is the story of a real American hero, who not only gave his life for his country, but went on to save another ...
Posted in Armed Forces, Tributes | Comments Off on Benjamin Kopp – A Real American Hero
Thursday, February 19th, 2009
February 20th marks the birthday of Robert Augustus Sweeney, born that date in 1853. Sweeney is interesting historically as being one of only 19 (currently) men who have been awarded two Medals of Honor. He is also the only African-American to hold that distinction.
Sweeney was a Navy man, and as ...
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Thursday, September 11th, 2008
Today marks the 7th anniversary of that tragic day when terrorists rammed airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing thousands of innocent people. It was a day of great heroism as well as a day of infamy.
Infamy because Islamic terrorists finally accomplished one of their greatest goals: ...
Posted in Tributes | Comments Off on Undaunted Courage
Tuesday, March 4th, 2008
The last 36 hours have been a sad time for me. Yesterday morning, while we were getting ready to head for home from the extended weekend at MarsCon, I received a call from the guys that run the kennel where the Katya and Tasha go for doggie camp when we ...
Posted in Tributes | Comments Off on Katya, Now Running In The Big Iditarod In The Sky
Friday, July 6th, 2007
Like many longtime SF fans my age, I grew up on the writings of Robert A. Heinlein. Saturday marks the Centennial Anniversary of Heinlein's birth. A lot of people I know will be at one or another SF Convention (I'll be at convergence) taking place this weekend, including ...
Posted in SF Fandom, Tributes | Comments Off on Centenial of Robert A. Heinlein’s Birth
Saturday, May 26th, 2007
Today is the Centennial of John Wayne's birth. Happy Birthday, Duke!
The John Wayne's first big role was The Big Trail, made in 1930. But it wasn't until his role as the Ringo Kid in Stagecoach that he achieved stardom, and deservedly so. I can't compare the two ...
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Thursday, February 22nd, 2007
Today is Washington's Birthday. Sometimes Americans, especially younger ones who grew up in age where we celebrate President's Day as opposed to Washington's Birthday, lose sight of this event.
Washington was not a politician, but a statesman, as well as a great general. The difference between a statesman and ...
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