Episode XXXX: "Hit the Fleet & Earn Your Keep!"; Cmdr John B. Lipinski, US Navy, Ret.
Navy stumbles thru a mixed bag of underwhelming aircraft at the dawn of the jet age; Missile? Is that a Sidewinder in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?; Props - back to those? VA 56 - from "Boomerangs" to "Champions"; No "Jack-of-All-Trades on these decks!; Monopoly? - as in "Game of"?
More on the deadly space that is a carrier flight deck during operations; white shirts & red crosses; from av gas to kerosene; 12 gauge engines?; jet blast takes out two; 16ft leads to 7hrs; a forgotten sailor; in cast for how many weeks?; arresting wire best instrument for severing legs; remember to jump; "Scooter" doesn't score - this time.
Capt. O'Neil USMC relates some of his first experiences in Vietnam; Bumped for a General's Mess; Shot down; Geopolitical situation of Southeast Asia at the time; Tet Offensive 1968: Battle for Hue & the savagery of urban combat.
Yeoman 1st Class E6 Susan Flanagan speaks more about her roommate who spent her service time "in the closet", a stunning moment while on the shooting range, and her love & dedication for Veterans.
Colonel McAleer states his initial reluctance to sit down and discuss his experiences; friends & comrades lost on 9/11; his first experience with death when serving at Dover AFB in the wake of the Jim Jones Gyuana mass suicide.
How do you pick up a Heavyweight Champion's girlfriend? - hit first & ask questions later; statues with memorandums; the Master Mind team; not old enough yet; hard hat diver gets SEAL Team escort; credit card controls 50 drones; 7 1/2lb weapons are lethal; Skynet smiles: drones with uncanny abilities; U.S. universities are bilked by China & Russia; "15/20 Community" - some are more special than others.
Episode LVVII
More in depth on the loss of Blue Angels Leader Cmdr Harley Hall, US Navy in the last battle of a war finally ending; classified info; Hall's RIO (Radar Intercept Officer) shot through the thigh; witnesses Cmdr Hall alive; tour North Vietnam on foot; OV to the rescue!; Shot down; the North Vietnamese did WHAT???!!! No Geneva Convention here! POW's off the books & abandoned.
Stealing a Heavyweight Champion's Date & a Party with "Ol' Blue Eyes"!; who's the bravest of the brave?; entrepreneurs ahead of the tech curve; nifty inventions; word of mouth the best reference; Wildcats on deck! - rebuilding Grumman F4F's; "I fly F-4's."; "I fly MIG's."; art museums lead to air museums; the Sidewinder has a unique pedigree; enter The Rat Pack, Palm Springs hiatus; a statue to greatness.
Episode LXXI
Former Staff Sergeant E6 Glendricht J. Frazier begins his recount of his military career. Upon his deployment to South Vietnam in 1965 he finds himself detailed to a Graves Registration unit.
Buckle up: this is the reality of war. When the battle is over, then begins yet another struggle.
Lost wives, found children, & sneaky cocktails - a bit more behind the scenes with CDR John B. Lipinski, U.S. Navy, Ret., reflecting on his 38yr naval career.
2 lost wives; here's to a military career!; mind of a steel trap; May '51-Oct '89; 11 cruises at sea; Globetrotting; family affair nixed; sneaky cocktails endure; here's to good wives; "kiss your wife - all the time!; secrets of looking youthful; "a testament for my children".
Episode LXX