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Category Archives: b-17

B-17 via One Lucky Reporter Who is my BIL

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

So I know this guy, who is a reporter. He is one of the new breed of backpack reporters who do all the work in the field: shoot, edit, transmit all from the company Ford Explorer. He shot this WWII piece last summer, and I’m still pissed he called to gloat just before take off.

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WW II Across the Country

Monday, July 11, 2011

I recently finished up a three week trip by car across the US visiting National Parks. It was an _amazing_ experience seeing Mesa Verde, Zion, Arches and Moab, Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Mt. Rushmore. Plus I had some time in-between to rest/refit at my parents place in northern Utah, where, it turns out, they have […]

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B-17 Ride Along

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

So…I logged into Facebook and I saw that my brother in law, who is a cameraman for a TV station in SLC, flew in a B-17 yesterday. Wait. What? He did what? So there was the B-17 Liberty Belle starting me down, and I couldn’t help but think what a lucky dog he is. He […]

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Air Force (1943)

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

During the Memorial day weekend here in the US, TMC broadcast three days worth of WW2 movies. There were a few I’d read about in other places but never had seen, among them Air Force (1943). The movie begins with a B-17 crew flying its plane (the Mary Jane) to Hawaii on Dec 6, 1941. […]

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Aircraft Art

Monday, July 7, 2008

Some time ago, I saw this notice at my school. The lede is copied here: “The Mary Condon Hodgson Art Gallery will host paintings by Richard Harris from June 7-July 8. Titled ‘Wings of Honor II,’ his paintings are influenced by the world of military aviation.” With school out for the summer and gas prices […]

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Smithsonian Air and Space, #2

Thursday, May 29, 2008

So the area with the WW2 artifacts occupies two rooms the A&S museum in DC, and truth be told, it feels a little  cramped. For a more wide-open experience, check The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (in lovely Dulles near the airport). In this photo, you can see how things are pretty much on top of […]

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The Memphis Belle

Saturday, February 16, 2008

So if you have AMC (the American Movie Channel), perhaps you’ve noticed the recent airing of a movie called the Memphis Belle (1990).   It’s not a bad a flick, and I remember seeing this in the theatre “back in the day” and thought the specials effects were pretty “awesome.”  The industry has come a long […]

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The Swamp Ghost (B17 E)

Sunday, December 30, 2007

I just read an article in the OCT 07 edition of Smithsonian magazine about a B17 E known as the Swamp Ghost.  If you’ve ever spent any time over at pacificwrecks.com, you’ve probably read about it.  Or here at theswampghost.com. The Smithsonian article talks about the making of a legend, but also of its recent salvage by an […]

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Clark Gable and Combat America

Friday, August 10, 2007

I found this poster on the net some time ago, and wondered just what Mr. Gable did in the Army Air Force. Turns out, he was a bit of a player, flying combat missions and then producing the movie Combat America, the first ten minutes of which is linked here via youtube. The narration is […]

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Poet: Randall Jarrell

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

In the 102 class I teach (comp and lit), I have a section of “conflict” poems. For me, it’s not enough to include all the old standards about love or death, identity, or the many in that fat anthology about animals. That’s too easy. “Conflict” types of poems are important to read as well. Among […]

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