The “almost got killed” incidents were near airplane crashes, not combat. In one, we were cleared to do a touch-and-go at an airport where an airline 707 was also doing the same thing. He was ahead of us. There was very low visibility. When we touched down and were rolling along the runway, we suddently saw just in front of us the tail of the 707, which had stopped instead of continuing. Because we were in a turboprop (P-3 Orion), we were able to get almost instant power and essentially hopped over the 707 with inches to spare and back to the runway. The tower frequency had a lot of blue language for about five minutes. Had we been in a jet or internal combustion engine aircraft, we would have been dead.

This happened as I was standing behind the flight engineer watching (not exactly regulation, but more fun that sitting in my seat with a four point restraint, helmet with visor down, fireproof gloves on and all the rest).

I lost a squadron friend in something trivial, except it was fatal. The P-3 he was in stalled at about 100 above the runway (eggregious pilot error). All aboard were killed.

There were other incidents (near midair with an astronaut flying into Moffett, for example). Furthermore, we spent a lot of time flying circles at about 100 feet above the ocean. Another friend of mine survived a crash where the pilot apparently lost focus for a few seconds and went into the drink. Only 2 survived.

I just have one ARRRGH moment – when you refer to that story of you almost dying. Dude, you CANNOT do that. You don’t tease people with a line like that and then let it go. I get the impression that you don’t want to tell the story, and that’s fine, but please for the love of Gawd, in the future don’t open up a can like that and then leave it!

-ron

This might seem like an attempt to steal your fire, but we’ve come the same road. All my life I have had the temperment of a liberal but the reason of a conservative. Liberalism, in my mind, is dead now; has been replaced by a strange new thing called Leftism. I won’t belabor this point here anymore except to say that The Enlightenment is dead on the Left, the use of reason, empiricism, and a common acceptance of The Good over The Bad, are gone completely on The Left.

Not even a shell remains, only primitivism. Gone with the major ideas that have propelled us across the centuries to this point are decency, loyalty, sacrifice, effort, manners, restraint, honesty, humility, integrity, honor, courage, all the civilizing virtues. Leftism is barbarism in an expensive suit.

The rise of this new thing coincides unfortunately with The New War we are fighting. You’re right. This is a war to the death, a struggle among (not between) civilizations. We have two enemies. Islamofascism and its own Death wish, and The Left, with its version of the same thing. Leftism and all its variants across The West includes some of the most debased impulses civilization has produced.

A great shift is underway in the world; I don’t think we know what it is yet, but it’s dangerous, and can’t be understood by focusing on, say, the latest toxic emission from Frank Lautenberg or Ted Kennedy or even Kerry. They are just suppurating scabs on the diseased surface of Western Culture. They will be scraped off by events here and abroad, and will be lost to history. That’s a certainty.

By the way, your lead-in paragraph of your comments section says you won’t give out email addresses to the guys who fly black helicopters. Its ok, they already have mine.