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A Toast in Remembrance of the Fallen...


M2

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  • 1 month later...

Woah. :salut:

Awards and decorations:

Silver Star with one Oak Leaf Cluster

Bronze Star with one Oak Leaf Cluster

Purple Heart with three Oak Leaf Clusters

Army Air Medal with eight Oak Leaf Clusters

Army Presidential Unit Citation

Army Good Conduct Medal

American Campaign Medal

European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with arrowhead device and one silver and three bronze campaign stars (eight campaigns)

World War II Victory Medal

Army of Occupation Medal

National Defense Service Medal with one Gold Star

Korean Service Medal with one Arrowhead Device and three campaign stars

Vietnam Service Medal with eight campaign stars

Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation

Republic of Vietnam Presidential Citation

Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm three Awards

United Nations Service Medal for Korea

Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal

Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Unit Award Honor Medal

Republic of Korea War Service Medal, Order of Saint Maurice

Combat Infantryman Badge (third award)

Master Parachutist Badge with five Combat Jump Stars

French Croix de Guerre 82nd Airborne

Belgian Croix de Guerre 82nd Airborne

Dutch Order of the Orange 82nd Airborne

Doughboy Award 1999

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  • 2 months later...
Honoring Neil Armstrong: The House passed legislation that would rename NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California after Neil Armstrong, the first human to walk on the moon. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) introduced the legislation, H.R. 6612, at the end of November. His congressional district includes the western Mojave Desert where Edwards Air Force Base, which hosts the center, is located. The House unanimously passed the bill on Dec. 31 by a vote of 404 to zero. The Senate received the legislation on the next day, but has yet to vote on it. Dryden is NASA's primary center for atmospheric flight research and operations and is considered critical in supporting the agency's space exploration mission. The bill would redesignate Dryden as the NASA Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center in tribute to Armstrong, who died last August at age 82. Under another provision in the bill, NASA's Western Aeronautical Test Range at Edwards would become the NASA Hugh L. Dryden Aeronautical Test Range.
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I had the chance to "meet" Neil Armstrong. It seemed he was taken by his own celebrity, meeting him consisted of shaking his hand and saying hi. Not saying he was a bad guy, just that he seemed to be over taken by his own legend. On the other hand Gene Kranz, is one of the coolest and down to earth famous people on the face of the earth.

The former was a guy you got to shake his hand, the second I got to hang out with and drink a beer.

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  • 4 weeks later...

It is with heavy heart I share with you the passing of a fellow USAF Veteran, Ed Rasimus. Ed was a fighter pilot with two tours in Southeast Asia (F-105D Rolling Thunder & F-4E Linebacker I & II), an educator, and a terrific writer, and at least since 1996 I've been proud to call him a friend.

“So here’s a nickel on the grass to you, my friend, and your spirit, enthusiasm, sacrifice and courage - but most of all to your friendship. Yours is a dying breed and when you are gone, the world will be a lesser place.”

Going to miss you, Ed. Somewhere an F-105 taxied out of chocks today, not headed for Route Package VI, but just cleared for an unlimited climb on departure...

post-1551-0-82435400-1359588901_thumb.jp

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Very, very sad.

I considered Raz one of my mentors, having started to correspond with him in the late 90s via the old rec-aviation-military USEnet newsgroups, where Raz was a frequent poster. I corresponded with him frequently then, and continued to do so for years as I went to UPT and became a fighter pilot myself, including some very poignant conversations while I was deployed for OIF during Shock and Awe in 2003.

Those of you that have heard the "A Night At The Bar With The Boys" CD of fighter pilot songs mentions Raz by name as one of the old-school songmeisters.

Great fighter pilot...wrote some fantastic books....someone who will be righteously missed.

How'd he go?

Here's an excerpt from the old 435th FTS doofer book (RIP doofer books, too...) from the days when Raz was an AT-38B LIFT instructor at Holloman.

Rasimus2.jpg

Edited by Hacker
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