RIP, famous person

[Gravdigr]

They should put his smiling face on the cover of the Rolling Stone.

[fargon]

Yes they should.

[Glinda]

Originally Posted by Gravdigr

They should put his smiling face on the cover of the Rolling Stone.

I can see it now, he'll be up in the front, smilin, man.
Ah, beautiful.

[Gravdigr]

[Gravdigr]

Remember the college dean's wife in Animal House? No?



Remember the soiled dove/slattern in High Plains Drifter?



Well, her name was Verna Bloom, and she died, from complications of dementia. She was 80.

[fargon]

Carol Channing
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...&ICID=ref_fark

[BigV]

I heard that this morning, and learned she's from Seattle.

Learning learning learning....

It just never ends!

[fargon]

Alfred K. Newman USMC
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news...ed/2570535002/

[Gravdigr]

I thought Ms. Channing had been dead for a few years.

Re: Newman

We just lost our oldest WWII vet a few days/weeks ago.

[tw]

For a classic pieces, find "Rowan and Martin's Laugh In' episode where Carol Channing and Goldie Hawn celebrate a song called "Blonds" written by Billy Barnes.

Yes, she is better known for Hello Dolly. But she was always a classicly entertaining performer.

[Big Sarge]

Retired Air Force Col. Joe M. Jackson, a Medal of Honor recipient, a veteran of three wars and Air Force legend, has died. Jackson, a native of Newnan, Ga., was famous within the aviation and special operations community for his daring rescue of a team of Air Force combat controllers who were stranded at the besieged airfield of an abandoned Army Special Forces camp during the Tet Offensive.

His exploits saved the lives of three men, but risked his own, as the airfield had been the site of multiple U.S. aircraft shootdowns and aircrew fatalities over the past 24 hours.

Although Jackson has passed, his exploits and the significance of the battle he took part in were recorded in the Southeast Asia Monographs, Volume V-7, at the Airpower Research Institute of Maxwell Air Force Base, as well as first-person accounts archived by the Library of Congress.

Pause and give salute and prayer for this old warrior. He won't be featured on the news, but he was truly a legend. I'm attaching a copy of the famous artist rendering of the rescue.

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by Big Sarge

Retired Air Force Col. Joe M. Jackson...

Korean War/Early Cold War accomplishments:

Discovering a formulaic method of navigating an aircraft back to base in poor weather

Developing Standard Jet Penetration, a popular method of landing a jet aircraft with low ceilings and low visibility

Developing mass transoceanic ferrying flights

Creating a bomb-throwing method allowing nuclear weapons to be delivered by fighter aircraft

Planning and directing aerial reconnaissance over Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962

Becoming one of the first Air Force pilots to fly the U-2 Dragonlady reconnaissance aircraft

MoH citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Lt. Col. Jackson distinguished himself as pilot of a C-123 aircraft. Lt. Col. Jackson volunteered to attempt the rescue of a 3-man USAF Combat Control Team from the Special Forces camp at Kham Duc. Hostile forces had overrun the forward outpost and established gun positions on the airstrip. They were raking the camp with small arms, mortars, light and heavy automatic weapons, and recoilless rifle fire. The camp was engulfed in flames and ammunition dumps were continuously exploding and littering the runway with debris. In addition, eight aircraft had been destroyed by the intense enemy fire and one aircraft remained on the runway reducing its usable length to only 2,200 feet. To further complicate the landing, the weather was deteriorating rapidly, thereby permitting only one air strike prior to his landing. Although fully aware of the extreme danger and likely failure of such an attempt. Lt. Col. Jackson elected to land his aircraft and attempt to rescue. Displaying superb airmanship and extraordinary heroism, he landed his aircraft near the point where the combat control team was reported to be hiding. While on the ground, his aircraft was the target of intense hostile fire. A rocket landed in front of the nose of the aircraft but failed to explode. Once the combat control team was aboard, Lt. Col. Jackson succeeded in getting airborne despite the hostile fire directed across the runway in front of his aircraft. Lt. Col. Jackson's profound concern for his fellow men, at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself, and the Armed Forces of his country.

ETA:

From Wiki:

On January 16, 1969 [Fifty years ago today!], President Lyndon B. Johnson presented Jackson with the Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony. Also receiving the Medal of Honor that day was fellow Newnan, GA native Stephen W. Pless, a Marine Corps aviator who, like Jackson, had earned the decoration for an airborne rescue operation. Legend states that, upon realizing that both Pless and Jackson were from the same small Georgia town, President Johnson quipped "there must be something in the water down in Newnan."

[Griff]

Definitely worth a moments pause to consider.

[Gravdigr]

Movie producer Andrew Vajna died today (Jan 20). He was 74.

Even if you've never heard of him, you've seen a bunch of his movies.

[Gravdigr]

Singer James Ingram died today. Brain cancer.