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Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from Mike Leonard’s book “An American Combat Bird Dog Pilot: From the Battlefield of Vietnam and Beyond” available from SOFREP-Books here.
Lt. Col. Leonard is a retired Air Force officer and highly experienced global business executive. He was a United States Air Force command pilot with a military career spanning 20 years, including two combat tours to Vietnam in 1965-1966, and 1969-1970. Mike spent four years flying the VC-140B Special Air Mission aircraft during his time with the 89th Military Airlift Wing, the “Home of Air Force One.”
His combat decorations include three Distinguished Flying Crosses, nine Air Medals, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. What you are about to read is one of those just-so stories of military service that illustrate how the deadly serious business of military aviation can also be very funny at times.
Colonel Edwin Carraway âE.C.â Newman II, 80, an Air Force fighter pilot and test pilot, slipped the surly bonds of earth for the final time on April 7, 2021 after a valiant fight with an aggressive form of multiple myeloma, attributed to Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam.
E.C. was born in 1940 and raised in rural Sampson County, NC. In 1958, he graduated from Clinton High School, waved good-bye to the tobacco fields, and left the family farm for the U.S. Air Force Academy. In 1959, he played center in the first ever Air Force-Army football game, a 13-13 tie in Yankee Stadium. He graduated from the USAF Academy in 1962, the USAF Fighter Weapons School in 1969, the USAF Test Pilot School in 1974, and earned his masterâs degree in Public Administration from Troy State University in 1984.
West Virginia war hero urges legislative action on Defend the Guard Act wvmetronews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wvmetronews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
We certainly lost one of the most interesting folks you will ever meet. He was an Agent Orange victim and fought itâs consequences for 40 years. A good Marine who always said heâd do it all again. He leaves behind a wife , Gail, of 62 years and three children, Elizabeth (deceased), Colleen Reed Ogden and her fiancee Timothy Gautier of Orlando, FL and Robert Langan Reed, Jr. and his wife Audrey of New Braunfels. Grandchildren, Travis Everett Sternberg , Casie Ogden Newcomb and husband Alan of Dallas, TX, Danielle-Rey Loni Martinez of Dallas, TX and Kai Michael Ogden of Austin, TX. A niece Diane Reed Cashion and Van Stickney Reed, Jr. and wife Susie of Goldsboro, NC.Â
10 Historical Figures With Hidden Talents
Most historical figures tend to be remembered purely as one-note characters. However, even the most talented writer or the most delusional, power-hungry dictator cannot dedicate themselves fully to a single goal from cradle to grave. Like us, they spend their lives trying out new things and, sometimes, they find out that they’re actually good at them.
10Thomas Jefferson Was A Pioneer Of American Archaeology By now, the many talents and accomplishments of Thomas Jefferson have been well documented, but many people are still only aware of a select few. Truth be told, Jefferson’s interests were very varied and covered not only politics but also science, music, architecture, and linguistics. One other area where Jefferson’s influence was felt was archaeology. He used his knowledge of Native American languages in order to better understand the culture, but when he found a tribal burial mound located near his home in Virginia, he decided