Author: Kelly

This plane has flown over my place a few times. It was always a joy to run out and watch it pass.

From the L.A. Times: A World War II Flying Fortress bomber crashed and burned Monday in a cornfield southwest of Chicago, but seven crew members and volunteers walked away without serious injury.

The B-17, christened the Liberty Belle, took off from the Aurora Municipal Airport at 9:30 a.m. and made an emergency crash landing in Oswego, 44 miles outside Chicago, after the pilot reported an engine fire, said Sugar Grove Fire Chief Marty Kunkle.

Witnesses said the pilot set the plane down between a tower and a line of trees.

The crew had smelled smoke and was trying to pinpoint the problem when the pilot of another plane, a single-engine T6 Texan, radioed them about the engine fire, said Tim Sorensen, an air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.

The plane was headed to the Indianapolis Regional Airport, said airport spokeswoman Allisa Pipes, and was scheduled to give flights to the media Monday and to the public over Father’s Day weekend.

Don Brooks, founder of the Liberty Foundation, said the seven people on board were crew members and volunteers who helped with the foundation’s tours around the country.

The foundation had been flying the Liberty Belle since it was restored in 2004, Brooks said. The plane, manufactured in 1944, had not missed more than “a couple days” because of mechanical problems, he said, once flying to England and back with no problems.

The B-17 was primarily deployed by the U.S. Army Air Forces in daylight strategic bombing of German industrial and military targets.

From CNN: Former “Gunsmoke” actor James Arness, who played Marshal Matt Dillon in the western TV series for 20 years, died Friday from natural causes, according to his website. He was 88.

Over the two decades of “Gunsmoke” episodes from 1955 to 1975, Arness worked with hundreds of actors, some of them just up-and-comers such as Harrison Ford, Burt Reynolds and Charles Bronson. He also worked with Bette Davis.

Arness left behind a letter to his fans, which was posted on his website after his death:
“I had a wonderful life and was blessed with some many loving people and great friends. The best part of my life was my family, especially my wife, Janet. Many of you met her at Dodge City so you understand what a special person she is,” Arness wrote.

“I wanted to take this time to thank all of you for the many years of being a fan of ‘Gunsmoke,’ ‘The Thing,’ ‘How the West Was Won’ and all the other fun projects I was lucky enough to have been allowed to be a part of. I had the privilege of working with so many great actors over the years.

“I was honored to have served in the army for my country. I was at Anzio during WWII and it makes you realize how very precious life is,” Arness wrote.

“Thank you again for all the many letters, cards, emails and gifts we received from you over the years. You are and always have been truly appreciated,” he concluded.

Continue reading “James King Aurness”

German newscaster Mick Locher of channel N24 explains the meaning of the US Navy Seal Six Team emblem during a segment about the raid on Bin Laden’s compound.

“And they also have the ‘Team Six’ that carried out the mission. They don’t have the skull in their emblem for nothing,” Locher said.

The only problem is the emblem he’s describing is not that of the US Navy Seal Six Team. It’s a fan-made emblem for the fictitious “Maquis” rebel group from Star Trek and nobody knew any different at the news station. The skull to which he’s referring is that of a “klingon” and those are “bat’leths” (klingon weapons) surrounding it.

This is a perfect example of why I don’t trust broadcast news.