8th AAF Attrition

Bill Brandt, June 24, 2022

I just started a book that Hogday recommended, about the 8th Army Air Force in England. I know that they suffered tremendous casualties, but just cold numbers really don’t tell the whole story. Yes, more were killed flying those bombers and fighters into Nazi-occupied Europe than all of the Marines killed in the Pacific. Over 26,000 airmen were lost in those skies.

One had to complete 25 missions before you could rotate home and the odds, particularly in 1943, of doing that were if not stacked against you, pretty heavy. I’m trying to remember a statistic citing death or seriously wounded before those 25 missions were complete, but 1:3 seems to come to mind.

Is San Francisco Coming Back From The Abyss?

A couple of days ago, a friend and I did something I had wanted to do for years.

Take the commuter ferry from Vallejo to San Francisco. It’s a scenic 45 minute ride across the bay and under the San Rafael bridge to the ferry terminal at San Francisco’s Embarcadero.

Taking the ferry was also a practical matter, since parking is, if not at Manhattan-level expenses, pretty bad.

The last time I took my car there – 15 years ago – for an extended period was when my nephew, visiting from Minnesota, wanted to see Alcatraz.

Parking at a lot along Fisherman’s wharf was at the time $50 for about 4 hours.

But I will say that the NPS really set up the Alcatraz tours right – I had been there once before, with a guided tour. But this time you got a headphone and walked around at your own pace – hearing from former inmates and guards at various stops telling you what it was like.

Russia Today: Living Under the Soviet Union’s Shadow?

For more years than I can remember since 1992, I have wondered if the West squandered an opportunity to help bring democracy to Russia. Much like during the height of the Cold War in the 1950s, when people accused others of “losing” Eastern Europe after WW2. It was a UVA Professor who was very influential to my thinking who said that Eastern Europe wasn’t ours to “lose” – the Soviets already occupied it. Although surely one could argue that a geopolitically naïve Franklin Roosevelt erred greatly in agreeing to let Stalin take Berlin – and have his spheres of influence. But then, the frail and dying Roosevelt believed Stalin when he promised to allow free elections.

But could Russia have evolved differently today had Boris Yeltsin had some more help and encouragement?

The 6th of June in History

By lex, on Thu, June 3, 2004

Milblog readers will find plenty to keep them occupied during the drive to commemorate the Normandy invasions of 60 years ago..

But did you know the date’s other significance in military history? In naval history (keeping in mind that the USMC is a naval force)?

No? Then read on:

Maria Aus Stuttgart *

I’ve met some interesting people along the way, and Maria is no exception. She is in my car club, and 87 years young. When we connected a few days ago, she remembered that 20 years ago, with her husband recently passed, I took her on a club drive.

I have trouble remembering something from 2 hours ago.