Neptunus Lex inspired a great many people to form closer relationships with people they’ve never met, via the medium of blogging. This site hopes to continue those relationships, and strengthen them.
I truly appreciate this. It is my hope that this site will carry forth Lex’s spirit not to just those of us who were part of his commentariat but also to a new generation. There is much that Lex and his followers have to share with the new generation of naval aviators, to their benefit, and to the Service and to the Nation.
I love that we have this place for all the Lexian Heroes and Villains to come and play. I don’t know how much the Hobbit or those at Chez Lex read the postings at NepLex, but somehow this site lets me believe that we’re staying in touch with them also. They’re family to us all, and you don’t let go of family. Ever…
Oh just a wee bit, Bub. Fuzzy done got herself engaged the other day. Lessee…there’s a cuppla other things been going on, but you’ll have to poke through and do some reading.
Rumor has it we’re going to Sandy Eggo (again) in July for a get-together at Shakespeare’s.
At any rate, pop a top and enjoy yourself a cool one. Good to see you!
TheNews notes that China has landed a jet on their carrier. No word if it was a 3-wire OK underscore. The ‘first’ does not mean they are close to operational, but they are moving along that path.
Any observations/comments? I recall The BlogFather had offered a few fine observations, back when China purchased the vessel.
OBTW – is that merely an odd paint job, or is that jet peeling paint in many places, revealing a gray primer?
Re post seven days in the arctic a painting at the cia museum. (project cold feet) I would like to let you know Captain Leonard Leschack from that mission is still very much alive and well. A book was published called Project Coldfeet a few years ago co written by Captain Leschack for any one wanting further information.
deficient ATC, low instrument proficiency, and pressure to complete the mission. Controller/Pilot/HQ …. all the holes aligned in the swiss cheese again.
Note that ATAC lost another pilot & plane a few days ago = 3 in 3 years. Not beating on ATAC but … the picture is what it is.
Great to read even a snippet of something related to Lex. We never met, but corresponded on several occasions. I hope his wife and children are well. I’ve kept them in my prayers these last few years.
Do you have Clive Stephens current emai? Jim Harlow was a good friend of my Uncle Les Schlaich in the 91st Bomb Group. Bob Schweitzer in the posted photo of the crew was their original pilot. Les was the engineer/top turret gunner on Harlow’s crew. Anyway putting together a book for my uncle’s daughter on his days flying B-17s in WW II.
I had archived rhythms some time ago, but started working on some of the other navy posts from wayback. Then I found yours. Let me know if this is helpful. http://www.frenzy.cc/~jester/rhythms//tmp/
I used to read the blog from time to time some years ago. I’m sorry to hear that Lex is no longer with us. I’m truly thankful that the Lexicans created this page to maintain the archive of blog posts.
I did not know of Lex while he was alive and only came to his website the day after his accident. It was reported by a long-time reader, David Foster, of Chicago boyz.
As I started to read his blog, I realized that he was a good man.
When his website went down, I thought what a crime it would be to allow the writings of this good man, mainly stories of his life, to disappear into the ether.
I considered it an honor to be able to give something back to him, and I have never claimed any credit for this without acknowledging others who happen to save his posts for later reading in simple files.
What is heartening about all of this is seeing people from all over the world continue to read his stories
I read Lex daily for years and was devastated the morning I checked his blog and saw the missing man formation picture. We shared some of the same loves: USNA, carrier aviation, and a few Patrick O’Brien novels, to name a few. And – as of a few happy weeks ago – we now share the same rank.
This weekend I happened to find myself in San Diego on temporary duty, and decided to visit the Cabrillo Monument on Point Loma with my wife on Sunday afternoon. On the way there, we passed the Fort Rosencranz National Cemetary. I instantly recognized the location from the blog posts from 8 years ago.
“Lex is here,” I said to my wife, followed by an explanation of who he was, and why we needed to change plans.
After battling intermittent cell phone reception, I located his grave information (SECTION CC16A ROW 2 SITE 4) and we proceeded to section CC after orienting ourselves with the online map.
But try as we might, we could not locate his marker. Having found a photo of his marker online, we deduced that it was mounted to one of the walls or horizontal sections, not a gravestone or marker in the grass. That helped narrow the search, but after checking what must have been hundreds of markers in the CC and even BB areas, we finally had to call off the search after about an hour as the light dwindled and my wife steadily turned into an icicle (without a word of complaint – she was really determined to find Lex as well) . We had no idea what “ROW 2 and SITE 4” meant, but tried every interpretation we could come up with.
So I’m at a loss here. We must have passed right over his name without noticing, or severely misinterpreted his site location and/or map. Maybe that’s why the Navy decided I would fly aircraft with navigators . . .
I’ll be back out in San Diego this summer and would really like to finish what I started.
It was a cold but serene afternoon, by the way. Storms were threatening, but a few sunbeams managed to break through on the Pacific far below. What a beautiful, peaceful place.
I truly appreciate this. It is my hope that this site will carry forth Lex’s spirit not to just those of us who were part of his commentariat but also to a new generation. There is much that Lex and his followers have to share with the new generation of naval aviators, to their benefit, and to the Service and to the Nation.
well said EDWARD
When I get back home, this is going on the blogroll at Old Rettired Petty Officer.
ORPO, I don’t know why you went in the Spambucket, but I fished you out.
Thanks!
I sometimes have that effect on things!
Hi Art..can you add me to the list please?
Thanks
Don Wasinger
I love that we have this place for all the Lexian Heroes and Villains to come and play. I don’t know how much the Hobbit or those at Chez Lex read the postings at NepLex, but somehow this site lets me believe that we’re staying in touch with them also. They’re family to us all, and you don’t let go of family. Ever…
Hey, Mongo! Did I miss much?
Oh just a wee bit, Bub. Fuzzy done got herself engaged the other day. Lessee…there’s a cuppla other things been going on, but you’ll have to poke through and do some reading.
Rumor has it we’re going to Sandy Eggo (again) in July for a get-together at Shakespeare’s.
At any rate, pop a top and enjoy yourself a cool one. Good to see you!
Please note that Lex’s blog site is now gone! I get “server not found” when I access http://www.neptunuslex.com
I hope that somebody has archived his entire site.
It’s back up now. The old bookmarks work.
TheNews notes that China has landed a jet on their carrier. No word if it was a 3-wire OK underscore. The ‘first’ does not mean they are close to operational, but they are moving along that path.
Any observations/comments? I recall The BlogFather had offered a few fine observations, back when China purchased the vessel.
OBTW – is that merely an odd paint job, or is that jet peeling paint in many places, revealing a gray primer?
Acts healthcare are brighter with it
The Mothership is down. 404.
neptunuslex.com is still down 😦
Re post seven days in the arctic a painting at the cia museum. (project cold feet) I would like to let you know Captain Leonard Leschack from that mission is still very much alive and well. A book was published called Project Coldfeet a few years ago co written by Captain Leschack for any one wanting further information.
The Internet Archive has at least a partial snapshot of the mothership.
https://web.archive.org/web/20131125035127/http://www.neptunuslex.com/
Perhaps I missed this earlier, but the NTSB probable cause of The Crash is out:
http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief.aspx?ev_id=20120307X13644
deficient ATC, low instrument proficiency, and pressure to complete the mission. Controller/Pilot/HQ …. all the holes aligned in the swiss cheese again.
Note that ATAC lost another pilot & plane a few days ago = 3 in 3 years. Not beating on ATAC but … the picture is what it is.
Surprised to guys didn’t do a Happy Birthday post to his Lexness. He’da been about 54, yesterday.
I celebrated a day early with Mary and a few others.
Great to read even a snippet of something related to Lex. We never met, but corresponded on several occasions. I hope his wife and children are well. I’ve kept them in my prayers these last few years.
The family is doing well. I chat with Mary from time to time.
Do you have Clive Stephens current emai? Jim Harlow was a good friend of my Uncle Les Schlaich in the 91st Bomb Group. Bob Schweitzer in the posted photo of the crew was their original pilot. Les was the engineer/top turret gunner on Harlow’s crew. Anyway putting together a book for my uncle’s daughter on his days flying B-17s in WW II.
I had archived rhythms some time ago, but started working on some of the other navy posts from wayback. Then I found yours. Let me know if this is helpful.
http://www.frenzy.cc/~jester/rhythms//tmp/
The original rhythms batch.
http://www.frenzy.cc/~jester/rhythms/index.html
Lex’s commentary on this story would have been valuable:
https://www.propublica.org/article/marines-hornet-squadron-242-crash-pacific-resilard
Frustrating, infuriating, sad.
I used to read the blog from time to time some years ago. I’m sorry to hear that Lex is no longer with us. I’m truly thankful that the Lexicans created this page to maintain the archive of blog posts.
I did not know of Lex while he was alive and only came to his website the day after his accident. It was reported by a long-time reader, David Foster, of Chicago boyz.
As I started to read his blog, I realized that he was a good man.
When his website went down, I thought what a crime it would be to allow the writings of this good man, mainly stories of his life, to disappear into the ether.
I considered it an honor to be able to give something back to him, and I have never claimed any credit for this without acknowledging others who happen to save his posts for later reading in simple files.
What is heartening about all of this is seeing people from all over the world continue to read his stories
I read Lex daily for years and was devastated the morning I checked his blog and saw the missing man formation picture. We shared some of the same loves: USNA, carrier aviation, and a few Patrick O’Brien novels, to name a few. And – as of a few happy weeks ago – we now share the same rank.
This weekend I happened to find myself in San Diego on temporary duty, and decided to visit the Cabrillo Monument on Point Loma with my wife on Sunday afternoon. On the way there, we passed the Fort Rosencranz National Cemetary. I instantly recognized the location from the blog posts from 8 years ago.
“Lex is here,” I said to my wife, followed by an explanation of who he was, and why we needed to change plans.
After battling intermittent cell phone reception, I located his grave information (SECTION CC16A ROW 2 SITE 4) and we proceeded to section CC after orienting ourselves with the online map.
But try as we might, we could not locate his marker. Having found a photo of his marker online, we deduced that it was mounted to one of the walls or horizontal sections, not a gravestone or marker in the grass. That helped narrow the search, but after checking what must have been hundreds of markers in the CC and even BB areas, we finally had to call off the search after about an hour as the light dwindled and my wife steadily turned into an icicle (without a word of complaint – she was really determined to find Lex as well) . We had no idea what “ROW 2 and SITE 4” meant, but tried every interpretation we could come up with.
So I’m at a loss here. We must have passed right over his name without noticing, or severely misinterpreted his site location and/or map. Maybe that’s why the Navy decided I would fly aircraft with navigators . . .
Asking for help from The Lexicans. Can anyone give me an initial steer to his section? There is a cemetery map located here: https://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/NGLMap?ID=8572508
I’ll be back out in San Diego this summer and would really like to finish what I started.
It was a cold but serene afternoon, by the way. Storms were threatening, but a few sunbeams managed to break through on the Pacific far below. What a beautiful, peaceful place.
v/r,
T-Pot