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Armstrong's call-up from the Navy arrived on January 26, 1949, requiring him to report to Naval Air Station Pensacola for flight training. This lasted almost 18 months, during which he qualified for carrier landing aboard the USS Cabot and USS Wright. On August 16, 1950, two weeks after his 20th birthday, Armstrong was informed by letter he was a fully qualified Naval Aviator.
His first assignment was to Fleet Aircraft Service Squadron 7 at NAS San Diego (now known as NAS North Island). Two months later he was assigned to Fighter Squadron 51 (VF-51), an all-jet squadron, and made his first flight in a jet, an F9F-2B Panther, on January 5, 1951. In June, he made his first jet carrier landing on the USS Essex and was promoted the same week from Midshipman to Ensign. By the end of the month, the Essex had set sail with VF-51 aboard, bound for Korea, where they would act as ground-attack aircraft.
Armstrong first saw action in the Korean War on August 29, 1951, as an escort for a photo reconnaissance plane over Songjin. On September 3, 1951, Armstrong flew armed reconnaissance over the primary transportation and storage facilities south of the village of Majon-ni, west of Wonsan; while he was making a low bombing run at about 350 mph (560 km/h), his F9F Panther was hit by anti-aircraft fire. While trying to regain control, he collided with a pole at a height of about 20 feet (6.1 m), which sliced off about three feet of the Panther's right wing.
Armstrong was able to fly the plane back to friendly territory, but due to the loss of the aileron, ejection was his only safe option. He planned to eject over water and await rescue by Navy helicopters, and therefore flew to an airfield near Pohang, but his ejection seat was blown back over land. A jeep driven by a roommate from flight school picked Armstrong up; it is unknown what happened to the wreckage of No. 125122 F9F-2.
Armstrong flew 78 missions over Korea for a total of 121 hours in the air, most of which were in January 1952. He received the Air Medal for 20 combat missions, a Gold Star for the next 20, and the Korean Service Medal and Engagement Star. Armstrong left the Navy at the age of 22 on August 23, 1952, and became a Lieutenant, Junior Grade, in the United States Naval Reserve. He resigned his commission in the Naval Reserve on October 21, 1960.
GRAND RAPIDS -- Like most men aboard the U.S.S. Indianapolis, Wyoming resident William Mulvey never considered himself any kind of hero.
He just felt lucky to make it out of the Pacific alive.
Days after the Indianapolis delivered components for the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, a pair of Japanese torpedoes slammed into the ship just after midnight, July 30, 1945.
Of 1,196 men aboard, nearly 300 died in the explosion or were trapped when the ship went down. About 900 escaped into the sea, including Mulvey. Four-and-a-half days later, rescuers plucked Mulvey and 320 others from the sea.
The rest had drowned, died of dehydration or were eaten by sharks.
"Sometimes you're in harm's way and the good Lord puts you where He wants you," he told The Press in an interview in 2001.
Mulvey, a 30-year Navy veteran and former postal service worker, died Wednesday at age 91.
INDIANAPOLIS — Four soldiers with an Indiana-based National Guard unit were killed in Afghanistan and a fifth was injured when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb as they were working to clear a supply route of IEDs, guard officials said Saturday.
Indiana Guard Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Martin Umbarger said the four members of the Valparaiso-based 713th Engineer Company died Thursday morning in southern Afghanistan. He said all of the men were combat engineers who specialized in clearing major supply routes.
The blast occurred as their vehicle traveled along a road, scouting for signs of roadside bombs and other potential problems convoys might encounter as the move supplies in the decade-long war in Afghanistan, Umbarger said.
“Their mission is to keep the major supply routes clear of all obstacles for the convoys. And what that means is they’re the first ones to go out to make sure the route can be used, so it’s a very important mission — but it’s also extremely dangerous,” he told The Associated Press.
The four men killed were identified as: Staff Sgt. Jonathan M. Metzger, 32, of Indianapolis; Spc. Brian J. Leonhardt, 21, of Merrillville, Ind.; Spc. Robert J. Tauteris Jr., 44, of Hamlet, Ind.; and Spc. Christopher A. Patterson, 20, of Aurora, Ill.
Robert, or as many people knew him, Bob, will be remembered as a loving and devoted father to his four children. He was the life of a conversation and never met a stranger. He proudly served in the United States Army for 6 years after graduating from Whiteland High School in 1962. Bob dedicated much time and hard work to General Motors-Allison Transmission for over 30 years and made many lifelong friends along the way. He loved to be outdoors, often walking 10 miles a day, and kept his lawn immaculate. He was also an avid IU basketball fan, never missing a game and attended many of them with his children. Bob touched many lives and will always be remembered as having the best sense of humor to overcome anything.
Walt. He was an acquaintance, a friend of friends. He was clean cut, friendly, intelligent and had a wicked sense of humor. He never returned from Beirut, Lebanon.
It is my priviledge to honor those who have bravely and selflessly given their all to help ensure my freedoms! Honor and remembrance is the least I can do! I am so proud to say that many in my family have served our country! Several have passed knowing they have our utmost respect, love and pride in them. We have that same pride and respect for all servicemembers that have gone before us whether it be from combat or not. May all who have given all rest in the Precious Peace they so richly deserve and may they know they will never be forgotten!!
Last edited by Poncho_NM; 10-01-2012 at 11:49 AM..
Reason: Corrected spelling
Whether as a State Department information management officer, an Air Force technician or an online gamer, Sean Patrick Smith was much admired as a wiz on computers.
The 34-year-old Smith, who had worked at the State Department for 10 years, was in Libya on a temporary assignment when he was killed in the attack in Benghazi.
President Obama spoke at a ceremony transferring the remains of the four Americans killed in Benghazi, Libya back to the United States. The President said, “Their sacrifice will never be forgotten.”
Smith, a native of San Diego, enlisted in the Air Force in 1995 at age 17. He served six years as a ground radio maintenance specialist, including a deployment to Oman, before leaving the service in 2002 as a staff sergeant, according to Air Force records. Smith was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal.
Master Sergeant, Sylvia Cordova, United States Air Force, retired, age 54, a resident of Los Lunas, New Mexico, born September 12, 1958, passed away on September 13, 2012. Mrs. Cordova is survived by her husband Mario, of thirty three years; her three children, Aja Grimes and husband, Christopher, Daniel Cordova...
Glenn W. Irwin, Jr., M.D., 92, died on August 23, 2012. His parents were Glenn W. and Elsie Browning Irwin of Roachdale, Indiana. He attended Indiana University where he received a BS degree in 1942 and a MD degree in 1944. He married Marianna Ashby in 1943 who died in 2010.
Dr. Irwin interned at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis and completed a residency in Internal Medicine at I.U. In 1946-48 he served in the US Army Medical Corps at Schofield Barracks General Hospital in Hawaii as a Captain and Chief of Medicine. He returned to IU, finished his residency and then joined the department of medicine as an Instructor in Medicine in 1950.
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