Photography by John Michael

Learning

“A man only learns in two ways, one by reading and the other by associating with smarter people.” – Will Rogers

Balance

“For everything you have missed, you have gained something, and for everything you gain, you lose something else.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Courage

We need the courage to start and continue what we should do, and courage to stop what we shouldn’t do.
–Richard L. Evans

Remembering

Memorial Day 2010

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Happy Mothers’ Day 2010

Just a few words with colorful flair…

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Happy Birthday to “give ‘em hell Harry”

Harry S Truman

Born in Missouri on 08 MAY 1884,  Harry S. Truman – 33rd President of the United States who ended WW II in the Pacific by ordering the dropping the first atomic bomb – a B29 bomber, the Enola Gay dropped “Little Boy” on Hiroshima, Japan and days later the B29 bomber Bockscar dropped the second “Fat Man” on Nagasaki, Japan

We have discovered the most terrible bomb in the history of the world. It may be the fire destruction prophesied in the Euphrates Valley Era, after Noah and his fabulous Ark.
—Harry Truman, writing about the atomic bomb in his diary

On 26 July 1948, President Truman used an executive order to begin desegregation of the US military.

Happy Birthday!

Frederick Law Olmstead Sr

Frederick Law Olmsted Sr., Father of American landscape architecture born 26 April 1822.  His influence, and later by his sons, has continued to provide those places to relax and reflect -

Architect of such notable places such as Central Park in New York City, Chicago’s South Park, Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, he also designed the US Capitol’s grounds.

Olmsted also provided the seminal priming of the National Park Service and Yosemite National Park.

Over 40 years ago

On 25 APR 1967 we lost another pioneer of the US Army Air Corps…

MG Benjamin Foulois

Major General Benjamin Delahauf Foulois, the first chief of the Army Air Corps to be a military aviator, had a number of “firsts” in his long and illustrious career. His accomplishments spanned 56 years during active-duty and retired military aviation service. 

He was a contemporary of  LtThomas Selfridge, who was the first military aviation fatality when the Wright Flyer he and Orville Wright were flying over Fort Myer, VA in 1908 crashed.   

General Hap Arnold, the only 5 star General in two service branches was also contemporary of both MG Foulois and LT Selfridge

U.S. ARMY PARACHUTE TEAM MAKES HISTORICAL JUMP

Story by: Donna Dixon FORT BRAGG, N.C. – The Golden Knights, the U.S. Army’s official parachute demonstration team, who have just celebrated their 50^th Anniversary will be making a historical jump at Silk Hope, NC. The Gold Demonstration team will be conducting this commemorative jump in veneration of their fellow Gold Team demonstrators who lost their lives in a devastating C-47 crash. 

The jump will take place at the baseball field next to the fire department at 1:00 pm on 17 April 2010 as part of a rededication ceremony. Approximately 5000 to7000 people will be present for this event and the nearby Farm Heritage Day celebration.

March 8, 1973, the military transport left Fort Bragg at 8:18 am carrying 14 members of the Army Golden Knights parachute team to their first performance of the show season at Overland, Kansas. About seven to 12 miles north of Fort Bragg communication with the plane was lost. The plane traveled another forty miles to the Silk Hope area, still without further communication. At approximately 8:45 am, Mrs. Janelle Newlin, who resided on the opposite side of the field, reportedly heard what sounded like an explosion. Looking up, she saw one wing drop off the fuselage and the plane tragically spiraled downward and crashed in a cornfield on the Basil Perry Farm, two miles north of Silk Hope in Northern Chatham County.

It was said that among the pieces of debris that fluttered down onto nearby homes and yards were brightly colored brochures, proclaiming the mission of the Golden Knights, their legendary history and invitations to join the military and possibly come to Assessment and Selection to become members of the team.

For over 37 years this catastrophic event has been memorialized by a stone tablet at the base of the Silk Hope Fire Departments flag pole.

Please join us in this tribute by paying homage to our fallen comrades from the U S Army Parachute Team. For more information about the Golden Knights’ or to learn more about the team’s unique history and to view a schedule of events, visit the GOLDEN KNIGHTS Website.

Toughness

It takes more courage to reveal insecurities than to hide them, more strength to relate to people than to dominate them, more “manhood” to abide by thought-out principles rather than blind reflex. Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles and an immature mind.
–Alex Karras