Salute to US Presidents and their Rides (Since Ike):

[Hangtime]

LBJ was nearly shot down by Saburo Sakai.  Two B-26s were attacked by the Zero ace.  One was downed, one escaped into a cloud.  The one that escaped carried LBJ.  

Just think, if Sakai had downed the other B-26, there probably wouldn't have been a Vietnam War.

A lot of the saki bio has been debunked. Wonder if this is just more 'legend'.

[eskimo2]

I am getting checked out in a single-engine USAF aircraft for the first time in my career, and I fully expect to have to jettison at least one (thereby returning it to the taxpayers in the form of de-militarized scrap) before I retire.  After being in the business for almost 14 years, slamming guys for wrecking military aircraft without knowing the full story behind each and every incident is a mark of supreme ignorance.

What I've always thought is so amazing about wrecking very expensive military aircraft: the cost that goes into training a pilot exceeds the value of the aircraft.  That's not even taking into account the basic value of a human life.  Would you say that's so?

[crockett]

I am getting checked out in a single-engine USAF aircraft for the first time in my career, and I fully expect to have to jettison at least one (thereby returning it to the taxpayers in the form of de-militarized scrap) before I retire.  After being in the business for almost 14 years, slamming guys for wrecking military aircraft without knowing the full story behind each and every incident is a mark of supreme ignorance.

Considering he graduated 5th from last in his class it's a very fair question especially considering he was a known hot head. Oh but wait I guess it's only ok for Republicans to question the service of Democrats. If you question the service of the Republican then it must mean I hate America.

[mietla]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzgV5QM5fi8

[eskimo2]

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Lyndon Baines Johnson, the first member of Congress to enter active duty in World War II, was awarded the Silver Star in 1942 for gallantry in action on a flight over enemy territory. But historians have called Johnson's decoration one of the most undeserved Silver Stars in history, and CNN's review of the historical record raises new questions about the circumstances of its award by Gen. Douglas McArthur nearly 60 years ago.

For most of his life as a politician, Johnson proudly wore a Silver Star pin identifying him as a war hero. The small lapel pin can be seen in the famous photograph of Johnson taking the oath of office aboard Air Force One following John F. Kennedy's assassination in November 1963. For three decades, on occasions mundane and momentous, the small red, white and blue badge of courage was often visible on Johnson's suit coat.

"He wore the Silver Star in his lapel all his life, up to and through the presidency," said Robert Caro, a historian and Johnson biographer. "When he was campaigning in Texas and he wanted to draw people's attention to it, he would actually do this (with his lapel) when he was giving a speech," said Caro, demonstrating how Johnson would grab his lapel with the Silver Star and flap it.

Whether Johnson truly rated the Army's third-highest combat award seen on his official portrait is a question his biographers have long debated.

"The most you can say about Lyndon Johnson and his Silver Star is that it is surely one of the most undeserved Silver Stars in history," Caro said. "Because if you accept everything that he said, he was still in action for no more than 13 minutes and only as an observer. Men who flew many missions, brave men, never got a Silver Star."

In an effort to clarify the historical record, CNN re-examined previously published documents about the wartime service of Johnson, who died in 1973, and conducted interviews with the few witnesses still alive.

While not conclusive, the available evidence raises questions not only about whether the Silver Star, now on display at the LBJ Library in Austin, Texas, was undeserved, but also whether it was awarded based on a battle report that may have been inaccurate and incomplete.

Read more here:
http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/johnson.silver.star/story/storypage.html

[eagl]

What I've always thought is so amazing about wrecking very expensive military aircraft: the cost that goes into training a pilot exceeds the value of the aircraft.  That's not even taking into account the basic value of a human life.  Would you say that's so?

A few years ago I did some simple calculations and conservatively estimated that the USAF spends between $500,000 and $1.5 mil per year on my training.  I've been a pilot for almost 14 years.  It takes between 1 and 3 mil to turn a young officer from a pedestrian into a basic qual pilot and up to another mil or so to get them mission ready.

A T-6A primary trainer costs around 4 mil.  That means I can jettison 4 or 5 of them for the equivalent cash value of my training and experience.

On the other hand, adjusting mission parameters and execution to save fuel is now official USAF policy, so you guys can feel good that I'm saving $30 or so each mission by not making that one extra lap around the traffic pattern...

[Hangtime]

"This aircraft is a conglomeration of parts, all built by the cheapest bidder. You were hired and trained at great expense to fly functional airplanes, not ride a dysfunctional brick intent on rejoining it's rightful place in the dirt. When that engine quits, pull the handles. You're the bigger investment."

[eskimo2]

$30?

Is that about a minute of flight time?

[Rich46yo]

LBJ was a US Congressman during WW-ll. He became a commissioned officer in the naval reserves and its kinda unclear how hard he tried to get into combat. This guy was the consummate Political animal with big eyes for higher office. I doubt he tried to hard and only used the request for Political gain. He was on a B-26 flight as an observer and his airplane was turned back due to mechanical problems. He never came under fire and no-one else on the flight received a medal.

Douglas MacArthur was also a Political animal so he was the one who awarded this guy the Silver Star.

He was a strange bird. A millionaire many times over by the time he was in the WH, and a notorious cheapskate. I once listened to some phone tapes of him from the Oval office talking to some DC tailor about making him a suit. You should have heard him putting the arm on this poor guy to get a free suit from him.

Funny how history is so much kinder to Democrats who start stupid wars and gets tens of thousands of Americas sons killed. I bet if you asked people today 9 out of 10 would blame Vietnam on Nixon.

[Captain Virgil Hilts]

Any woman that sends her sons or daughters to war 'serves'.

<S!>

Agreed.

[eskimo2]

I bet if you asked people today 9 out of 10 would blame Vietnam on Nixon.

That sounds about right.

[Grayeagle]

LBJ was a politician.

'nuff said.

If he said the sky was blue, you can bet you would have to go outside and look for yourself.

-GE (but .. that's just me)

[Twister2]

Considering he graduated 5th from last in his class it's a very fair question especially considering he was a known hot head. Oh but wait I guess it's only ok for Republicans to question the service of Democrats. If you question the service of the Republican then it must mean I hate America.

Hey you know what they call a medical student who graduates 5th from last in his class?
Somone explain it to crocket if he doesn't get it.

[eagl]

$30?

Is that about a minute of flight time?

At govt fuel rates, thats about 10 gal, or very roughly approx 60ish lbs of fuel.  The T-6 is very fuel efficient so $30 can net you a good 5-10 min of flight time depending on what you're doing.  We take off with 1100 lbs of fuel and usually burn less than 500 lbs/hr on average.  It'll cruise for over 3 hours on 900 lbs of gas.

[CAP1]

What I've always thought is so amazing about wrecking very expensive military aircraft: the cost that goes into training a pilot exceeds the value of the aircraft.  That's not even taking into account the basic value of a human life.  Would you say that's so?

WHEN A MILITARY...OR ANY aircraft for that matter......is wrecked, there is only one single thing that matters.

that is that the pilot/crew get out un-injured.