It's hard to know where to begin telling Bernard Fisher's military story. No one could have predicted that a kid who joined the Navy at 18 to fight in World War II would eventually receive the Medal of Honor as an Air Force fighter pilot in Vietnam. No one would have guessed it would take the same man 57 years to receive his bachelor's degree. That's the extraordinary life of Col. Bernard F. Fisher.
A native of San Bernardino, California, Fisher joined the Navy in 1945 at the end of World War II. When his time in the Navy ended in 1947, he attended Boise State Junior College and then transferred to the University of Utah—but he didn't get to finish his degree. He joined the Idaho National Guard around the same time he began his higher education. In 1951, the same year he was supposed to graduate from college, he was commissioned in the United States Air Force.
To be clear, Bernie Fisher had done the classwork, and he earned a degree. He just never received it. It's hard to blame him for not following up on a piece of paper. Fisher was ready to start training for one of the coolest jobs in the military: Air Force fighter pilot. He flew for the North American Air Defense Command until 1965 when he volunteered to go to South Vietnam and fly A-1E/H "Spad" Skyraiders for the 1st Air Commando Squadron.
Between July 1965 and June 1966, Fisher flew 200 combat sorties in the skies over Vietnam. The U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force used A-1 Skyraiders to provide close air support to ground forces, conduct interdiction missions, and perform search and rescue operations. The close-up nature of its missions meant it was particularly susceptible to ground-based anti-aircraft fire, so 200 combat missions was no small feat.
No mission illustrated this kind of danger better than what happened on March 10, 1966. Fisher took off from Pleiku Air Base to make strafing runs against North Vietnamese forces assaulting a Special Forces camp in the A Shau Valley. The camp was surrounded by 2,000 enemy troops and cut off from its airstrip. Time was of the essence, as the special operators and their Civil Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) allies were in danger of being overrun.
When he arrived in the area, it 
was under dense cloud cover, but other A-1s were loitering overhead. Fisher, his wingman, and two other pilots broke through the clouds to begin making their attack runs. The clouds and terrain made the strafing runs dangerous for the pilots, however. It limited their maneuverability and forced the aircraft to operate within range of enemy gun placements.
One of the A-1s, piloted by Maj. Dafford Wayne" Jump" Myers took damage from those guns and began to go down. Myers bellied the plane down on the camp's 2,500-foot airstrip, jumped from his plane, and retreated to the cover of an embankment nearby. The enemy was just 200 meters from Myers, and the nearest helicopter was 30 minutes away. With 2,000 NVA soldiers surrounding the base, there was nothing the Special Forces could do to help the downed pilot.
That's when Bernard Fisher's voice came over the radio. He told aircraft controllers he would land his two-seater Skyraider on the airfield and pick Myers up. While the Air Force warned him against that course of action, his fellow Skyraiders began giving him the cover he needed to land on the debris-strewn strip.
It wasn't an easy landing. Debris on the runway damaged his tail section, and despite the cover provided by the other pilots, he still took 19 rounds to his fuse
lage. He landed and taxied the entire length of the runway. But none of the enemy attacks were enough to deter or prevent him from taking off once Myers had hopped in the backseat. With his charge picked up, Fisher gained enough speed to take off once more, with Myers safely along for the ride.
When Bernard Fisher returned to the United States in 1967, he received the Medal of Honor from President Lyndon B. Johnson for his daring rescue and his dedication to his fellow pilots. After the war, Fisher returned to flying interceptor missions in North America and Germany, retiring from the Air Force in 1974. But his story doesn't end there.
In 2008, the University of Utah finally awarded Bernard Fisher his diploma in recognition of his academic and military achievements. Bernard Fisher died on August 16, 2014, at age 87. According to Fisher's son, Bradford, Myers reportedly called Fisher every year on March 10 to wish him well. When Myers died in 1992, his daughter continued the tradition for 22 more years.
As 1942 turned to 1943, a victorious end to World War II in the Pacific Theater was still far from assured for either side of the conflict. The Allies were celebrating a string of strategic victories over the course of the previous year. After the devastation of Pearl Harbor, the Americans scored a major victory against the Imperial Japanese Navy at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. A few months later, U.S. forces launched the Solomon Islands campaign, invading Guadalcanal and its strategic airfield.
The Japanese, of course, suffered a string of setbacks. A joint Australian and American force pushed back Japan’s offensive on the Kokoda Trail on New Guinea, the losses it suffered at Midway were not replaceable and by February 1943, the Japanese Army would be forced to abandon Guadalcanal. The Japanese Imperial Staff knew it needed to reinforce its positions in New Guinea, which was fighting in some of the most grueling swamp, mountain, and jungle conditions of the entire war.
They decided to send a convoy of 6,900 troops, along with supplies and fuel, from Rabaul on the island of New Britain to Lae on mainland Papua New Guinea, a distance of 472 nautical miles, which should have taken around five days to traverse. On February 28, 1943, the convoy of eight destroyers, eight troop transports and 100 aircraft set out for Lae.
Unfortunately for the Japanese, British Ultra codebreakers warned the Americans and Australians of the convoy and its purpose. On March 1, 1943, a B-24 Liberator bomber spotted the convoy during a patrol of the island. The next day, the U.S. Army Air Forces attacked Lae, hoping to cripple its ability to support the convoy. A few hours later, 28 B-17 Flying Fortress bombers took off to hit the Japanese with everything they could. Nine aircraft were damaged in the attack, sinking three cargo ships and a troop transport while damaging two others. The next night, B-17s hit the convoy again in an inconclusive attack.
On March 3, the convoy erupted into a full-on battle. More than 100 Allied aircraft struck the Japanese airfield at Lae as American and Australian fighters and bombers hit the convoy in the mid-morning hours. The combination of low-level and mid-leveling bombing made it difficult for the Japanese to repel the planes with anti-aircraft fire. Furthermore, the convoy spread out in the water, which meant they could no longer protect each other with a group anti-air umbrella.
The attack was devastating for the Japanese. All eight troop transports were destroyed, along with four of the destroyers and 20 aircraft. Almost 3,000 soldiers and sailors were killed, and only 1,200 made it to Lae. It was a lopsided victory, too. The Allies only lost 13 killed in action, along with four fighters and two bombers.
The Japanese on New Guinea, though receiving some reinforcements, did not receive supplies, and their positions on the island were severely weakened. The Battle of the Bismarck Sea was a decisive victory for the Allies that ensured the safety of Australia and New Zealand while hampering Japan’s ability to reinforce and supply its troops throughout the Southwest Pacific.
TWS is by far the very best of the best websites in cyberspace. TWS makes it possible to connect with fellow Veterans and think and reflect on great memories of military service. I am not currently a paying member *yet, but I plan to be soon. I intend to continue promoting TWS to other Veteran friends/ associates and hope to connect with at least some of the friends who I SERVED TOGETHER WITH. May God's blessings always be yours!
SSGT Randy Allman USARNG (Ret)
Served 1978-2005
When March rolls around, visitors to Air Force bases worldwide might notice a marked increase in the number of airmen sporting mustaches. Some observant readers might remind me that mustaches are making a comeback among airmen of the latest generation, and while that observation is correct, there's still something special about growing a stache in March.
The tradition is called Mustache March, and though it has become a month to honor and remember pilots everywhere, it started with a U.S. Air Force legend: Robin Olds.
Olds was undoubtedly one of the greatest fighter pilots to ever get behind the stick of an aircraft. He was a triple fighter ace with victories in World War II and Vietnam; scoring kills from the P-38 Lightning, P-51 Mustang, and the F-4C Phantom II. One Air Force historian even remarked that Robin Olds was "made to be the perfect airman" and the greatest aerial warrior in American history.
All his achievements in the United States Air Force, World War II, and Vietnam are his true legacy, of course. But what Airmen who learn about Olds for the first time are really taken with is the magnificent mustache he sported during the Vietnam War, one that should have been off-limits to any member of the armed forces, let alone a Colonel in command of a squadron.
But there it is, in both black-and-white and in full color, depending on the photograph.
By all accounts, he was well within regulations before deploying to the Vietnam War. He was commander of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, based at Ubon Royal Air Base, Thailand. From there, he put together his own string of aerial victories, leading his pilots, nicknamed the "Wolfpack," through daring maneuvers and combat operations, each of which probably deserves its own article in Dispatches.
He scored four aerial victories in Vietnam, one officially shy of becoming an ace. But if his mustache is any indication, he wasn't always playing by the rules. He was technically only allowed to fly 100 missions over Vietnam, but USAF Historian Henry Halvorsen writes that he flew 152. The odds that he shot down only four enemy aircraft in 152 missions are hard to believe. He believed he would have become a public relations stunt if he had become an Ace and would thus have lost his command.
Olds grew his mustache in March of 1965, and it became a symbol of defiance against the doctrinal, statistics-based warfare in Vietnam. He wanted no part in supporting that kind of thinking.
"It became the middle finger I couldn't raise in PR photographs," he said in his autobiography, Fighter Pilot: The Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds. "The mustache became my silent last word in the verbal battles I was losing with higher headquarters on rules, targets, and fighting the war."
The Airmen deployed to Royal Ubon loved it, and many began sporting their own mustaches. When higher-ups visited the base, no one gave it much thought, being so far from home and so far removed from the spotlight. However, after his time in Vietnam ended, the mustache had to go. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John McConnell told him to take it off, and Olds complied.
But legends never die.
To this day, airmen start growing their own "bulletproof" mustaches on March 1st. Sadly, they must still comply with uniform regulations, so few will ever be as magnificent as Col. Olds' once was, but traditions like Mustache March keep his memory – and the spirit of the Air Force – alive.
"Where ever there's trouble
Night or day
Go the men of the Green Beret
To fan the fire of freedom's dream…"
"A Team" 1966, by Leonard Whitcup, Barry Sadler, and Phyllis Fairbanks
Army Together We Served includes 556 members who have been with the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), which was originally constituted on July 5, 1942, as the 2nd Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment, 1st Special Service Force; which was then a component of the combined Canadian-American organization sometimes known as "Black Devils" or "Devil's Brigade" (unofficially first called "The Braves"). Detachment 101 of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) is also considered a predecessor of the 1st SFG (A). That unit raised and led a guerrilla force known as the "Kachin Rangers," which wrought havoc behind Japanese lines in Southeast Asia during World War II.
This unit was activated July 9, 1942, at Fort William Henry Harrison, Montana, disbanded January 6, 1945, in France, and then reconstituted April 15, 1960, in the Regular Army; concurrently consolidated with Company B, 1st Ranger Infantry Battalion (activated June 19, 1942), and the combined unit redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces on September 30, 1960, with 1st Special Forces Group (constituted June 14, 1957, in the Regular Army and activated June 24, 1957, in Japan). The group was inactivated June 30, 1974, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and reactivated September 1, 1984, at Fort Lewis, Washington (former Company B, 1st Ranger Infantry Battalion, withdrawn February 3, 1986, consolidated with Company N, 75th Infantry, and the consolidated unit redesignated thereafter under that separate lineage). It was redesignated again on October 1, 2005, as the 1st Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces Regiment.
The 1st SFG (A) activated the Group Support Battalion on June 30, 2006, in order to provide increased expeditionary logistical capabilities, and activated the 4th Battalion on August 15, 2011, to enhance the group's expeditionary capabilities to better support the unit's missions. Since September 11, 2001, 1st SFG (A) personnel have played a vital role in fighting violent terrorist organizations around the globe by participating in Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan and Philippines, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn, Operation Inherent Resolve, and Operation Resolute Support. In the ensuing years, they continue to conduct an array of engagement and contingency missions throughout the Pacific, to include war-plan related training on the Korean Peninsula.
Special Forces training consists of eleven distinct phases. It begins with the six-week Preparation Course focused on fundamentals like physical fitness and land navigation. Follow-up is Special Forces Assessment and Selection, a 24-day test of physical and mental stamina, and then learning a new language in the 53-week Special Forces Qualification Course, which also includes survival, evasion, resistance, and escape (SERE) exercises, advanced special operations techniques (ASOT), and a staged invasion of the fictional country of Pineland. US Army Special Forces are colloquially known as the Green Berets due to their distinctive service headgear. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy authorized the beret to be used exclusively by the US Special Forces. Preparing for an October 12 visit to the Special Warfare Center at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the president sent word to the center's commander for all Special Forces soldiers to wear green berets as part of the event.
The president felt that since they had a special mission, Special Forces should have something to set them apart from the rest. In 1962, he called the green beret "A symbol of excellence, a badge of courage, a mark of distinction in the fight for freedom." After displaying their survival skills to President Kennedy, when they caught and ate snakes, they were stuck with the moniker "snake eaters." They have five doctrinal missions: unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, direct action, counterterrorism, and special reconnaissance. Other Special Forces missions, known as secondary, include combat search and rescue (CSAR), counter-narcotics, hostage rescue, humanitarian assistance, humanitarian demining, peacekeeping, and manhunts. Components of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) or other US government activities may also specialize in these secondary missions. The Special Forces conduct these missions via five active duty groups, each with a geographic specialization and two National Guard groups that share multiple geographic areas of responsibility.
Many of their operational techniques are highly classified. They have a longstanding and close relationship with the Central Intelligence Agency, tracing their lineage to the Agency's predecessors in the OSS and First Special Service Force. The Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) highly secretive Special Activities Center and, more specifically, its Special Operations Group (SOG) recruits from the US Army Special Forces. Joint CIA/Army Special Forces operations go back to MACV-SOG during the Vietnam War and were seen as recently as the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021). Special Forces traces its roots as the Army's premier proponent of unconventional warfare from special operations units like the Alamo Scouts, Philippine guerrillas, First Special Service Force, and the Operational Groups of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Although the OSS was not an Army organization, many Army personnel were assigned to the OSS and later used their experiences to influence the forming of Special Forces. Currently, there are seven active Special Forces Groups. 1st SFG(A) is headquartered at JB Lewis–McChord, WA along with its 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Battalions, its 1st Battalion is forward deployed at Torii Station, Okinawa. The 1st SFG is oriented towards the Pacific region and is often tasked by PACOM.
In 1943, the unit fought notably on the Aleutian Islands, Italy, and Morocco, following Project Plough during WWII. A major battle for them that year was also at Monte la Difensa, where they suffered 77% of their casualties, which are memorialized in the 1968 film "The Devil's Brigade." Their next engagement at Monte Majo had reduced the force from 1800 strong to only 400. That same year, 1944, they were seen fighting in Operation Shingle at Anzio for 99 days without relief. From August through December, now reinforced to the 2,000 troop level, they saw action in France during Operation Dragoon through the French Riviera sector at Port Cros, Ile du Levant, and L'Escarene.
All in all, the full unit is said to have accounted for 12,000 German casualties and 7,000 enemy prisoners taken. The 1st SFG(A) predecessor, 1st Special Service Force, was awarded the French Croix de Guerre with Silver-Gilt Star, as well as the Distinguished Unit Citation for extraordinary heroism. In 2006, the Canadian members of the 1st Special Service Force received the United States Army's Combat Infantryman Badge for participation in front-line combat. On February 3, 2015, the 1st SSF was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award Congress can give to civilians.
The 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) holds the distinction of having the first and last Special Forces soldiers killed in Vietnam: Captain Harry Cramer was killed on October 21, 1957, and Captain Richard M. Rees was killed on December 15, 1973. Decades later, another 1st Special Forces Group soldier became the first American to die by hostile fire in Afghanistan: SFC Nathan Chapman was killed on January 2, 2002. During the Vietnam War, the 1st SFG(A) sent teams for six-month temporary duty. It also ran Camp Hardy Combat Training Center in the Northern Training Area of Okinawa, which involved SF units, Navy SEALs, and US Marines deploying to Vietnam. It earned the MUC for its efforts during the year 1973. Starting in February 2002, elements of the 1st SFG (A) deployed to conduct unconventional warfare in the Southern Philippines by and with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in order to assist the Government of the Philippines (GOP). Over the next three years there, 1st SFG(A) members built an admirable record training six light infantry battalions and three light reaction companies from the AFP, treating over 31,000 Filipinos in MEDCAP events, helping to professionalize the AFP, and providing operations and intelligence fusion teams to actively assist in targeting terrorist cells. Throughout 2003–2004, the 1st SFG(A) deployed many soldiers in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. By November 2004 the unit deployed an entire battalion to Afghanistan as part of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan (CJSOTF-A). The 1st SFG(A) supported the Global War on Terrorism with operations in those theaters as well as maintaining US security relationships with partner nations throughout the Pacific until 2021.
1St Special Forces Group (Airborne) campaigns:
World War II
Aleutian Islands
Naples-Foggia
Anzio
Rome-Arno
Southern France (with arrowhead)
Rhineland
1st Special Forces Battalion additionally entitled to:
War on Terrorism
Global War on Terrorism
2d Special Forces Battalion is additionally entitled to:
War on Terrorism Campaigns to be determined
Decorations:
Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer embroidered Pacific Area1972-1973
Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer embroidered Asia 2002
Philippine Presidential Unit Citation, Streamer embroidered July-August 1972
Company C, 1st Special Forces Battalion, additionally entitled to:
Valorous Unit Award, Streamer embroidered Central and Southern Iraq 2007
Valorous Unit Award, Streamer embroidered Central Iraq 2008-2009
Company C, 2d Special Forces Battalion, additionally entitled to:
Valorous Unit Award, Streamer embroidered Central and Southern Iraq 2007
Army TWS also includes 720 members who are enrolled in the Special Forces Association. The 1968 film Anzio featured Peter Falk as Corporal Jack Rabinoff, who identified himself to co-star Robert Mitchum as a member of the American-Canadian 1st Special Service Force. Three documentaries have been made about the force: "Black Devils" in 2000, an episode of History Channel's "Dangerous Missions" series, written produced and directed by Darryl Rehr; Daring to Die: The Story of the Black Devils, written and directed by Greg Hancock and Wayne Abbot; and Devil's Brigade, a 2006 TV miniseries produced by Frantic Films In November, 2019. A Bravery In Arms documentary was produced of the First Special Service Force assault on Monte Majo. In the documentary, the actual location of the battle was shown. Quentin Tarantino's 2009 film Inglourious Basterds features a character named Lt. Aldo Raine, aka "Aldo the Apache," played by Brad Pitt, who wears the unit's crossed arrows collar insignia and red arrowhead shoulder patch. Tarantino cited the 1st SSF as an influence. The Devil's Brigade by Robert H. Adleman & George H. Walton is an autobiography and historical reference for the First Special Service Force. The Marvel Comics character Wolverine claimed several times that he was a member of the Devil's Brigade during the war — being Canadian-born during the last years of Queen Victoria's reign, it fits. He also claimed he took part in the Anzio and Cassino battles. In 1981, Capt. Kathleen Wilder became the first woman to qualify for the Green Beret. Wilder, a former military intelligence officer, wore the Special Forces tab from when it was created in 1983 and continued to do so over a 28-year career until she retired as a LtCol. In 2024, there are about 2,300 women currently serving in Army Special Forces, making up 8% of strength, which includes Special Forces and Rangers.
TWS has helped me preserve many of my memories and keep in touch with some of my shipmates and battle buddies over the years. I think it's a great resource and beneficial to those who understand the power of connection. There have been shipmates I have known since boot camp or even my first duty station. I connected to one of my RDCs on Navy TWS, and from that interaction, a boot camp photo of the Division was shared that I never had before. It is awesome to have a platform where we can still stay in touch and follow the progression we've made in our careers and even after the military.
End-of-life planning is uncomfortable, which is why so many people avoid it. I know this from personal experience.
My father was a wonderful man – a career Army Officer and patriot, a loving husband, and a strong and tough mentor to four children. He was also a lifelong cigarette smoker. So we were not surprised when they discovered he had lung cancer. During his final two years, he put off all efforts to address issues that required he acknowledged he wouldn't live forever.
After he died, I spent hours helping my mother with paperwork and taxes, tasks that could have been easily handled when he was alive. Even years later, she still receives inquiries related to his affairs. As we worked through these, I often joked that this was his plan, so she would never forget him.
With this experience, I always admire Veteran spouses when they ask me, "What happens when my Veteran dies?" There are many aspects to a complete answer, but two points that come up most frequently involve continued benefits and the possibility of needing to interact with the VA.
If the Veteran receives disability compensation, the spouse wants to know if these payments will continue. The short answer is no. However, other benefits are available to the spouse that can partially offset the loss of that monthly payment.
One benefit is DIC – Dependency Indemnity Compensation. If their Veteran passed from conditions related to their service connection, this benefit could provide a monthly payment to the spouse, children, and even parents. More details can be found at https://www.va.gov/disability/dependency-indemnity-compensation/.
Another benefit is the Survivors Pension. This provides a monthly payment to spouses and children if the Veteran served during time periods defined as Wartime. An essential requirement is the spouse's income and assets must be below a specific limit, currently about $150,000. Again, more details can be found at https://www.va.gov/pension/survivors-pension/.
Another aspect of this question about the death of a Veteran involves the fact that the Veteran might be in the midst of the benefits process when he passes. The possibility of dealing with confusing forms and a faceless bureaucracy can be daunting to a grieving spouse. Fortunately, there are two straightforward steps that a surviving spouse can take to resolve these.
The first is what is known as Accrued Benefits. These benefits are available but have not been paid before the Veterans death. This could be because a claim for the benefit was pending, but the VA had all the needed evidence. Or the claim was granted, but the benefit hadn't been awarded at the time of death. In this example, the surviving spouse could obtain these Accrued Benefits by completing VA Form 21P-601, "Application for Accrued Amounts Due a Deceased Beneficiary."
The second is known as a Substitution Claim. This allows the person eligible for the Accrued Benefits to substitute for the deceased and work with the VA to provide the needed information to complete the claim. In this example, the surviving spouse could become the substitute by completing VA Form 21P-0847, "Request for Substitution of Claimant Upon Death Claimant."
Many tasks will need to be completed after a Veteran's death. These will be harder because of the grief over the loss. Planning during good times can make some of the work less difficult. This is certainly true if the Veteran was service-connected or is still interacting with the VA.
If assistance is needed, reach out to a Veteran Service Officer from your State Department of Veterans Affairs. Many counties also have Veteran Service Officers. They are also available from Veteran Service Organizations – WWP, DAV, The Legion, VFW, etc.
Paul R. Lawrence, Ph.D., served as Under Secretary of Benefits at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs from May 2018 to January 2021. He is the author of "Veterans Benefits for You: Get what You Deserve," available from Amazon.
On the night of April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was fatally shot while watching a comedic play, "Our American Cousin," at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. Over the next 12 days, the largest manhunt in American history took place, which was personally directed by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton.
"Manhunt," a new limited series on Apple TV+, dramatizes Stanton's hunt for Booth and his co-conspirators. The show is based on author and Lincoln scholar James Swanson's 2006 book, "Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer," which examines every aspect of the assassination plot.
Most people have a general feel for what happened the night Abraham Lincoln was killed and who was involved. What's new about "Manhunt" is that the assassination is just the beginning. The show is a conspiracy thriller, following Stanton's efforts to not only hunt down Booth but also anyone else who might have been involved. The show, of course, ends at Garrett's Farm in Virginia, where Booth met his own end with a wound nearly identical to the one he inflicted on Lincoln.
But Lincoln wasn't the only target that night in April 1865. Co-conspirators were supposed to target Vice-President Andrew Johnson, an attack which never came, and Secretary of State William Seward, which did. Seward was wounded along with others in the attack. Four conspirators would be hanged for the assassination attempts, but the series explores others who might have been involved. It's a conspiracy that extended from Confederate Richmond in the south to Montreal, Canada, in the north, and even to faraway London.
"Manhunt" isn't just about the conspiracy around the murder of the 16th President of the United States. It explores Booth's personal motivations for killing Lincoln, as well as the reasoning behind the conspiracy. Historians have long believed the assassination was either retribution for the South's defeat in the Civil War or a means of reviving the Confederate cause, which by then was rendered hopeless.
It also explores the personal connection between Lincoln and his "Mars," Secretary of State Edwin Stanton. Stanton officially oversaw the hunt for Booth because the first-ever assassination of a sitting president shook the security of the nation. The outrage and shock expressed by the public put massive pressure on the government to find the killer. As Secretary of War in the days before the FBI was created, Stanton was particularly suited for the job.
Most importantly, however, Stanton and Lincoln were close friends who had worked together to prosecute the Civil War, and Stanton was committed to seeking justice for his friend's murder. Anthony Boyle ("Masters of the Air") stars as Booth opposite Tobias Menzies ("The Crown") as Stanton.
"Manhunt" also stars Will Harrison ("Daisy Jones & The Six"), Brandon Flynn ("13 Reasons Why"), Lovie Simone ("The Craft: Legacy"), Hamish Linklater ("The Stand"), Matt Walsh ("Veep") and Patton Oswalt ("Weird: The Al Yankovic Story"). The series will debut on Apple TV+ on March 15, 2024.
What an amazing place TWS is. I've chatted with veterans of earlier times, reconnected with fellow Airmen, and met people I've served alongside but never met before. This is decidedly not FB...or Linked-IN. It's got its own flavor and that flavor makes me think about my 29 years in uniform with fresh perspective. Many thanks to the TWS staff who have created this unique gathering place. I often go months without drifting out here, but then when I do "click in" I always feel welcome.
CMSgt Donald Felch US Air Force (Ret)
Served 1984-2014
One of my early jobs in the military was to manage the operation and maintenance of a computer.
Younger generations en
joying a laptop computer's reliability, speed, and power may rightly ask, what is there to maintain about a computer? Doesn't one just buy another one when the old one crashes?
Well, let me tell you about "my" computer. Even better, let me give you a tour of the computer, just as I used to do at an Air Force SAGE ("semi-automatic ground environment") air defense sector in the early 60s.
But first, let me explain the mission of an air defense sector.
During the Cold War, the threat of a Soviet "air-breathing" (manned bomber) attack on the United States was considered real. (On a couple of occasions, just short of "imminent.”) The mission of an air defense sector (there were 24 of them in the U.S.), with its computers, radar, and communication systems, was to detect, identify, track, and guide weapons and fighter aircraft to intercept and, if necessary, destroy any hostile Soviet aircraft approaching the U.S.
Processing the radar data and other inputs and providing the scores of personnel (surveillance and identification officers, weapons controllers, etc.) the information with which to perform the mission was an enormous 275-ton vacuum tube (50,000 of them) computer occupying over ½ acre of floor space in a four-story concrete "blockhouse" with a total of 3.5 acres of floor space (below).
While today, we plug our laptop computer into a 120-volt wall socket, the air defense computer's power was provided by huge diesel generators that delivered enough electricity to power a small town and, since 50,000 vacuum tubes and other electronics generate an awful amount of heat, there was an air conditioning system big enough, you guessed it, to cool a small town. Both located in an adjacent facility.
And did I mention the miles of wires and cables connecting everything together?
Or the "magnetic drum" storage devices, each weighing 450 pounds and whirling at 3600 rpm—what is now the minuscule "hard drive" in your laptop? How about the dozen 8-ft tall magnetic tape drives lined up along a wall?
The scores of 10-ft tall cabinets, each one containing a" part" of the computer — such as a "register," an "adder," or a "memory" — were spread out over the ½ acre of floor space.
During the tours, I proudly pointed to one of the "magnetic ferrite-core memories." The one shown below stored 4,096 32-bit words and was called "Little Memory."
The other one, "Big Memory," stored an "amazing" 65,536 words. Compare that to a typical laptop's storage capacity one billion times larger and a speed faster by nearly an equal factor, all contained in a device no larger than a magazine and almost as thin.
But back to the "operation and maintenance" of the air defense computer.
Star Wars-like "operation and maintenance" console of the SAGE computer
The scientists and engineers who designed the AN/FSQ-7 computer (that was the military "nomenclature") determined at a very early stage that, with the state of the electronics technology at the time, there would be a "fatal" or "catastrophic" failure every few minutes. That would not do for such a critical military system.
Thus, they developed a dual-redundant computer system (two computers), where one – the "active system" — would be running the air defense program while the "standby system" was being maintained.
Part of the maintenance consisted of an ingenuous "marginal checking software system" that systematically varied the voltages to the vacuum tubes, inducing failures in weak components. In effect, anticipating failures before they occurred, thus allowing technicians to replace marginal components before they actually failed.
That was the only way to achieve the 99% reliability absolutely necessary for such a critical military function.
But it came at a cost.
It took three shifts of 20 technicians each to keep this monster running 24/7.
Each system cost approximately $128 million in today's dollars and the entire project is estimated to have cost between $80 and $120 billion in today's dollars, exceeding the cost of the Manhattan Project.
Although, in some respects, it is like comparing apples to oranges, today's typical laptop computer with speed, capacity, and reliability that is one million times better costs around $500.
So, next time you are ready to throw your laptop out of the window because of a minor hiccup, think of the amazing power you hold in your hands, all for "peanuts."
But also pause a moment to think of the brilliant scientists, engineers, and programmers from MIT's Lincoln Labs, MITRE, RAND, the System Development Corporation, IBM, and others who made the impossible possible.
And let us not forget the dedicated Air Force technicians who kept the monster running and our country safe.
What possesses a unit of soldiers to run headlong into a frontal assault on a heavily defended position, knowing that the chances of success aren't great and that they could die? Many might ask: aren't they scared?
The answer is: of course they are. That's not really what matters at that moment, however.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, "Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear." Nowhere in American military history was that something more important than in the Civil War. Union soldiers marched into the grim melee of the world's first modern war, knowing they might be maimed or killed.
Fear is the natural process that keeps us alive and (hopefully) unharmed in the face of overwhelming danger. It's what provokes us to run away to safety or prepare to stand our ground. But war is different. Soldiers can't run away from their duty in the middle of a battle just because their fear response kicks in. Moreover, the fear and how they cope with that fear begins to shape who they are.
It's altogether fitting that author Philip M. Cole tackles this subject in his book "You'll Be Scared. Sure - You'll Be Scared - Fear, Stress, and Coping in the Civil War." Cole is a U.S. Navy veteran who was born and raised in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Aside from writing books about the Civil War (this book is his third), he is a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg National Military Park.
In "You'll Be Scared…" Cole discusses the stressors that added to soldiers' emotional distress during the Civil War, including physical fatigue, lack of sleep, hunger, conflict of values, and the clash between self-preservation and the obligations to duty and fellow soldiers. He also talks about how motivation, morale, discipline, and training helped them overcome their fears and operate on some of the most merciless battlefields in American military history.
Through eyewitness accounts, observations, and firsthand experiences, Cole takes readers into the minds of the men who fought the 1861-1865 war as they denied their situations, accepted their fates, or just became acclimated to the constant stress and fear of a soldier in America's most bloody war. It explores every fact of fear a soldier on the field might face, how the soldiers prepared for those facets and what their leaders could do to help.
What's most interesting is that Cole connects the past to soldiers on a modern battlefield. The technology and the kind of fighting might be different, but the fear is the same, as is the dedication to duty and to the soldier fighting next to them. Anyone with a love of military history will appreciate this fascinating new perspective into the psyche of Civil War troops and may be able to read about their favorite battles and war stories in an entirely new way.
"You'll Be Scared. Sure—You'll Be Scared—Fear, Stress, and Coping in the Civil War" by Philip M. Cole is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and elsewhere as an ebook and in paperback, starting at $5.99.
A native of San Bernardino, California, Fisher joined the Navy in 1945 at the end of World War II. When his time in the Navy ended in 1947, he attended Boise State Junior College and then transferred to the University of Utah—but he didn't get to finish his degree. He joined the Idaho National Guard around the same time he began his higher education. In 1951, the same year he was supposed to graduate from college, he was commissioned in the United States Air Force.
was under dense cloud cover, but other A-1s were loitering overhead. Fisher, his wingman, and two other pilots broke through the clouds to begin making their attack runs. The clouds and terrain made the strafing runs dangerous for the pilots, however. It limited their maneuverability and forced the aircraft to operate within range of enemy gun placements. 
lage. He landed and taxied the entire length of the runway. But none of the enemy attacks were enough to deter or prevent him from taking off once Myers had hopped in the backseat. With his charge picked up, Fisher gained enough speed to take off once more, with Myers safely along for the ride. 
The Japanese, of course, suffered a string of setbacks. A joint Australian and American force pushed back Japan’s offensive on the Kokoda Trail on New Guinea, the losses it suffered at Midway were not replaceable and by February 1943, the Japanese Army would be forced to abandon Guadalcanal. The Japanese Imperial Staff knew it needed to reinforce its positions in New Guinea, which was fighting in some of the most grueling swamp, mountain, and jungle conditions of the entire war. 
On March 3, the convoy erupted into a full-on battle. More than 100 Allied aircraft struck the Japanese airfield at Lae as American and Australian fighters and bombers hit the convoy in the mid-morning hours. The combination of low-level and mid-leveling bombing made it difficult for the Japanese to repel the planes with anti-aircraft fire. Furthermore, the convoy spread out in the water, which meant they could no longer protect each other with a group anti-air umbrella.
The tradition is called Mustache March, and though it has become a month to honor and remember pilots everywhere, it started with a U.S. Air Force legend: Robin Olds. 
He scored four aerial victories in Vietnam, one officially shy of becoming an ace. But if his mustache is any indication, he wasn't always playing by the rules. He was technically only allowed to fly 100 missions over Vietnam, but USAF Historian Henry Halvorsen writes that he flew 152. The odds that he shot down only four enemy aircraft in 152 missions are hard to believe. He believed he would have become a public relations stunt if he had become an Ace and would thus have lost his command.
This unit was activated July 9, 1942, at Fort William Henry Harrison, Montana, disbanded January 6, 1945, in France, and then reconstituted April 15, 1960, in the Regular Army; concurrently consolidated with Company B, 1st Ranger Infantry Battalion (activated June 19, 1942), and the combined unit redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces on September 30, 1960, with 1st Special Forces Group (constituted June 14, 1957, in the Regular Army and activated June 24, 1957, in Japan). The group was inactivated June 30, 1974, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and reactivated September 1, 1984, at Fort Lewis, Washington (former Company B, 1st Ranger Infantry Battalion, withdrawn February 3, 1986, consolidated with Company N, 75th Infantry, and the consolidated unit redesignated thereafter under that separate lineage). It was redesignated again on October 1, 2005, as the 1st Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces Regiment. 
The president felt that since they had a special mission, Special Forces should have something to set them apart from the rest. In 1962, he called the green beret "A symbol of excellence, a badge of courage, a mark of distinction in the fight for freedom." After displaying their survival skills to President Kennedy, when they caught and ate snakes, they were stuck with the moniker "snake eaters." They have five doctrinal missions: unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, direct action, counterterrorism, and special reconnaissance. Other Special Forces missions, known as secondary, include combat search and rescue (CSAR), counter-narcotics, hostage rescue, humanitarian assistance, humanitarian demining, peacekeeping, and manhunts. Components of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) or other US government activities may also specialize in these secondary missions. The Special Forces conduct these missions via five active duty groups, each with a geographic specialization and two National Guard groups that share multiple geographic areas of responsibility. 
The 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) holds the distinction of having the first and last Special Forces soldiers killed in Vietnam: Captain Harry Cramer was killed on October 21, 1957, and Captain Richard M. Rees was killed on December 15, 1973. Decades later, another 1st Special Forces Group soldier became the first American to die by hostile fire in Afghanistan: SFC Nathan Chapman was killed on January 2, 2002. During the Vietnam War, the 1st SFG(A) sent teams for six-month temporary duty. It also ran Camp Hardy Combat Training Center in the Northern Training Area of Okinawa, which involved SF units, Navy SEALs, and US Marines deploying to Vietnam. It earned the MUC for its efforts during the year 1973. Starting in February 2002, elements of the 1st SFG (A) deployed to conduct unconventional warfare in the Southern Philippines by and with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in order to assist the Government of the Philippines (GOP). Over the next three years there, 1st SFG(A) members built an admirable record training six light infantry battalions and three light reaction companies from the AFP, treating over 31,000 Filipinos in MEDCAP events, helping to professionalize the AFP, and providing operations and intelligence fusion teams to actively assist in targeting terrorist cells. Throughout 2003–2004, the 1st SFG(A) deployed many soldiers in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. By November 2004 the unit deployed an entire battalion to Afghanistan as part of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan (CJSOTF-A). The 1st SFG(A) supported the Global War on Terrorism with operations in those theaters as well as maintaining US security relationships with partner nations throughout the Pacific until 2021. 
Army TWS also includes 720 members who are enrolled in the Special Forces Association. The 1968 film Anzio featured Peter Falk as Corporal Jack Rabinoff, who identified himself to co-star Robert Mitchum as a member of the American-Canadian 1st Special Service Force. Three documentaries have been made about the force: "Black Devils" in 2000, an episode of History Channel's "Dangerous Missions" series, written produced and directed by Darryl Rehr; Daring to Die: The Story of the Black Devils, written and directed by Greg Hancock and Wayne Abbot; and Devil's Brigade, a 2006 TV miniseries produced by Frantic Films In November, 2019. A Bravery In Arms documentary was produced of the First Special Service Force assault on Monte Majo. In the documentary, the actual location of the battle was shown. Quentin Tarantino's 2009 film Inglourious Basterds features a character named Lt. Aldo Raine, aka "Aldo the Apache," played by Brad Pitt, who wears the unit's crossed arrows collar insignia and red arrowhead shoulder patch. Tarantino cited the 1st SSF as an influence. The Devil's Brigade by Robert H. Adleman & George H. Walton is an autobiography and historical reference for the First Special Service Force. The Marvel Comics character Wolverine claimed several times that he was a member of the Devil's Brigade during the war — being Canadian-born during the last years of Queen Victoria's reign, it fits. He also claimed he took part in the Anzio and Cassino battles. In 1981, Capt. Kathleen Wilder became the first woman to qualify for the Green Beret. Wilder, a former military intelligence officer, wore the Special Forces tab from when it was created in 1983 and continued to do so over a 28-year career until she retired as a LtCol. In 2024, there are about 2,300 women currently serving in Army Special Forces, making up 8% of strength, which includes Special Forces and Rangers.
My father was a wonderful man – a career Army Officer and patriot, a loving husband, and a strong and tough mentor to four children. He was also a lifelong cigarette smoker. So we were not surprised when they discovered he had lung cancer. During his final two years, he put off all efforts to address issues that required he acknowledged he wouldn't live forever. 
Another benefit is the Survivors Pension. This provides a monthly payment to spouses and children if the Veteran served during time periods defined as Wartime. An essential requirement is the spouse's income and assets must be below a specific limit, currently about $150,000. Again, more details can be found at 
The second is known as a Substitution Claim. This allows the person eligible for the Accrued Benefits to substitute for the deceased and work with the VA to provide the needed information to complete the claim. In this example, the surviving spouse could become the substitute by completing VA Form 21P-0847, "Request for Substitution of Claimant Upon Death Claimant."
"Manhunt," a new limited series on Apple TV+, dramatizes Stanton's hunt for Booth and his co-conspirators. The show is based on author and Lincoln scholar James Swanson's 2006 book, "Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer," which examines every aspect of the assassination plot. 
"Manhunt" isn't just about the conspiracy around the murder of the 16th President of the United States. It explores Booth's personal motivations for killing Lincoln, as well as the reasoning behind the conspiracy. Historians have long believed the assassination was either retribution for the South's defeat in the Civil War or a means of reviving the Confederate cause, which by then was rendered hopeless. 
joying a laptop computer's reliability, speed, and power may rightly ask, what is there to maintain about a computer? Doesn't one just buy another one when the old one crashes?
And did I mention the miles of wires and cables connecting everything together?
Thus, they developed a dual-redundant computer system (two computers), where one – the "active system" — would be running the air defense program while the "standby system" was being maintained.
What possesses a unit of soldiers to run headlong into a frontal assault on a heavily defended position, knowing that the chances of success aren't great and that they could die? Many might ask: aren't they scared?
In "You'll Be Scared…" Cole discusses the stressors that added to soldiers' emotional distress during the Civil War, including physical fatigue, lack of sleep, hunger, conflict of values, and the clash between self-preservation and the obligations to duty and fellow soldiers. He also talks about how motivation, morale, discipline, and training helped them overcome their fears and operate on some of the most merciless battlefields in American military history.