Featuring today: Curtis E. LeMay

Airpower Maxwell ^ | Archive Chronicles | American Airpower Biography

[Calpernia]

[SAMWolf]

Curtis LeMay Bump

[Squantos]

When I first went into the AF in 72 General Lemays legacy in SAC was still clealy at work. SAC was up until the day it died "the" most professional organization that I ever had the pleasure of being associated with. But I still have my SAC suck's patch somewhere .....:o)

Stay Safe Calpernia !

[KellyAdmirer]

I watched Strategic Air Command (1955) with Jimmy Stewart last night. It has an obvious Curtis LeMay character in it, no-nonsense and focused. I recommend it for anyone interested in LeMay, his situation, and the bombers he worked with. That B-36 was one heckuva plane.

[Rutles4Ever]

Stud. Easily the most important figure in the Pacific Theatre.

[vetvetdoug]

LeMay's command of the 8th AAF was given to him after the previous commander, General Nathan Bedford Forrest III, was killed leading a formation of B-17's over Germany. LeMay designed the "box" formation that afforded the B-17's protection against the tenacious Nazi fighters. LeMay tried one B-29 raid in May of 1945 that featured low flying bombing runs over Tokyo that resulted in a very high loss of men and planes (including my cousin). After that he resulted to high altitude bombing of the Japanese targets.

LeMay was an outspoken commander and demanded his troops discipline and spit and polish. LeMay was a common sense commander too, he was the General that selected the M-16 for use by combat USAF personnel before the Army and the USMC took up the weapon.

[DuncanWaring]

"Our Father who art in Omaha, Curtis be thy name ..."

[vetvetdoug]

I have a SAC patch that has testicles in the grip instead of lightening bolts. That is the way we felt when in the grip of the SAC legacy. I keep my uniform with the SAC patch on the pocket and the Blue and Silver chevrons (I can't wear it anymore but it looks nice in the closet).

[jim_trent]

Offutt AFB used to have a good little museum on the northeast corner of the AFB. I thought it captured the feeling of the people who made SAC. It had a lot of AF planes that you don't see elsewhere, too. Naturally, LeMay was featured prominently.

It was moved to Interstate 80 at the Platte River (about 30 miles west of Omaha, NE) a few years ago. It has lost much of the SAC feeling now that there are "professional" museum curators, but they have more money and are restoring some of the planes. I expect to see many of the original displays being replaced with more PC ones in the years to come.

[Grut]

But I still have my SAC suck's patch somewhere .....:o)

Somewhere or other, I still have my patch of a crow being strangled by the famous mailed fist.

[DuncanWaring]

I have a SAC patch ...

I've got a decal that shows the armored fist with its fingers crossed, with the motto "Fortuna Sopra Sadere" (sp?), meaning, roughly, "Luck Above Skill".

[Lurker]

They left out a big part of General LeMays legacy.

At a picnic sponsored by Colt, he fired one of the first AR-15's. He shot some watermelons.

He was so impressed with it, he turned to the Colt salesperson and said: "I'll take 80,000 of these."

I would loved to have seen the look on that salesguys face.

L

[robertpaulsen]

In the 1964 movie classic Dr. Strangelove, General Turgidson (played by George C. Scott) is based on General Curtis LeMay ('Bombs Away' LeMay).

[Professional Engineer]

"Our Father who art in Omaha, Curtis be thy name ..."

Oooo, I like it.

[Calpernia]

"Our Father who art in Omaha, Curtis be thy name ..."

Phrase coined credited to Duncan!

Private Mail to be added to or removed from the GNFI (or Pro-Coalition) ping list.

[Squantos]

Yeah I have that patch too...also one that has the gauntlet open with a pile of crap in the palm and a fly buzzing around it.......it was great fun to stand inspection while wearing those patches and the flight chief never seeing the "details"............thankfully !

Stay safe !

[Squantos]

Don't think I have that one....any chance if ya locate it you could scan me a copy ?

Stay safe !

[Squantos]

Yeah but that was back when men were men and sheep were afraid ! It had to be a kewl scene indeed !

Stay safe !

[Squantos]

LMAO.....I actually saw that written on a wall in the Bomb Dump at Kincheloe AFB in Michigan once !.........LOL Great memory bump THANKS !!

Stay safe !

[Petronski]

"Mr. President, I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed. But I do say... no more than ten to twenty million killed, tops. Uh... depending on the breaks."