The FReeper Foxhole Profiles Captain Joe Foss - Oct. 18th, 2004

www.acepilots.com ^

[SAMWolf]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
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FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.

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Captain Joseph Jacob Foss
(1916-2003)

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Joe Foss was born in 1915 to a Norwegian-Scots family in South Dakota. He learned hunting and marksmanship at a young age. Like millions of others, 11-year old Joe Foss was inspired by Charles Lindbergh, especially after he saw Lindy at an airport near Sioux Falls. Five years later he watched a Marine squadron put on a dazzling exhibition, led by Capt. Clayton Jerome, future wartime Director of Marine Corps Aviation.

In 1934, Joe began his college education in Sioux Falls, but he had to drop out to help his mother run the family farm. However he scraped up $65 for private flying lessons. Five years later he entered the University of South Dakota again and supported himself by waiting on tables. In his senior year he also completed a civilian pilot training program before he graduated with a Business degree in 1940.

Upon graduation he enlisted in the Marine Corps reserves as an aviation cadet. Seven months later, he earned his Marine wings at Pensacola and was commissioned a second lieutenant. For the next nine months he was a 'plowback' flight instructor. He was at Pensacola when the news of Pearl Harbor broke, and since he was Officer of the Day, he was placed in charge of base security. Thus he prepared to defend Pensacola from Jap invaders, riding around the perimeter on a bicycle. To his distress, he was then ordered to the aerial photographers school and assigned to a VMO-1, a photo reconnaissance squadron. But he insisted he wanted fighter pilot duty, even after being told "You're too ancient, Joe. You're 27 years old!" After lengthy lobbying with Aircraft Carrier Training Group, he learned all about the new F4F Wildcat, logging over 150 flight hours in June and July. When he finished training, he became executive officer of VMF-121. Three weeks later, he was on his way to the South Pacific, where Americans were desperately trying to turn the tide of war. Arriving in the South Pacific, VMF-121 was loaded aboard the escort carrier Copahee.

Guadalcanal



On the morning of October 9, they were catapulted off the decks, in Joe's only combat carrier mission. Landing at Henderson Field, he was told that his fighters were now based at the 'cow pasture.' He was impressed with the 'make-do' character of the 'Cactus Air Force. The airfield was riddled with bomb craters and wrecked aircraft, but also featured three batteries of 90mm anti-aircraft guns and two radar stations. As 'exec' of -121, he would normally lead a flight of two four-plane divisions, whenever there were enough Wildcats to go around. He was the oldest pilot in the flight, four years older than the average age of 23. The flight would become known as 'Foss's Flying Circus' and rack up over 60 victories. Five of them would become aces; two would die in the in the fight for Guadalcanal.

On October 13, 1942, VMF-121 scored its first victories when Lts. Freeman and Narr each got a Japanese plane. Later that same day, Joe led a dozen Wildcats to intercept 32 enemy bombers and fighters. In his first combat, a Zero bounced Joe, but overshot, and Joe was able to fire a good burst and claim one destroyed aircraft. Instantly, three more Zeros set upon him, and he barely made it back to 'Fighter One', his Wildcat dripping oil. Chastened by the experience, he declared "You can call me 'Swivel-Neck Joe' from now on." From the first day, Joe followed the tactics of Joe Bauer: getting in close, so close that another pilot joked that the 'exec' left powder burns on his targets. The next day while intercepting a flight of enemy bombers, Joe's engine acted up and he took cover in the clouds. But suddenly a Wildcat whizzed past him, tailed by a Zero. Joe cut loose and shot the Zero's wing off. It was his second victory in two days.


This is a 1943 file photo showing Joe Foss standing forth from left with members of Joe's Flying Ciricus. Foss, a World War II hero who shot down 26 enemy planes as a Marine pilot later became governor of South Dakota. Foss led a Marine air unit known as Joe's Flying Circus that shot down 72 Japanese planes. He downed 26 planes himself, tying the U.S. aerial record Eddie Rickenbacker set in World War I. Foss became a well-known war hero; a 1943 Life magazine coverproclaimed him "America's No. 1 Ace.

While the Wildcats' primary responsibility was air defense, they also strafed Japanese infantry and ships when they had enough ammunition. Joe led on such mission on the 16th. Mid-October was the low point for the Americans in the struggle for Guadalcanal. Japanese warships shelled the U.S. positions nightly, with special attention to the airstrips. To avoid the shelling, some fliers slept in the front lines. Foss grew to appreciate the Navy's fighter doctrine and found that the "Thach Weave" effectively countered the Zero's superior performance, because "it allowed us to point eyes and guns in every direction."

Joe was leading an interception on morning of the 18th when the Zero top cover pounced on them and downed an F4F. But Foss was able to get above them and flamed the nearest, hit another, and briefly engaged a third. Gaining an angle, he finally shot up the third plane's engine. Next he found a group of Bettys already under attack by VF-71. He executed a firing pass from above, flashed through the enemy bombers, and pulled up sharply, blasting one from below. Nine days at Guadalcanal and he was an ace! Two days later Lt. Col. Bauer and Foss led a flight of Wildcats on the morning intercept. In the dogfighting, Joe downed two Zeros, but took a hit in his engine. He landed safely at Henderson Field with a bad cut on his head, but otherwise unharmed.


On Jan. 25th 1943, without losing a single aircraft, Capt. Joe Foss led a group of eight Wildcats and four Lightnings, succesfully turning back a force of more than 100 Japanese fighters and bombers en route to attack Henderson Field, Guadalcanal.

'Cactus Fighter Command' struggled to keep enough Wildcats airworthy to meet the daily Japanese air strikes. On the 23rd, it put up two flights, led by Foss and Maj. Davis. There were plenty of targets and Joe soon exploded a Zero. He went after another which tried to twist away in a looping maneuver. Joe followed and opened up while inverted at the top of his loop. He caught the Zero and flamed it. He later described it as a lucky shot. Next he spotted a Japanese pilot doing a slow roll; he fired as the Zero's wings rolled through the vertical and saw the enemy pilot blown out of the cockpit, minus a parachute. Suddenly he was all alone and two Zeros hit him, but his rugged Grumman absorbed the damage, permitting Foss to flame one of his assailants. Once again, he nursed a damaged fighter back to Guadalalcanal. So far he had destroyed eleven enemy planes, but had brought back four Wildcats that were too damaged to fly again.

October 25 was the day that the Japanese planned to occupy Henderson Field; they sent their fighters over, with orders to circle until the airstrip was theirs. It didn't work out that way, as the U.S. ground forces held their lines and 'Cactus' did its part. Joe Foss led six Wildcats up before 10 AM, and claimed two of the Marine's three kills on that sortie. Afterwards, he berated himself for wasting ammunition on long-range shooting. He kept learning how important it was to get close. (The great German ace, Erich Hartmann, said "Get close enough until the airplane fills the whole windscreen; then you can't miss.") In an afternoon mission on the 25th, he downed three more, to become the Marine Corps' first 'ace in a day'. He had achieved 14 victories in only 13 days.


Joe Foss, recipient of the Medal of Honor, and highest scoring USMC ace of WWII is portrayed in a mission during which he downed a "Pete" float plane.

Despite rugged living conditions and the stress of daily combat flying, Foss retained his enthusiasm. He and some other fliers of VMF-121 occasionally went prowling with their rifles in the jungle, looking for Japanese soldiers, but Col. Bauer stopped this activity; trained fighter pilots were too valuable to risk this way. They slept in six-man tents and ate the wretched powdered eggs that are mentioned in almost every pilot's memoirs. On guy had a gramophone that they played scratchy records on. They bathed in the Lunga River; many grew beards rather than try to shave in cold water. They kept the beards neatly trimmed, not for appearances, but to ensure their beards didn't interfere with the close-fitting oxygen masks. 'Washing Machine Charlie' and 'Millimeter Mike' harassed the field nightly, so some pilots tried to sleep in the daytime.

Thanks to Iris7 for suggesting this thread

[SAMWolf]

Down!

On November 7th Foss led seven F4Fs up the Slot to attack some IJN destroyers and a cruiser, covered by six Rufe floatplane fighters. They dispatched five of the Rufes promptly and prepared to strafe the destroyers. Joe climbed up to protect the others and got involved in a dogfight with a Pete, a two-man float biplane. He shot down the slow-flying plane, but not before its rear gunner perforated the Wildcat's engine with 7.7mm machine gun fire. Once again, Foss' aircraft started sputtering on the way home. But his time, it didn't make it. As the engine died, he put it into the longest possible shallow dive, to get as close to home as he could.

As he plane went into the water off Malaita Island, Foss struggled with his parachute harness and his seat. He went under with his plane, gulped salt water, and almost drowned before he freed himself and inflated his Mae West. Exhausted and with the tide against him, he knew that he couldn't swim to shore. While trying to rest and re-gain his strength in his life raft, he spotted shark fins nearby. He sprinkled the chlorine powder supplied for that purpose in his emergency pack and that seemed to help. As darkness approached, he heard some searchers looking for him. They hauled him in and brought him to Malaita's Catholic mission. There were a number of Europeans and Australians, including two nuns who had been there for forty years and had never seen an automobile. They fed him steak and eggs and invited him stay for two weeks.

The next day a PBY Catalina, piloted by Maj. Jack Cram rescued him. On his return to Guadalcanal, he learned that 'Cactus' had downed 15 Japanese planes in the previous day's air battle. His own tally stood at 19. On the ninth, Admiral Bull Halsey pinned the Distinguished Flying Cross on him and two other pilots.

The Americans were bringing four transports full of infantry to Guadalcanal on November 12. The Japanese sent 16 Betty bombers and 30 covering Zeroes after them, while the American Wildcats and Airacobras defended. Foss and his Wildcats were flying top cover CAP and dived headlong into the attackers, right down onto the deck. As Barrett Tillman described it in Wildcat Aces of WWII:

Ignoring the peril, Foss hauled into within 100 yards of the nearest bomber and aimed at the starboard engine, which spouted flame. The G4M tried a water landing, caught a wingtip and tumbled into oblivion. Foss set his sight on another Betty when a Zero intervened. The F4F nosed up briefly and fired a beautifully aimed snapshot which sent the A6M spearing into the water. He then resumed the chase.

Friday, November 13th, 1942. Capt. Joe Foss leads a flight of eight F4F Wildcats in an attack on the damaged Japanese battleship Hiei at Guadalcanal.

Foss caught up with the next Betty in line and made a deflection shot into its wingroot; the bomber flamed up and then set down in the water. The massive dogfight continued, until Joe ran out of fuel and ammunition.

Between the fighters and the AA, the Americans destroyed almost all the bombers and many of the Zeros. No U.S. ships were seriously damaged. But that night another naval surface battle raged in Ironbottom Sound. Warships on both sides were sunk or damaged, including the IJN battleship Hiei which Marine bombers and torpedo planes finished off on the 13th. The major Japanese effort continued on the 14th, as they brought in a seven ship troop convoy. The American air forces cut this up as well.

Late that afternoon, Col. Bauer, tired of being stuck on the ground at Fighter Command, went up with Joe to take a look. It was his last flight, described by Joe Foss in a letter to Bauer's family. No trace of 'Indian Joe' was ever found. Back at Guadalcanal, Foss was diagnosed with malaria. Two great leaders of Cactus Fighter Command were gone, although Foss would return in six weeks.


This is a 1944 file photo showing Joe Foss while recuperating from a tropical illness at the Klamath Falls rehabilitation Center in Oregon.

He recuperated in New Caledonia and Australia. He met some of the high-scoring Australian aces, who viewed the Japanese as inferior opponents and were a little dismissive of Foss' 23 victories. After a brief relapse of malaria, Joe returned to Guadalcanal on New Year's Day. Improvements had been made in his absence, notably pierced steel planking (PSP) for the Fighter Strip. Foss returned to combat flying on the 15th when he shot down three more planes to bring his total to 26.


Joe Foss Scores his 20th. victory.

He flew his last mission ten days later when his flight and four P-38s intercepted a force of over 60 Zeros and Vals. Quickly analyzing the situation, he ordered his flight to stay high, circling in a Lufbery. This made his small flight look like a decoy to the Japanese. Soon Cactus scrambled more fighters and the Japanese planes fled. It was ironic that in one of Joe Foss' most satisfying missions, he didn't fire a shot.

Home

A few months later, he went to Washington D.C., to be decorated and begin "the dancing bear act," for his 26 aerial victories that equaled Eddie Rickenbacker's World War One record. He gave pep talks, made factory tours, and went on the inevitable War Bond tours. In May, 1943, President Roosevelt presented him with the Congressional Medal of Honor for outstanding heroism above and beyond the call of duty.

Joe Foss is awarded the Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor Citation:

Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, Marine Fighting Squadron 121, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing.

Place and date: Over Guadalcanal, 9 October to 19 November 1942, 15 and 23 January 1943.

Entered service at: South Dakota.

Born: 17 April 1 915, Sioux Falls, S. Dakota.

For outstanding heroism and courage above and beyond the call of duty as executive officer of Marine Fighting Squadron 121, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, at Guadalcanal. Engaging in almost daily combat with the enemy from 9 October to 19 November 1942, Capt. Foss personally shot down 23 Japanese planes and damaged others so severely that their destruction was extremely probable. In addition, during this period, he successfully led a large number of escort missions, skillfully covering reconnaissance, bombing, and photographic planes as well as surface craft. On 15 January 1943, he added 3 more enemy planes to his already brilliant successes for a record of aerial combat achievement unsurpassed in this war. Boldly searching out an approaching enemy force on 25 January, Capt. Foss led his 8 F-4F Marine planes and 4 Army P-38s into action and, undaunted by tremendously superior numbers, intercepted and struck with such force that 4 Japanese fighters were shot down and the bombers were turned back without releasing a single bomb. His remarkable flying skill, inspiring leadership, and indomitable fighting spirit were distinctive factors in the defense of strategic American positions on Guadalcanal.

Back to active duty, he served as a training advisor at the Santa Barbara Marine Corps air station. Then he became commander of VMF-115 in the South Pacific, where he met Charles Lindbergh.

Foss was Republican Governor of South Dakota, 1955-1959.

After the war, Foss returned to South Dakota and was commissioned in the South Dakota Air National Guard, which he helped organize. He was elected to the state House of Representatives. His political career was interrupted when he was called to active duty for the Korean War. In 1954, he was elected Governor of South Dakota and two years later was elected to a second term.

Foss followed his political career by becoming the first commissioner of the American Football League in 1960, a position he held until 1966. Foss became the first host of "The American Sportsman" from 1964 to 1967, and his own syndicated television show, "Joe Foss: Outdoorsman," from 1967 to 1974.

Joseph J. Foss As Commissioner of the A.F.L.

In the early 1980's Foss retired to Arizona like many other South Dakotans. Not one to be idle in retirement he accepted the position of president of the National Rifle Association (NRA) in 1988, which he held until 1990.

In January, 2002, the 86 year old Foss was on his way to board a plane to Washington D.C. at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport when he was pulled aside by security checkers. Notably skittish following the 9-11 terrorist attack, a guard examined the star shaped Medal of Honor Foss had in his pocket to use at a speech he was going to give at West Point. The guard held the medal to see if it could be used as a weapon. He was allowed to proceed with the medal, but the guard confiscated a silver bullet replica given to Foss by NRA President Charlton Heston.

Jimmy Doolittle and Joe Foss may not have told a lot of war stories, but they were not above telling a few fish stories. It looks like the Army aviator caught the bigger fish, but the Marine hero is quick to point out that the one that "got away from him" was much bigger.

Foss suffered an apparent aneurysm in the fall of 2002. He never regained consciousness and died in Scottsdale on January 1, 2003.

In 2001, The Joe Foss Institute was organized "to help enlist fellow veterans in a nationwide effort to bring a message to school-aged children about the importance of integrity, the meaning and importance of patriotism, and the real value of the freedom we enjoy in the United States." Members of the institute's advisory board included Tom Brokaw, who took time off from his news anchoring duties at NBC to write The Greatest Generation (Random House, 1998). Joe Foss was featured in that book.

[SAMWolf]

Interview of
CAPTAIN J.J. FOSS, USMC
Executive Officer, VMF-121
in the
Bureau of Aeronautics
26 April 1943
Captain Foss te11s of experiences as
a fighter pilot on Guadalcanal . . . .

Distribution: To all units ashore and afloat concerned with aircraft.

GUADALCANAL - [JAPANESE] TACTICS



I went into Guadalcanal in VF-121. Major "Duke" Davis was Commanding Officer and I was the Exec. We flew off a converted carrier, about 350 miles off Guadalcanal, arriving October 9. Our second day there, we started air operations.

At that time the [Japanese] attacks were with the Type 1 high-altitude bomber, coming in in formations of from 27 up to 35, with fighter escort; altitudes from 22,000 to 26,000 feet. They would send down a fighter sweep before the bombing attack. About 12 Zeros would arrive 30 to 45 minutes ahead of the bombers, apparently to draw up all our fighters to start an engagement. About the time an engagement started the second wave of Zeros would come in. They always came in at high altitude, somewhere about 30,000. By the time they arrived, they were hoping you were down at a good low altitude where they could work on you.

The first outfit that came in would always spar around; they wanted to draw you down so that the high altitude boys could get a good pass at you. Once of that was enough to cure me and everyone in our outfit. We went in to get something that looked like easy bait and as we started in the Zeros that were above us came down on us. They had a little bit too much speed to do much damage. They didn't shoot down many, but they hit just about all of us.



So whenever we'd see about six [Japanese] planes that seemed to want to engage us, we were quite sure they had plenty of high cover. If the fighting was on even terms, they weren't at all anxious to engage us. But whenever they had the long end of the deal, they were anxious to engage. Along with the bombers there would be six to eight more Zeros. They'd fly to the rear and above, about 3,000 feet above the bombers, doing loops and slow rolls, to slow them down so they could stay with the bombers. They were usually up around 30,000 feet. Then there were another six just prowling around. You never could tell where they were; they would circle wide and try to come in from the opposite direction.

When I got there, we seemed to be getting off late. The [Japanese] got wise to the fact that if they made a circle and came in over the mountains we couldn't pick them up on the Radar as soon as we used to when they came right down the channel. With the mountain interference on the Radar we hadn't quite enough warning to make it up there. On several occasions I reached the same altitude as the bombers, a bad situation. We didn't have time to climb into a position to get a pass at the bombers. Sometimes my outfit made a parallel run to the bombing formation but couldn't gain a bit on them; we stayed right there just out of range. Their gunners would be shooting at us while Zeros stayed up and didn't seem to want to come down. Finally they could come down, and then we'd get to fight the Zeros. One reason why my squadron had [a] lot of Zeros to its credit is that we always wanted to get into a scrap. When there was nothing else around, we always went after the Zeros, if they didn't come after us.

U.S. TACTICS

Instead of scrambling all the fighters on the first warning, we would send up one flight of eight and sometimes twelve planes just to spar around with these first fighters. They circle around for a long time before they engage; they never press the attack. We were just trying to hold off 'til we could get some more fighters with plenty of oxygen and gas up there in time for the bombers.



At that time, we were allowed 40 F4Fs on the field, about 30 of which were operating. Out of these 30, we could guarantee to have 24 in the air.

The P-38s didn't arrive until late in October. The day they arrived was the last time that the [Japanese] came in with their big formations for high-altitude bombing.

Until October 25 we had air combat every day, sometimes two and three times a day. On October 25 we knocked down 17 Zeros and 5 bombers. That attack was the last that came into the field. Every day we picked them up on the Radar. They'd come down to within 40 miles of the field and orbit. We covered the field, and went out in their direction far enough to intercept them, if they came in. That went on for about a week. After that we decided to see what was out farther. As soon as we'd start out, they'd evidently see us coming and turn around, for our Control would call us and say they were departing...



STRAFING

Q. In strafing a destroyer, what is the maximum distance for attack?

A. I would start shooting at 3,000 feet. Some of them start shooting at 5,000 feet, but in my opinion that is just wasting time and ammunition. I go right down and pull up below l,000 feet. After I pass the destroyer, I am right on the water. In strafing a troop transport, I'd drop over the bow or the stern, so that when I went out I was right on the water. I just cleared the ship, went over it, and then really snaked along. We shot all the way in, down to 500 feet -- by that time you're really going, high speeds -- we were always upward of 300 when we came by. On the way out none of us were hit; it was when you were coming down that you were in a bad spot. You have to look out for crossfire. The ship that you're strafing isn't the dangerous one, there's one on each side; they start playing a crossfire into you, and they pretty well put it to you. When six or seven or eight destroyers and cruisers were escorting transports and cargo ships, we'd come in and attack the corner warships so that we'd draw fire from these ships and give the dive-bombers a chance to go in and drop on the cargo and transport ships. They used to shoot the fighters in preference to the dive-bombers. Whether they couldn't tell a dive-bomber from a fighter, I don't know. The Grumman looked so chubby that they right away thought it was a dive-bomber with a bomb on it!...

[JAPANESE] TACTICS

They have a rather unusual way in their attacks. The leader always shies around; his wing mate flies back far enough so you can hit him off without the leader's ever knowing it. They fly more or less in a column -- the wing man is supposed to stay with that leader. How he does it I don't know. When you stay 200 or 300 yards behind your leader and try to follow him, you've really got something on your hands. The wing man has a tough time of it. I talked to some of the Japanese through an interpreter, some of the Japanese pilots, and they'd always shake their heads about following their leader, and talk about their heads going around and around. I see their point.


A Russian hero posing with Joe Foss is a recipient (twice) of Russia's highest award for military valor.

U.S. TACTICS

In our attacks, we'd move in close. Eight planes right close together. If we broke up it would be first one four-plane section and then the other four-plane section, then into two planes. In the end it's just a big dogfight. My wing man would stay right on me until there'd be a plane in front of me that I was chasing.

Then a plane would be coming from one side or the other, and that was a farewell for my wing man. He just made a quick swing out, and he'd always get a head-on shot -- probably not such a good shot -- but he'd put out a shot and make a quick turn. I'd turn around the other way and hope that we'd come back together; if we didn't see each other, we joined up on the first Grumman we saw. And always branch out from that again. I had my boys fly up more or less on line when they were going into an attack; they flew pretty well up. If the attack moved in from the tail end, I'd just call to him; and he would lead the attack in -- he'd be first man in, and I'd be last. Instead of all having to slide over, I'd just call him, and he could take over. We had very good luck that way. We were never surprised. He flew back about 30° I'd say, or as much as 45° but never any of this column stuff. I always want to know where all my wing men are.

Q. Are the [Japanese] pilots who have been taken prisoner high-grade people?

A. The Zero pilot seems to be the better of the two, bomber and combat pilots. They were very young, lads of 19-21, with very good builds. …The [Japanese] are pretty well broken up when they're taken prisoner. One told me the only reason he ever joined up in the Air Corps was so he could fly. Now he couldn't fly anymore -- by that he meant that he'd never be able to fly for Japan again; and we won't take him on. He was out of luck. He was a 21-year chap who had gone to the University of Tokio [sic].

Additional Sources:

www.microsoft.com
www.doney.net
www.leisuregalleries.com
www.daveswarbirds.com
www.arlingtoncemetery.net
www.naval-air.org
www.brooksart.com
www.havelshouseofhistory.com
www.sddot.com
www.au.af.mil
www.homeofheroes.com
merrillosmond.com
log24.com

[SAMWolf]

On Dogfighting

'Dogfights are normally over in a matter of seconds. If you blink, you could miss the fight. If you blink during the fight, you could die.'

-- From Foss' autobiography, A Proud American: Joe Foss

On What it takes to be a fighter pilot

'The impulse and the act must be one. Skilled fighter pilots have one thing in common: They are fast. The airplane becomes an extension of your body, like an arm or a leg. If somebody's coming at you with a red-hot poker, you instinctively get out of the way. You don't have to think about it. You just do it. In the air, whoever acts smartest and fastest is going to be the survivor. As the Red Baron said, "It's not the crate, it's the man sitting in it." If it were not so, the Grumman Wildcat would have been a flying coffin.'

-- From Foss' autobiography, A Proud American: Joe Foss

On Saburo Sakai

'Saburo Sakai, the top surviving Japanese ace, with whom I often share platforms at university symposiums, recently told me that I am his best friend in America.'

-- From Foss' autobiography, A Proud American: Joe Foss

On the truth about combat (Foss to fighter pilot trainees)

'"If you're planning on this being an easy job, you've got another think coming. You can end up dead in this line of work. War is dangerous! If you have any thought of chickening out, now's the time to do it. Being any kind of pilot in enemy territory means having your life threatened on every mission." . . . After one of my talks . . . thirty-six fliers bailed out of the program. I didn't lose any sleep over that; in fact, I was glad my strategy had gotten results.'

-- From Foss' autobiography, A Proud American: Joe Foss

[SAMWolf]

Here are the recommended holiday mailing dates for military mail this year:

For military mail addressed TO APO and FPO addresses, the mailing dates are:

• Parcel Post - November 13
• Space Available - November 27
• Parcel Airlift - December 4
• Priority Mail, First Class cards and letters - Mailing date is December 11 to all locations
  • EXCEPT for locations starting with ZIP 093. For all locations starting with ZIP 093 the mailing date is December 6.
• Express Mail - December 20 to locations where Express Mail service is available. Check with your local post office to determine which APO/FPO addresses can receive Express Mail. Note: This service is not available to ships.

------

For military mail FROM APO and FPO addresses, the mailing dates are:

• Space Available - November 20
• Parcel Airlift - December 4
• Priority Mail, First Class cards and letters - December 11
• Express Mail - December 18 from APO/FPO addresses where Express Mail can be accepted. Check with your local military post office to determine if they can accept Express Mail. Note: This service is not available from ships.

Thanks for the information StayAtHomeMother

---

Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization. The primary area of concern to all VetsCoR members is that our national and local educational systems fall short in teaching students and all American citizens the history and underlying principles on which our Constitutional republic-based system of self-government was founded. VetsCoR members are also very concerned that the Federal government long ago over-stepped its limited authority as clearly specified in the United States Constitution, as well as the Founding Fathers' supporting letters, essays, and other public documents.

---

Actively seeking volunteers to provide this valuable service to Veterans and their families.

---

UPDATED THROUGH APRIL 2004



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[snippy_about_it]

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[snippy_about_it]

Great thread Sam. Thanks Iris7 for the idea.

[SAMWolf]

Nice graphic.

Good Night Snippy.

[snippy_about_it]

Good night Sam.

[quietolong]

Baseplate Baghdad: Convoy in the Kill Zone
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1248457/posts

[SAMWolf]

Thanks quiettolong. I'm waiting to see how this issue plays out. My first reaction is you don't get to refuse to obey orders.

[Neil E. Wright]

CAPTAIN J.J. FOSS, USMC

Semper FI, Sir! HAND SALUTE Carry on!

Snippy and Sam, thanks once again for this GREAT story of a REAL HERO!!!

±

"The Era of Osama lasted about an hour, from the time the first plane hit the tower to the moment the General Militia of Flight 93 reported for duty."
Toward FREEDOM

[quietolong]

I posted this article in response to this:

Prelim Analysis - Mutiny Story is Set Up - call for a Post 47
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1247815/posts

Before we start call them mutineers or staging a setup. let’s see if what they say is true.

True there are time when you need to go no matter what. This is not one of them.
If your being asked to perform with sub-standard equipment. It’s your duty to make light of it.
Remember the military is still full of Clinton era PC hacks in the upper ranks.
It does no good to get your ass blown up & your shipment destroyed because you don’t have the working equipment you are required to have. Just gives more ammo to the anti
press & RATs.

[Iris7]

Well done thread, Sir.

Snippy, I know you were involved, you can't escape my praise!

I suppose it is obvious that I hold Joseph Jacob Foss in the highest regard. When the general was dying of the burst blood vessel in his brain I followed the news. The general's daughter was emailing Jerry Pournelle who would publish the news on his site. Joe Foss' daughter's last email Dr. Pournelle published in it's entirety. The lady is a credit to her father, as you would expect Joe Foss' daughter to be.

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

[Iris7]

General Foss talks about the Thach Weave. The Thach Weave is important. To "voice meld",

"The Thach weave (named for Lt. Cmdr. John F. "Jimmy" Thach, in command of squadron VF3 out of San Diego in 1941)is an America tactic developed by fighter pilots for defeating the Zero. If an American fighter is traped in a one -on-one dogfight with a zero, the Japanese aircraft has a big advantage. Sticking to hit and run tactics helped, but with the Zeke's extraordinary climb and maneuverability, the IJN pilot could usually draw the helpless american into a close-quarters fight.

During one particular air battle (so legend goes), Thach had a inspiration. When a Zero got behind another American fighter, Thach radioed to the doomed pilot to fly as though he was in a scissors fight with Thach. When they came around head-to-head, the unwary Japanese pilot followed and ran right into the concentrated fire of Thach's wing guns. No Zero in the sky could hold up to this sort of fire for long, and there was no escape. Either the Japanese pilot continued to follow his target, hoping to survive long enough for one kill, or he broke off to run, exposing himself to fire.

The key to the Thach Weave is teamwork. Once an enemy gets behind one of your compatriots, you've got to start the weave pretty quickly. The fighter pilot who's acting as "bait" has to know his stuff, too. He needs to survive long enough (with the enemy right on his tail) for the "hook" pilot to get in and do his job. Executed correctly, the Thach weave is a deadly trap with no real hope of escape.

The weave

Easier to see The Weave

[Iris7]

My thanks to

http://www.geocities.com/gambit_166/thach

for the above text and jpgs. The entire site is good, about VF-10, USS Enterprise, 1942

http://www.geocities.com/gambit_166/

[Iris7]

Dang, meant

http://www.geocities.com/gambit_166/thach

http://www.geocities.com/gambit_166/

got to watch that auto html!

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the foxhole.

[Humal]

Very nice article. Capt. Foss was a friend of G.Gordon Liddy, and Liddy talked about the Medal of Honor fiasco many times. I knew Capt. Foss must be something special to earn G.Gordon's admiration, but had no idea he had done all this.

[GailA]

Good morning, I'm back off vacation..it was wet, cold and I'm news deprived.