Posted on 08/20/2007 3:53:27 PM PDT by llevrok
Nat Adams never told anyone about the contents of the Navy footlocker in his basement. The only time he showed them to anyone was when his sons Tom and John, then small, wanted to "play Navy."
With his death appearing imminent, family members prepared to donate some of his things to the Nampa's Warhawk Air Museum. That's when they opened the footlocker.
Inside was a stunning array of military medals, including two Distinguished Flying Crosses. He'd never bothered to mention, not even to his wife, that he'd been awarded one of the military's highest honors for aviators twice. Without Adams, there might not have been a President Bush. Adams was one of four fighter pilots flying cover when George H.W. Bush's bomber was shot down while attacking a Japanese island in 1944.
"Without your covering support," Bush wrote to Adams in a 2004 "Dear Blackie" letter, "I would undoubtedly have been captured, executed and cannibalized." "Blackie," nicknamed for his jet-black hair that turned cotton white, was awarded one of his Distinguished Flying Crosses for sinking a Japanese ammunition ship. The resulting explosion damaged his F-6 Hellcat so badly that he couldn't make a carrier landing.
When the nuclear aircraft carrier U.S.S. George H.W. Bush was christened last year, Bush invited his Idaho friend. "There were all these gorgeous admirals there in their dress white uniforms with medals down to their waists," Sally Adams said. "They were all coming up to Nat and saying it was an honor to meet him."
Lying on a desktop is a wooden plaque, a gift from a former president of the United States. Its four-letter inscription, CAVU, is an acronym for "ceiling and visibility unlimited." It was his squadron's greeting, and its farewell.
It will grace his headstone as well.
(Excerpt) Read more at idahostatesman.com ...
“Our servicemen are still great.
WWII did not have a Jane Fonda, she would have been shot or hung as a traitor.
How many papers, radio or congress critters took the part of the enemy?”
And there in lies the point. We have the men to fight the war but winning a war that big takes more than soldiers. It takes everyone at home pulling hard in one direction too. I don’t know if we would have that anymore
Wow, what a story!
You can look it up.
R.I.P. Blackie....hero!
Blackie was the liberal’s worst nightmare. His act spawned two great presidencies.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
Damn BLM. That particular area is not any more than a few miles from my house, out by the Penitentiary.
In Idaho Statesman today:
Nat Adams, a prominent Boise architect and World War II hero, died early this morning following a short illness.
A memorial service tentatively is planned for Friday or Saturday at All Saints Episcopal Church, 704 S. Latah. The church was one of more than 700 buildings Adams and his associates designed.
His projects included Bronco Stadium and the former J.R. Simplot residence, which will be Idahos next governors mansion.
Adams, 86, was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses as a Navy fighter pilot in WWII.
Among other things, he helped save the life of future president George H.W. Bush.
Adams was featured in Tim Woodwards Monday column, which family members read to him before he died.
CAVU
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