American History in Real Life
Movies in the past have often shown characters that were touched by historical events. Yet sometimes, the truth is often more fantastic than anything Hollywood can devise. These stories of real people show how the events of the past touched their lives. Some times the stories are dramatic, sometimes simple, but all in all they weave a tapesty of the richness of the American experience.-
Recent Posts
- Call Me a Fighter ‘Gator October 7, 2021
- Bridge and the Art of War August 19, 2021
- Some thoughts on combat July 31, 2021
- The Brotherhood of Warriors January 20, 2021
- My special love – The F-4 Phantom II October 7, 2020
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Copyright notice- An American Family, 2013- 2021
© John Norvell
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Category Archives: Alaska
My special love – The F-4 Phantom II
By 2016 I had not thought about flying fighters for a long time. My good friend from Alaska, the former Capt Jim (now Lt Col retired) suggested we meet in Dayton and go through the Air Force Museum. Jim was … Continue reading
Posted in 13 TFS, 43 TFS, Air Force, Alaska, Alaskan Air Command, American History, Arizona, F-4 Phantom II, F4 Phantom II, F4 PhantomII, Fighter Aircraft, Navigator, Vietnam War
Tagged Air Force Museum, Combat, Udorn
5 Comments
The View from the Pit
Unlike Undergraduate Navigator Training –UNT, the F-4 backseat AKA “The Pit” was a very different world. At nav school, I sat at a table in a classroom, “flew” our practice mission, and did my computations. In the F-4 Sim, I … Continue reading
Posted in 13 TFS, Air Force, Alaska, American History, Arizona, F-4 Phantom II, F4 Phantom II, F4 PhantomII, Family History, Luke AFB, Navigator, SEA, Vietnam War
Tagged F-training, The Pit
5 Comments
FUFs, Pecker Pockets, and RCRs
When I graduated from Nav School, I moved on to the backseat of the F-4 and discovered I had to speak a whole new language. First of all unlike Nav School, we didn’t turn left, we made a port turn, … Continue reading
Posted in 13 TFS, 43 TFS, Air Force, Air Force lingo, Alaska, Alaskan Air Command, American History, Anchorage, Anchorage Alaska, F-4 Phantom II, F4 emergency, F4 Phantom II, F4 PhantomII, Fighter Aircraft, Fighter pilot lingo, Fighter pilot slang, Thailand, U Dorn RTAFB, Udorn RTAFB, Vietnam War
Tagged Aircraft malfunctions, RCR, SOF
3 Comments
On the Road Again
Nearly 50 years ago, I began traveling with my aunt, who often visited me when I was still a bachelor, she had just lost her husband to cancer. Our first adventure occurred while I was in Nav School, we decided … Continue reading
Posted in Alaska, American History, Anchorage, Arizona, Norvell Family History
Tagged Alaska, Auntie Mame, Grand Canyon, Travels with family
1 Comment
A Picture worth many words
I have been looking at this picture a lot this week. I posted it to several F4 facebook groups. It shows me standing in front of an F4C parked on the ramp at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona … Continue reading
Posted in 13 TFS, 43 TFS, Air Force, Alaska, American History, Arizona, F-4 Phantom II, F4 Phantom II
Tagged Fighter pilots, GIB, SEA, Thailand, Udorn RTAFB, WSO
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Every year Santa came until 2015
Since 1971, Santa Claus has come to my house. That was the first year that a 12 inch-tall standup Christmas card of Santa, holding a pipe with a heart applique in the billowing smoke, arrived in the mail. It … Continue reading
Mach 2
Found this little pin in a box recently. Not much to look at from a distance. Small F4 on it, but its the caption that catches the eye: Mach 2 Club, Phantom II. The first reaction might be: “Is this … Continue reading
Of Fireworks and other things
There is no way around it. The 4th of July makes me think of fireworks. When we were small there were always fireworks in Fair Haven, a town located on Lake Ontario about 8 miles away. We lived on the … Continue reading
