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
- The Norvell Boys Write to the President June 16, 2017
- A Letter Home May 30, 2017
- Faded and cracked May 8, 2017
- When Ohio and Michigan Went to war April 29, 2017
- Grandpa’s Home Repairs April 18, 2017
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Copyright notice- An American Family, 2013- 2017
© John Norvell
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Category Archives: Combat
A Day in the Life….
Today is Vietnam Veterans Day — March 29, as such I thought about how I would have spent this day during the war. Most days in combat began early. There was what we called an “0 Dark Thirty” wake up. … Continue reading
Posted in 13 TFS, American History, Combat, F-4 Phantom II, F4 Phantom II, Fighter Aircraft, SEA, Udorn RTAFB, Vietnam War
Tagged Combat, Vietnam Veterans Day
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How does it feel…?
So there I was flying combat missions daily in the F4 over Cambodia in 1973 and a letter comes from my sister and she asks “How does it feel to kill someone?” To say it pissed me off at the time … Continue reading
News from Afar: With Gilligan and Spiro Agnew in China
In the fall of 1973, as a member of the 13th TFS, I had the opportunity to ferry an F4 from Udorn RTAFB in Thailand to Tainan, Taiwan, China. The Air Force used a system of central depots to … Continue reading
Posted in 13 TFS, Air Force, American History, Combat, F-4 Phantom II, Fighter Aircraft, Military history, SEA, Thailand, U Dorn RTAFB, Vietnam War
Tagged 13 FTS, Agnew resignation, Air Force, China, F4 Phantom II, GI Peitou City Taipei, Gilligan's Island, Korat RTAFB, Red Light district Taipei, Spiro Agnew Resignation, Taipei, Tianan, United States, Vietnam War
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Lipscomb Norvell and the Seige of Charleston
The Siege of Charleston in 1780, during the American Revolution, marked a British shift of focus towards southern colonies. After failing to achieve any advantage in the north, in 1779 the British government sent a combined military and naval expedition … Continue reading
John Mason Norvell’s Civil War Memoir 8
John Mason Norvell, the son of Michigan U.S. Senator John Norvell (1789-1850) and his third wife, Isabella H. Norvell (1804-1873), was a career soldier. He prepared this memoir in 1866 His story continues to the climax of the war at … Continue reading
John Mason Norvell’s Civil War Memoir 3
John Mason Norvell, the son of Michigan U.S. Senator John Norvell (1789-1850) and his third wife, Isabella H. Norvell (1804-1873), was a career soldier. He prepared this memoir in 1866, his story continues during the Peninsular Campaign of 1862. … Continue reading
Letters from the War – Thailand 8
The following excerpts are from letters that were written to my wife and others during the Vietnam War, while I was stationed in Thailand. Because of the nature of the events, the letters seldom told the entire story to loved … Continue reading
