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Recent Posts
- May 1973 First F-4 Combat Mission over Cambodia May 17, 2023
- Jungle Survival – A Piece of Cake May 2, 2023
- Leaving Luke For Southeast Asia 1973 March 28, 2023
- The POWs come Home and we welcome one January 24, 2023
- Greeting the Future in Times Square December 29, 2022
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© John Norvell
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Category Archives: Military history
The Brotherhood of Warriors
For the past months, I have been going through all the letters I wrote to my wife from SEA. 16 June 1973: just when I was getting somewhat settled into my combat routine – we lost one. An F-4 took … Continue reading
Posted in 13 TFS, Air Force, American History, Mather AFB, Military history, U Dorn RTAFB, Udorn RTAFB, Vietnam War
Tagged 8th Air Force, B-17, Bombadier, WWII POW
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Little Orphan Annie and the end of the Air War in SEA August 1973
Lest we forget: F-4 Phantom II—445 total lost in the SEA Air War, 382 in combat more than any other fixed wing aircraft First combat loss F-4C 64-0685 (45th TFS, 15th TFW) shot down Ta Chan, NW NVN on 20 June 1965. Final … Continue reading
Posted in 13 TFS, Air Force, American History, Cambodia bombing 1973, Combat, F-4 Phantom II, F4 emergency, F4 Phantom II, F4 PhantomII, Family History, Fighter Aircraft, Military history, Norvell Family History, SEA, U Dorn RTAFB, Udorn RTAFB, Veterans, Vietnam War
Tagged Air War SEA, air war vietnam, Cambodia, Cambodia Bombing, Letters home SEA, Recollections of combat, Vietnam memories
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When Johnny Comes Marching….
Popular music has often served as a useful mirror of our perception of veterans since the founding of the republic. The Civil War resonated with songs that were meant to support the war effort and the Union. As the success … Continue reading
A Letter Home
Stevens Thompson Norvell (1835 -1911) enlisted in the army on January 23, 1858 as a private in Company A 5th U.S. Infantry. One of his first assignments was as an infantryman in the West; later he would fight with Teddy … Continue reading
When Ohio and Michigan Went to war
In 1834, my great-great grandfather John Norvell found himself embroiled in a controversy that involved Michigan with her neighbors. Ohio and Michigan had long claimed a disputed section of land which included the Toledo area. The dispute over this area … Continue reading
Posted in American History, Michigan History, Military history, Norvell Family History
Tagged Toledo War
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When we were in the Service
I’ve noticed in recent years, I often refer to the time that I was in the Air Force as when “we were in the Air Force.” This is not surprising as being an officer, 50 years ago, meant that your … Continue reading
The Stevens Thompson Norvell (S) – A Michigan Legacy
Some families have names that seem to be handed down from one generation to the next , such was Stevens Thompson Norvell. Stevens rather than Steven or Stephen might seem to be an odd first name; well there is a … Continue reading
The Bladensburg Races
As the British marched on Washington during the War of 1812, John Norvell and his brother-in-law Spencer Cone joined the fight to defend the nation’s Capital. At the time, Norvell, who with the outbreak of the War of 1812 had enlisted … Continue reading
Yellow Fever takes a Life
Yellow fever was a major killer in the 19th Century. It was often called the American plague. New Englander Cotton Mather described it as “turning yellow then vomiting and bleeding every way.” It was spread by a species of the … Continue reading
On Hallowed Ground
For the past few days I walked the battlefields at Antietam and Gettysburg. I have studied these battles for many years. I have seen movies about them. I have read novels about them. But these battles cannot fully understood … Continue reading
Posted in American History, Antietam, Civil War, Civil War Battles, Detroit History, Gettysburg, Michigan History, Military history, Norvell Family History
Tagged American Civil War, Antietam, Battle of Gettysburg, Civil War, Devil's Den, Lincoln, Michigan history, Norvell, Norvell History, Round Top
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An American Family 