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Recent Posts
- Checkride! June 27, 2022
- On Being a Fighter Jock April 27, 2022
- Fighters and Targets March 25, 2022
- Two types of flyers… March 8, 2022
- More Random thoughts from The Pit – Phantom II February 6, 2022
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Copyright notice- An American Family, 2013- 2022
© John Norvell
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Category Archives: Udorn RTAFB
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
2 Comments
Chicks in Tow
As July 1973 ended, I had been flying combat missions with the 13th TFS nearly every day for two months against the Khymer Rouge in the area around Phnom Penh and also to interdict supplies being moved down Uncle Ho’s … Continue reading
Posted in 13 TFS, Air Force, Air Force lingo, American History, F-4 Phantom II, F4 emergency, F4 Phantom II, F4 PhantomII, U Dorn RTAFB, Udorn RTAFB, Vietnam War
Tagged KC 135, Refueling, Tanker tracks SEA
1 Comment
The Day Time Stopped – We drop the Hook
During my years flying the F4 there was only one time, while flying combat, we had to use the tailhook to stop on the runway. It happened while I was stationed in the 13 TFS at Udorn RTAFB, Thailand. We … Continue reading
Party suits, Patches, and Jewelry — the well dressed Fighter Jock
As soon as I arrived in the 13 TFS I was taken off the base to meet the Maharajah and order my work suits and a party suit. To go to the Maharajahs to be fitted was a rite of … Continue reading
F4 Graduation Day
45 years ago in April 1973, I left Luke AFB in Arizona en route to South East Asia. As I graduated from F4 upgrade training, I was a very different person than when I began it. Actually, I can say … Continue reading
Posted in 13 TFS, American History, Arizona, F-4 Phantom II, F4 Phantom II, Fighter Aircraft, Norvell Family History, Thailand, Udorn RTAFB, Veterans, Vietnam War
Tagged 310 TFTS, F4 RTU, Luke AFB
2 Comments
Speech Given at the First Annual Veterans Dinner at Finger Lakes Community College
Remarks by Lt Col John E. Norvell (USAF Ret.) November 10, 2017 President Nye, Dr. Pierce, ladies and gentleman and members of the College community, thank you for inviting me to speak tonight. As a former history professor I routinely … Continue reading
Posted in 13 TFS, 43 TFS, Air Force, American History, Bolling AFB, F-4 Phantom II, F4 Phantom II, F4 PhantomII, Family History, Fighter Aircraft, Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp, New York State History, Norvell Family History, Ontario Co, Thailand, U Dorn RTAFB, Udorn RTAFB, Veterans, Vietnam War
Tagged Bolling AFB, Cambodia Bombing
6 Comments
You can go Home Again
Recently, I spent a great day at the Air Force Museum in Dayton Ohio. It was amazing to see all those aircraft — every version of Air Force One from President Franklin Roosevelt’s plane to the 707 aircraft that took … Continue reading
Posted in 13 TFS, 43 TFS, Air Force, American History, F-4 Phantom II, F4 Phantom II, Fighter Aircraft, U Dorn RTAFB, Udorn RTAFB, Veterans
Tagged 13 TFS, Air Force, Air Force 1, Air Force Museum, Alaska, Combat, Elmendorf AFB, F4 Phantom, F4 Phantom II, Fighters, Norvell, Norvell History, Robin Olds, Vietnam War
2 Comments
Watch out for the flying Bucket of Water
Each spring in Thailand, there is a festival called Songkran. This is the traditional Thai water festival celebrated with the Thai new year in April. According to Wikipedia: The Songkran celebration represents purification and the washing away all of … Continue reading
Leaving Home
I have been reading a great memoir of the Second World War: Quartered Safe Out Here, by George MacDonald Fraser. It details his experiences in the Burma Campaign as a 19-year old private in the Border Regiment fighting the Japanese … Continue reading
Letters from the War – Thailand 7
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
Posted in 13 TFS, Air Force, American History, Combat, F4 Phantom II, Fighter Aircraft, Udorn RTAFB, Vietnam War
Tagged 13 FTS, Air Force, Combat, F4 Phantom, Thailand, Vietnam War
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