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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Tag Archives: Vietnam War
Bridge and the Art of War
June 1973 turned to July. Most days, everything went as planned: TO-Take Off, rendezvous with the tank, take on gas—we loved the big gas station in the sky—get the target information. Contact the FAC; drop some surprises on the commies, … Continue reading
Posted in 13 TFS, American History, Combat, F-4 Phantom II, Thailand, U Dorn RTAFB, Udorn RTAFB, Veterans
Tagged agent orange exposure, Vietnam War
2 Comments
A Day in the Life
I was thinking today about how I would have spent this day during the Vietnam War My squadron the 13TFS had an air to mud mission, so unlike the 555th which was mostly air to air, we spent a lot … Continue reading
Posted in American History
Tagged Cambodia Bombing, Combat, Eldridge, F4 emergencies, Fighters, Udorn Officers club, Udorn RTAFB, Vietnam War
3 Comments
Santa is Sad this year
For 44 years my old Air Force friend and I sent the same Christmas card back and forth in an ongoing tradition. This began when he sent the card to me, before I was married, when I was in flying … Continue reading
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
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POWs
POWs are heroes. Let me repeat that in case there is any doubt: POWs are heroes . This subject has been in the news a lot recently. I have written in the past of my association, after the Vietnam War, … Continue reading
Posted in 13 TFS, Air Force, American History, F-4 Phantom II, Fighter Aircraft, Veterans, Vietnam War
Tagged Air Force, POW training, POWS, Vietnam War
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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 late sister and she asked “How does it feel to kill someone?” To say it pissed me off at the … Continue reading
Stolen Valor
There has been a lot in the news lately about celebrities and politicians who inflated their participation in combat. Others, who were never in the military, passed themselves off as veterans. This has been called “Stolen Valor.” But in a … Continue reading
Posted in Air Force, Alaska, American History, F-4 Phantom II, Family History, Fighter Aircraft, Military history, Stolen Valor, Veterans, Vietnam War, World War Ii
Tagged Air Force, Alaska, Chuck DeBellevue, F4 Phantom II, Military history, POWS, Roger Locher, Stolen Valor, The Right Stuff, United States Air Force, Vietnam War
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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
