And I Was VERY Glad...

From today's AFA Daily Report:

Texas Tower Victims Honored: President Obama has sent letters of gratitude to the families of the 28 airmen and civilians who died on Jan. 15, 1961, when the offshore NORAD radar platform on which they were serving sank more than 80 miles off the coast of New York during a storm. The Boston Globe reported that the President's acknowledgment came on the 50th anniversary of the loss of "Texas Tower 4," one of several radar platforms sitting off the US East Coast in the 1950s and early 1960s to provide advanced warning of a Soviet bomber attack. Obama also sent letters to the families of four men who died in accidents on the other platforms, according to the newspaper. The Air Force closed the last tower in 1963. (For more on the Texas towers, see The Rise of Air Defense and More Guts Than Glory from Air Force Magazine's archives)

First of all:  Good On President Obama.  Acknowledging troops we lost during the Cold War, for whatever reason, is an admirable thing and something that doesn't happen all that often.

Now that we got THAT out of the way (and I was serious)... I highlighted that bit above (and titled this post as I did) because (a) 1963 was the year I entered the Air Force and (b) I could have VERY easily wound up on one of the Texas Towers, seeing as how I was that kind o' radar guy for the first 16 years of my career.  

And while both of the linked articles at the end of the Daily Report blurb are worth your time I especially recommend the "More Guts Than Glory" piece.  That one is interesting for a number of reasons... not the least of which is the fact it was written in 1958.  Times and styles... especially writing styles for the quasi-official House Organ... most certainly DO change.  I thought it was kinda cool to see archaic terms like A/2C and M/Sgt sprinkled throughout the article.  But then I would, wouldn't I?  Coz that was the way we were in Your Father's Air Force.