Joe Mike and Becky Bacon came and spent the weekend.  The worst part of that is that you have a wonderful time--and then they leave.  And it makes me so lonesome.  Joe bought all three of us reserved seats to the Blue Angels...of course I couldn’t get from the car to the seats--too far to walk and too hot.  They went and didn’t stay because of the heat.  Joe just wants to talk to the pilots (B-52s) anyway.

When I married Ken we lived in Pensacola and I watched the Blues every day practice over my house.  Chuck Hiett (Hayet?) was the first Marine to fly with them, Ken was the second to be asked to fly the solo position.  He turned them down (!) because he was just back from Korea and didn’t want to live out of a suitcase.   He was teaching cadets to hook wire on the carrier and told Zeke (who was head of the Blues) that he felt like he was more useful to the Marine Corps teaching critical tactics on the carrier.  Then, told him to call his best friend Pete Olson, that he had flown with in Korea--who was stuck in DC as an aide (and not getting to fly).  Pete took the solo spot, and was killed. Spun an F-9 into the ground off shore at Corpus Christi.  There was no record of it because the Blues had stood down in the war and were just getting going again.  When I wrote about him in my book “The Corsair” I couldn’t find any info.  I called Scott--who jumped in and got Pete’s info into the Blues history.  He even found a picture of the headstone in Oregon, covered with weeds.  That’s rectified.  If you want something to do with Marines--call Scott.  He’ll get it done.