RIP Florence Green, the Very Last World War I Veteran

In the past year, we brought you the obituaries of Frank Buckles, the last U.S. veteran of World War I and Claude Choules, the last surviving combat veteran of that war. Yesterday, the very last member of the military from the War to End All Wars passed away. Florence Green was only 17 years old when she signed up for the Women’s Royal Air Force in 1918. She worked at the military airfields in Norfolk. Mrs Green spent her war days working ”all hours” serving officers breakfast, lunch and dinner and would often spend time wandering the base simply ”admiring the pilots”. Before her death she said: ”I enjoyed my time in the WRAF. There were plenty of people at the airfields where I worked and they were all very good company. ”I would work every hour God sent but I had dozens of friends on the base and we had a great deal of fun in our spare time. In many ways I had the time of my life. ”I met dozens of pilots and would go on dates. I had the opportunity to go up in one of the planes but I was scared of flying. ”It was a lovely experience and I’m very proud.” Mrs. Green was a couple weeks short of 111 years old. Link, Via: reddit | Via: Neatorama

WIllie and Kris at the AVA's!

Country music legend and Air Force veteran Willie Nelson introduces his great friend Kris Kristofferson who makes an emotional speech accepting the Veteran Of The Year Award. LINK: Youtube

Many people may have forgot about his time in the U.S. Army. He is the son of an Air Force General, and a accomplished Golden Gloves boxer, and he graduated from Pomona College with a B.S. degree, and then became a Rhodes Scholar from Oxford University.
He joined the U.S. Army at the prompting of his father. After graduating from Officer Candidate School he attended and graduated from both Army Airborne and Ranger training in the very top of each class. He was selected for U. S. Army Special Forces Training but refused so that he could attend pilot training where he earned his wings, and became an accomplished U.S. Army helicopter (gun ship) pilot, and achieved the rank of Captain.
He was about to be promoted to the rank of Major, and appointed to teach at West Point when he resigned his commission from the Army to go into music and acting. You can tell in this video that his time in the military means a lot to him.

Peter Graves, ‘Mission: Impossible’ Star, Dies at 83

Peter Graves, the cool spymaster of television’s “Mission: Impossible” and the dignified host of the “Biography” series, who successfully spoofed his own gravitas in the “Airplane!” movie farces, died on Sunday. He was 83.

Born Peter Aurness in Minneapolis, the blond, 6-foot-2 Mr. Graves served in the Army Air Forces in 1944 and ’45, studied drama at the University of Minnesota under the G.I. Bill of Rights and played the clarinet in local bands before following his older brother, James Arness, to Hollywood.

His first credited film appearance was in “Rogue River” (1950), with Rory Calhoun. Mr. Graves’s getting a Hollywood contract for the picture persuaded his fiancée’s family to let her marry him. He changed his name for that movie to Graves, his maternal grandfather’s name, to avoid confusion with his older brother. LINK

Rotary Air Force 2000 Gyroplane

Are Gyroplanes airborne deathtraps or flying fun machines? There's only one way to find out, so PM columnist Jeff Wise takes one for a spin. LINK: Youtube

French Air Force Aerobatic Team Pays Tribute To Asterix

The French Air Force Aerobatic Team 'La Patrouille de France' pays tribute to the most famous of all Gauls on his 50th birthday. LINK: The Presurfer

Happy Little Drop-and-Give-Me-50

What did Bob "Happy Little Trees" Ross do before becoming PBS's resident mellow hippie artist on The Joy of Painting? Would you believe, Air Force master sergeant? Turns out, the Ross we know is really a reaction against 20 years spent being "the guy who makes you scrub the latrine, the guy who makes you make your bed, the guy who screams at you for being late to work." LINK: Boingboing

Birth name Robert Norman Ross
Born October 29, 1942(1942-10-29)
Daytona Beach, Florida
Died July 4, 1995 (aged 52)
New Smyrna Beach, Florida
Full biography at the Wikipedia Link.

Air Force Basic Training

Air Force Basic Training Part 1, LINK: Youtube


Air Force Basic Training Part 2, LINK: Youtube