This Man Chased A Nazi Fighter Plane Under The Eiffel Tower

william-overstreetToday, people on two continents mourn the death of 92-year-old William Overstreet Jr. He was a resident of Roanoke, Virginia, a retired accountant, and like many men from his generation, a veteran of World War II. And in the spring of 1944, Overstreet did something people in France and the U.S. still talk about.

Overstreet, who died Sunday at a Roanoke hospital, is remembered for being the U.S. Army Air Corps pilot who flew underneath the Eiffel Tower’s arches in his P-51 Mustang during an aerial battle while in hot pursuit of a German fighter plane, which he ultimately shot down.

Even back in war-torn, Nazi-occupied Paris, that wasn’t something you saw every day. Or ever. And it was an act that is said to have reignited the spirits of the French resistance fighters who witnessed it from the ground. The Richmond Times-Dispatch quoted the son of one fighter, who had this to say:

One of those French Resistance fighters was the father of Bernard Marie. A French dignitary who has hosted D-Day events every year since 1984, Marie said he met Overstreet in 1994.

He knew Overstreet was well-known for his flight underneath the Eiffel Tower but didn’t understand its true importance until he spoke with his father.

“My father began shouting at me — ‘I have to meet this man,’ ” Marie said. Members of the French Resistance had seen his flight and it inspired them, including Marie’s father, he said.

“This guy has done even more than what people are thinking,” Marie said. “He lifted the spirit of the French.”

Read more at JALOPNIK

Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers dies at 74

everlyPhil Everly, who with his brother, Don, made up the most revered vocal duo of the rock-music era, their exquisite harmonies profoundly influencing the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Byrds and countless younger-generation rock, folk and country singers, died Friday in Burbank of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, his wife, Patti Everly, told The Times. He was 74.

“We are absolutely heartbroken,” she said, noting that the disease was the result of a lifetime of cigarette smoking. “He fought long and hard.”

During the height of their popularity in the late 1950s and early 1960s, they charted nearly three dozen hits on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, among them “Cathy’s Clown,” “Wake Up Little Susie,” “Bye Bye Love,” “When Will I Be Loved” and “All I Have to Do Is Dream.” The Everly Brothers were among the first 10 performers inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when it got off the ground in 1986.

“They had that sibling sound,” said Linda Ronstadt, who scored one of the biggest hits of her career in 1975 with her recording of “When Will I Be Loved,” which Phil Everly wrote. “The information of your DNA is carried in your voice, and you can get a sound [with family] that you never get with someone who’s not blood related to you. And they were both such good singers–they were one of the foundations, one of the cornerstones of the new rock ‘n’ roll sound.”

Read more at Los Angeles Times

Tom Laughlin dies at 82; filmmaker drew huge following for ‘Billy Jack’

tom-laughlinTom Laughlin, a filmmaker who drew a huge following for his movies about the ill-tempered, karate-chopping pacifist Billy Jack, died Thursday at a Thousand Oaks hospital. He was 82.

He had been in failing health for several years, his daughter Teresa Laughlin said.

Laughlin starred in and co-produced the four films of the 1960s and ’70s showcasing Billy Jack, a troubled Vietnam veteran who quietly promotes a message of peace when he’s not throwing bad guys through plate-glass windows.

An iconoclast who battled Hollywood studios, Laughlin fought on other fronts as well.

Laughlin founded a Montessori school in Santa Monica after he deemed the public schools unworthy of educating his children. When he decided the political system was hopelessly corrupt, he mounted three quixotic presidential campaigns. After becoming disillusioned with Catholicism, he immersed himself in Jungian psychology, writing books and counseling friends.

“He was an extraordinary Catholic for about five minutes,” Teresa Laughlin told The Times, “but once he found Jungian psychology, it supplanted everything else.”

Read more at Los Angeles Times

Hundreds Attend Lonely Veteran’s Funeral After Sad Obit Goes Viral

ku-bigpicWorld War II vet Harold Jellicoe “Coe” Percival passed away peacefully in his sleep last month at the age of 99. According to his obituary, Harold had “no close family who can attend his funeral.”

Enter: The Internet.

After a scan of the former RAF Bomber Command ground crew member obituary appeared online last week, many took special note of the sentence asking for “any service personnel who can” to kindly attend his funeral, which was scheduled for this morning at 11 AM Blackpool time.

A call to action soon coalesced as the obit made its way around Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit.

“If you’re in the area give him the send off he deserves,” asked Sgt. Rick Clement, an Afghanistan War vet who was wounded in the line of duty. “This guy needs and deserves your help.”

More at Gawker

Arizona Cowboy Artist Dies during Photo Shoot

FLAGSTAFF—Seventy one year-old John William Owen “Bill Owen” (Facebook Page) of Kirkland, Arizona died on Saturday, June 15, 2013 at about 7 am while photographing cowboys who were conducting ranching activities at Camp 16 off of Indian Route 18 located in the area of Peach Springs, Arizona.

Investigating Deputies learned that the victim identified as Bill Owen who is a well-known western artist arrived at Camp 16 on Thursday, June 14, 2013 with the intention of photographing ranch hands while they conducted their day to day activities. The assumption was that Mr. Owen would later incorporate the images from the photos into his artwork. According to ranch hands, some of whom were in close proximity to Mr. Owen on Saturday morning, he was in the process of disassembling a portable tepee when one of the witnesses saw him fall to the ground. This witness shouted out that there was a “man down.”

Several of the ranch hands who were present rushed to Mr. Owen’s aid and administered CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation) for an extended period of time, possibly as long as thirty minutes. Medical personnel from Peach Springs, Arizona arrived on scene. While one of the medical personnel was speaking on the phone with a physician from Kingman Regional Hospital, the victim was pronounced deceased. The victim’s body was transported to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office in Flagstaff. At this point in the investigation detectives do not suspect foul play.

From his Facebook page, Mrs. Owen informs that a memorial for Bill will be held Saturday, June 29 at 11 am at the Lifepointe Church in Prescott Valley. The church is located at 10100 E State Route 69.

She also requests:

In lieu of flowers I ask that donations be made to the scholarship organization founded by Bill to help young people of the Arizona ranching community further their educations after graduating high school:
The Arizona Cowpuncher’s Scholarship Organization, Inc.
c/o George Vensel, Treasurer
PO Box 55
Patagonia, AZ 85624

Comedy legend Jonathan Winters gone at age 87

winters122wayMontecito, California—Legendary comedian and WWII veteran Jonathan Winters passed away yesterday in his Montecito home. He was 87. Winters was born November 11, 1925, in Dayton, Ohio.

Jonathan was a favorite on the talk show circuit and a regular on the Dean Martin Roast series. He had his own variety show on separate occasions. Although he had several characters he played, such as Aunt Maude, he is also noted for his impromptu work with props handed to him. At the end of his variety shows, Winters would be handed a stack of cards with situations which the audience had written down. He would act out the situation on the card. He was probably the first “mad libber” in the business.

Although he always seemed to wear a smile, in 1961 he suffered a breakdown and was diagnosed as bipolar. Upon his release on April Fools day in 1962, he was immediately cast in the movie “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.” He also played some dramatic roles; most notably his role as Minnesota Fats opposite the late Jack Klugman on the Twilight Zone.

Winters was also an artist and author.

Arizona original Eddie Basha dies

PHOENIX — Arizona businessman and philanthropist Eddie Basha has died at the age of 75.

Sources close to the family said Basha was taken to a hospital last week with congestive heart failure but was able to go home. He died Tuesday. The cause of death has not been released.

His family founded Bashas’ in 1910. At that time, it was a mercantile store. In 1956, the first Bashas’ grocery store opened on Seventh Avenue and Osborn Road in Phoenix.

Basha later took over the family business and grew the line of grocery stores to more than 150 locations with four well-known brands: AJ’s Fine Foods, Food City, Sportsman’s Fine Wines and Bashas’ grocery stores.

Read more at AZFamily

Famed Navy SEAL Chris Kyle slain at gun range in N. Texas

by KHOU.com staff & Jason Whitely / WFAA

GLEN ROSE, Texas — A former U.S. Navy SEAL who gained recognition during the Iraq War was one of two people fatally shot southwest of Fort Worth on Saturday, KHOU 11 News has learned.

Sources close to the investigation identified the former SEAL as Chris Kyle, 39, author of the New York Times bestselling book, “American Sniper.”

Kyle was shot point-blank while helping another soldier who was recovering from post traumatic stress syndrome, officials said. The murders happened at a shooting range near the town of Glen Rose, about 53 miles southwest of Fort Worth.

The Erath County Sheriff’s Office issued an alert for the arrest of the suspect, who was later identified as Eddie Routh, 25. Officials warned that Routh was traveling in a Ford F-150 pickup with large tires and rims. They said he was believed to be highly trained with military experience.

Read more at KHOU

Newtown man dies in Stamford accident

STAMFORD, CT. — A 46-year-old Newtown man who worked behind the scenes on numerous blockbuster films was killed in a head-on accident on the Merritt Parkway Friday evening.

Scott Getzinger, a property master who provided props for more than 25 films, including “Spider-Man,” “Independence Day,” “The Truman Show” and the upcoming “Men in Black III” and “The Dark Knight Rises,” died at Stamford Hospital after sustaining severe injuries.

Getzinger suffered multiple broken bones, but was described as conscious and alert after being cut out of the 2002 Ford F-150 pickup truck he was driving. State police initially characterized his injuries as non-life threatening.

Read more at the Stamford Advocate

General Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. dead at 78

220px-NormanSchwarzkopfSchwarzkopf was born in Trenton, New Jersey, the son of Ruth Alice (née Bowman) and Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf. His paternal grandparents were German. His father served in the US Army before becoming the Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, where he worked as a lead investigator on the 1932 Lindbergh baby kidnapping case before returning to an Army career and rising to the rank of Major General. In January 1952, Schwarzkopf’s birth certificate was amended to make his name “H. Norman Schwarzkopf”. This was done as an act of revenge against the upper class cadets at West Point because his father hated his own first name “Herbert” and when he attended West Point the upper class cadets yelled at him for signing his name “H. Norman Schwarzkopf”. His connection with the Persian Gulf region began very early. In 1946, when he was 12, he and the rest of his family joined their father, stationed in Tehran, Iran, where his father went on to be instrumental in Operation Ajax, eventually forming the Shah’s secret police SAVAK, as well. He attended the Community High School in Tehran, later the International School of Geneva at La Châtaigneraie, Frankfurt High School in Frankfurt, Germany and attended and graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy. He was also a member of Mensa.—Wikipedia


A special forces friend of mine once told me that he met Major Schuwarzkopf in Vietnam. He met him because the Major was out in the field with his men much of the time unlike other officers. Wikipedia recounts one story:

He had received word that men under his command had encountered a minefield on the notorious Batangan Peninsula, he rushed to the scene in his helicopter, as was his custom while a battalion commander, in order to make his helicopter available. He found several soldiers still trapped in the minefield. Schwarzkopf urged them to retrace their steps slowly. Still, one man tripped a mine and was severely wounded but remained conscious. As the wounded man flailed in agony, the soldiers around him feared that he would set off another mine. Schwarzkopf, also wounded by the explosion, crawled across the minefield to the wounded man and held him down (using a “pinning” technique from his wrestling days at West Point) so another could splint his shattered leg. One soldier stepped away to break a branch from a nearby tree to make the splint. In doing so, he too hit a mine, which killed him and the two men closest to him, and blew an arm and a leg off Schwarzkopf’s artillery liaison officer. Eventually, Schwarzkopf led his surviving men to safety, by ordering the division engineers to mark the locations of the mines with shaving cream.

General Schwarzkopf came to national attention during Desert Storm, though that was not his intent. It was known that he desired to be on the ground in Iraq to coordinate efforts, like most good commanders, but was called back to conduct press conferences.

He was offered the position of Chief of Staff of the Army, but declined retiring in August of ’91. In 1992 his autobiography It Doesn’t Take a Hero was published.

The General passed away today in Tampa, Florida suffering complications arising from pneumonia.

SEE ALSO: Lionized for Lightning Victory in ’91 Gulf War

Florida reacts to death of Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf – Tampa Bay Times