A Small Blast From the Past
This is an excerpt from a book about Gene Rodenberry’s time in the South Pacific while in the Army Air Force, doing bombing runs in bad weather.
Most of the footage I’ve seen from the Pacific shows clear blue skies and balmy weather, which was simply incorrect. As the author indicates, the crews of these bombers frequently ran into bad weather because meteorology back then was nothing compared to what we have today.
And yet, despite that constant flux and change in weather conditions, they succeeded in their mission, to push the Japanese military back.
A side note: Rodenberry named the UFP starship Enterprise because he had visited the Navy’s aircraft carrier of the same name and was impressed by the way it was run. The real Enterprise was used in filming “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home”.
Category: Army, Historical
Those B-17 “E” models lacked the chin turret.
It was a big deal when the “G” model arrived.
Know a guy that piloted a B24 in the Pacific.
He is still very much alive and lives in Indiana.
I am still in awe of the greatest generation!
Side note — Last Veterans day I was riding from one ceremony to the next- I was moving LOL – in front of me I saw a Veteran with WWII hat in the rear window I pulled up alongside and smartly saluted the family – he opened up a grin a mile wide and saluted back.
“The real Enterprise was used in filming “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home”.
I thought the USS Enterprise ( CVN 65 ) was on deployment at the time and they used the USS Ranger ( CV 61) as a substitute?
My father was a trekkie, and he was also a plank owner on the USS Enterprise.
That could be. I’ve seen stuff saying it was and/or it wasn’t.
The Navy provided USS Ranger as a stand-in for USS Enterprise, which was elsewhere.
I believe she is named in the end-credits.
The guy that owns Enterprise car rentals, was I believe a crew member aboard the WW11 Enterprise. A couple of times, the big E berthed on one side of pier 12 and we were on the other side. Pier 12 was the carrier berthing pier along with the heavy 8 in. gun cruiser Newport News. Those bugles they played in the morning were loud. You could sometimes see Sailors holy stoning the teak decks in the mornings followed by a swabbing.
Cool linky and a good story. Thanks Ex. I just vaguely remembered that Roddenberry had served as an Aviator. Knew none of these details. Never was an original Trekkie. Found that the Kirk’s character’s delivery of his lines annoying, Spock was OK, Bones was a wimp. Was deeply in lust with LT Uhura’s legs.. Like some of the other Star Trek Next Gen (Deanna Troi), DS9 (Jadzia Dax), ST Voyager (7of9).
Think I saw Roddenberry’s name in the credits for Have Gun Will Travel episodes. (write/director?)
I like green Orion women.
I like 7 of Nine.
I like alien women in general
“For God’s sake Jim, she’s green!” ~ Bones
Captain Kirk surely went where no other men had gone before.
Virgin Space
7 of 9, the all time hottest bod of all sci-fi.
^word^ Honey Hush. FIRST saw her on an old Matlock re-run 2 parter. Her and her girlfriend/buddy kinda went on a murder spree at the beach. Most of her scenes she was bikini clad. Daaaaayyyyuuuuuummm. That got me to researching her other roles and found her on the Star Twerk/Twerp/Jerk thingie. Real curious as to how she gets in and out of that flight suit. Wouldn’t mind helping her.
I’ve watched more TV in the last 18 months than I did in the previous 65 years combined.