Now that it has been disclosed,
is any San Marcos resident raising
the question of why Paul
Malone has such a lucrative
annual compensation package
at $408,799 in total compensation??
In what way is he doing
such a superior job to earn
more than several local city
managers in much bigger cities
with far bigger budgets and far
more workers to manage?
These are big bucks and there
are probably many CEOs of
profit making companies earning
less.
Henry M. Sanford
San Marcos, CA 92078
Another Del Mar Fan
Dear Mr Davis:
I very much enjoyed the piece
by Frederick Gomez. It was a
fine piece of writing. I have told
him personally but he insisted
that I thank you too and I am
happy to do so.
Thanks
-
/s/ANDY EVANS
San Diego County
A Report from Nebraska
Dear Lyle:
I’m pleased to report that the
description of the village of
Milligan, Nebraska, that you
provided in your July 29th article,
“Where Heroes Once Flew”,
was right on the mark. There
were “…plenty of warm hugs and
handshakes aplenty…” Thanks to
your generosity, we were
pleased to be able to provide
copies of your July 29th newspaper
to those present.
Amazing, overwhelming and
heart-warming - these are the
words that immediately come to
mind when I think of August 14th, the day we spent in
Milligan to attend the dedication
of the Nebraska State
Historical Markers commemorating
the World War II air
crashes of 1943 and 1944.
My husband and I are thankful
that we were able to go to
Milligan to honor the memory
of my Uncle, Ursulo Galindo,
Jr., who lost his life along with
17 other Airmen in the October
25, 1943, training exercise
(midair collision) aboard a B-24
bomber.
In addition to honoring the
memory of the Airmen, I’m
pleased to say we found the
‘heart of America’ - the America I
would like to transplant into the
center of Escondido.
/s/Diane Snyder
Milligan, NE. A Different
Perspective
Dear People:
Reference an article in you
paper dated July 29, 2010, entitled
“Where Heroes Once
Flew,” written by lyle e davis.
Unfortunately, the author is
completely unfamliar with
piloting a B-24 or, as a matter of
fact, any type of aircraft.
My qualifications to criticize the
article are: Over 8000 hours as
pilot or instructor pilot in the
Army Air Corps. I was a B-24
Training Group Commander
and know the difference
between good and poor pilots.
The pilots in your article were
not heroes; they were stupid,
which resulted in the deaths of
seventeen people. First, both
the pilot and the copilot must
keep their heads “on a swivel” to
assure wherever they are going
is clear. Even is someone fell
out of formation, he cannot blindly assume the space is available---he must look and
see!
I have been on several Accident
Evaluation Boards, but this
accident is pure stupidity that
should not be referred to as
“Heroes.” The Group or Wing
Commander of these pilots is
the real culprit; he should have
previously flown with each pilot
to assess his abilities before a
Second Lieutentant could be a
pilot.
This story referring to “Heroes”
is completely wrong and represnts
a cover-up to actuality. So,
maybe that’s the purpose of the
article’s author; i.e., spread
some BS and make “stupidity”
inperceptible.
Sincerely yours,
/s/Charles G. Allen
Colonel, USAF (ret)
Editor’s Note:
First off, our
thanks to Colonel Allen for his service
to our nation.
Secondly, contrary to your assertion, I
am a licensed pilot. Have been for
20 years. ASEL (Airplane, single
engine, land). Nothing like a B-24
but I never purported to be a B-24
pilot. I was merely recounting a story
I researched in Milligan, Nebraska,
newspaper accounts, records obtained
by the hard working and brilliant
Milligan Committee, US
Government documents, and a summary
of an Air Corps Investigative
Panel. If the Colonel read a bit more
closely he would see that pilot error
was attributed to the cause of the
accident, but they didn’t know which
pilot should bear the larger percentage
of error.
I suggest the Colonel is a bit intemperate
in his choice of words with a
blanket condemnation of the players
in “Where Heroes Once Flew.”
They were all airmen, Colonel, not
just the pilots. While the pilots may
well have been stupid and/or at fault,
you cannot demean the heroism of the
crew members who died in the crash,
through no fault of their own. They
gave, their families gave, their lives in
the service of their country. That
makes them heroes in my book.
While I recognize that Colonels are
used to getting their way and used to
being able to say anything that pops
into their mind and not be challenged
on their sometimes asinine comments,
I both challenge and resent your suggestion
that I spread “some BS and
make “stupidity” imperceptible." I
could just as well cite the excerpts
from your autobiography, which you
so conveniently sent along, describing
how you piloted a B24 with your toes
and suggest that the autobiograpnhy
served you well in establishing your
credentials in the field of braggadocio.
But I shan’t do that.
We stand by our story, and regardless
of your viewpoint, we choose to recognize
the airmen that died that day as “heroes.”
Sometimes some of us disagree with
Colonels. Sometimes Colonels are
just flat out wrong.
