The "Flying over Cuba" thread reminded me of a very memorable encounter some years ago. I was at a local golf course here in Colorado and took note of something a bit unusual. It was an older golfer wearing a nose cannula and using bottled oxygen. He was sitting by himself in his cart in front of the clubhouse. He wore a hat and jacket (red with gold) that identified him as a veteran. Looking closer, I saw his hat also identified him as a Marine aviator. I could not pass up striking up a conversation. When I expressed my interest in (and appreciation for) what his service had been, he asked me a question. "Do you remember the Cuban missle crisis" ? I told him I certainly did. It was just days before my 16th birthday and I lived in the D.C. suburbs. I thought there was a good chance I'd be "nuked" without ever having had a real "love life" (what else do teenage boys think about ?)...... Oh yeah, I REMEMBER IT WELL !! He then asked if me if I knew what kind of plane the "Crusader" was. I said I sure did. I had been a warplane nut as a kid (still am) and had bulit many a plastic model including a Crusader. Once he knew that I would know what he was talking about, he told me about his low level photo-recon run over Cuba during the crisis. HOLY COW !! .... I saw him a few more times at that course and we always had some conversation. He was around his late 70s or even early 80's. He liked his golf and no darn O2 stuff was going to keep a Marine from what he liked. Here is a link about those runs .....
The True Story Behind the Famous Sequence of Thirteen Days Movie featuring the RF-8 Crusader Low-Level High Speed Run Over Cuba during the Missile Crisis - The Aviation Geek Club
The True Story Behind the Famous Sequence of Thirteen Days Movie featuring the RF-8 Crusader Low-Level High Speed Run Over Cuba during the Missile Crisis - The Aviation Geek Club
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