Bagman Posted June 6, 2007 Share #1 Posted June 6, 2007 I feel guilty because I've been a Forum member for a couple of months and because of technical limitations---no digital camera--I have been unable to post any pictures of stuff in my collection (USMC) that might have been interesting and/or informative. I've been absorbing all the magnificent collecting knowledge you people share so willingly without being able to give back. Makes me feel a bit one-way. I ran across some official U.S. Navy photos that were in my Dad's files from the time he was called back to active duty for the Korean War. His last assignment was as Station Communications Officer at N.A.A.S. El Centro, Calif. in 1953-54. In case you didn't know it, El Centro was, and still is, one of the places the Blues Angels train. Thought I'd post this first picture to see if anybody is interested in seeing the team in an earlier aircraft than we are used to seeing them flying, ie. an F9F-5 Panther. Can you say " The Bridges at Toko-Ri"??!! I've got three other shots as well as some other stuff you airplane nuts might enjoy Let me know if I should post it. Bagman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bagman Posted June 6, 2007 Author Share #2 Posted June 6, 2007 Photo Date: 2-15-54 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve B. Posted June 6, 2007 Share #3 Posted June 6, 2007 Great photo! Let's see the rest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bagman Posted June 6, 2007 Author Share #4 Posted June 6, 2007 Aye, aye, Sir! Photo Date:2-4-54 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bagman Posted June 6, 2007 Author Share #5 Posted June 6, 2007 Photo Date: May 5, 1954 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bagman Posted June 6, 2007 Author Share #6 Posted June 6, 2007 Photo date: 2-15-54 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bagman Posted June 6, 2007 Author Share #7 Posted June 6, 2007 More stuff later. Hope these are enjoyable to you all. Bagman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted June 6, 2007 Share #8 Posted June 6, 2007 More stuff later. Hope these are enjoyable to you all. Bagman Thanks for sharing. Those farm fields are the fields of the Imperial Valley, the southeastern corner of California where El Centro is the largest town. It's a heavily irrigated desert and not exactly a choice duty spot There's a good chance the lettuce on your burger or in your salad came from there. The geometry of the fields really adds to that first photo: with that and the shadows it's much more artistic than your typical Navy photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bagman Posted June 6, 2007 Author Share #9 Posted June 6, 2007 Thanks for sharing. Those farm fields are the fields of the Imperial Valley, the southeastern corner of California where El Centro is the largest town. It's a heavily irrigated desert and not exactly a choice duty spot There's a good chance the lettuce on your burger or in your salad came from there. The geometry of the fields really adds to that first photo: with that and the shadows it's much more artistic than your typical Navy photo. You don't need to remind me about El Centro!! I spent almost two years there between the ages of seven and eight, and in all that time, our TOTAL rainfall lasted less than ten minutes. The yard of our duplex was...dirt. The cracks in ground that had been irrigated at night opened up to about an inch or more in the HEAT of the day. The smell of the fields being irrigated is still with me. They used to grow lots of millet for animal feed, and that stuff stank! The plague on the area was crickets, though. Their nighttime swarming for water was almost biblical in extent! If you hit a mass of them crossing a road at night it was like hitting an oil slick--with the same results. People got killed from this cause. The first job in the morning for all the local businesses in town was sweeping and shoveling the thousands of dead crickets off of the sidewalks for disposal. Talk about a smell!! I like that first picture best, too. It is one of my all time favorites. I think of it as a formation of eight....Glad you liked the photos, and that I could give back just a bit. More will follow soon. Bagman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siege1863 Posted June 6, 2007 Share #10 Posted June 6, 2007 Actually, the first photo appears to be just four jets casting shadows on the ground! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bagman Posted June 7, 2007 Author Share #11 Posted June 7, 2007 Actually, the first photo appears to be just four jets casting shadows on the ground! Just being facetious! The guys were flying formation with themselves. A neat trick!! Let's see the Thunderbirds do that!! Bagman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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