Harry Kirkland giving my son his first haircut. This is supposed to be a farm blog, not an obituary column, but I have to write this one. Harry Kirkland was my barber during both my tours at Sheppard.  He ran the “Hair Force” shop just outside the gate until he sold the shop and told me he was going on a cross-country motorcycle ride to enjoy a true retirement.  I missed our times together – walking in his door and asking “Harry, how are you?”  To which he’d always answer, “P

Traditionally, when we gather to remember a fellow military aviator who has “flown West,” we throw a nickel on the grass as we leave.  There are a lot of stories for why we do this, but below is the one I like best. It started in the Korean War, or maybe even years before (we know it was no later than the 50s because that’s when phone calls went from a nickel to a dime). When a fighter pilot would leave on a particularly dangerous mission (in peacetime or combat), he’d toss a

On January 28th, during a training mission off the coast of Italy, Luc “Gaza” Gruenther’s F-16 fighter went down in bad weather.  His body was found several days later after a massive search by Italian and US personnel and assets. Luc leaves behind a wonderful wife, Cassy, who is expecting the birth of their first child in the next couple weeks.  Luc and Cassy were a vital part of our squadron at a previous assignment when Luc (we called him “SHIN” back then) was a FAIP.  Thi