Some Oriskany Related Finds

A lot of my hobby time is spent cruising around eBay for U.S. military collectibles from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Within the past week I came across these two items up for auction. I didn't bid on the jacket and the patch got too pricey for my wallet. But I pulled both of the item photos to share with you on the blog. The patch is a near mint condition 1960 USS Oriskany cruise patch. Pretty cool design with some great color. The jacket is one of the highly-prized MA-1 "WEP" nylon flight jackets which became famous with frontline naval aviators in Vietnam. The jacket has an Oriskany connection with the VFP-63 photo recon patch on the jacket's right front shoulder. Enjoy!!!

The Hunters' Helmet Revisited

A while ago I posted that I should add a few more photos of my VF-162 helmet. So here are some additional pics of the helmet from the back and above. I took these photos with an original set of duck hunter camo fatigues as the backdrop and I threw in a set of Survival Cards and a Pilot's Survival Knife to set the mood. I have always loved the design of this helmet... pretty awesome and inspiring!!!!

Aboard the USS Intrepid

I was in New York City for a business trip from February 14-17. On the last day of our trip, we each got to hit the city on our own to do whatever we wanted to do in a few hours. So of course, I booked my way over to the USS Intrepid right away!!! I got there when the museum opened at 10:00 and immediately hit the hanger bay. They have so many great exhibits, lots of restored aircraft, interesting artifacts, some great videos and an amazing veterans interview collection. I somehow found my way through some back corridors and up a few stairways and magically ended up in CIC. I was so excited to be there that I called my dad. I said, "Hey dad, you'll never guess where I am!" He was pretty thrilled that I had made it out to see the Intrepid, which he was supposed to see last summer but didn't quite make it there. I eventually got out on the flight deck and saw my first F-8 Crusader up close and personal. All I could do was smile and admire the ole' gunfighter - all covered in snow, she still looked amazing. I also got to check out some of the rooms up in the island of the ship and take in all the great views from above. It was a really fun time and I definitely squeezed as much as I could into my two hour stay as possible. I really hope that I can make it out to see the Intrepid again some day, maybe even with my dad.