Flight Journal – August 2019

6 FlightJournal.com

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Death Rattler Rank

The June 2019 issue of your magazine has a

good article about the “Death Rattlers” during

World War II. I think that you were wrong, how-

ever, about Gen. George Axtell’s rank. I served as

a part of his staff when he was the commanding

general, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, when he was

a major general. He moved up to be the com-

manding general, Fleet Marine Forces Atlantic,

and was promoted to lieutenant general (three

stars); I’m sure he retired as a lieutenant general,

not a major general. He was a hard but fair com-

mander and always knew what, who, where,

and when. He was respected by all who served

under his command.

I also knew Col. John Ruhsam over several

years and at various duty stations. He was

friendly, smart, and well liked by all who knew

him. The article did a good job of describing

both of these fi ne Marine Corps aviators, offi -

cers, and gentlemen.

Maj. R. C. Bagley Jr., USMC, Retired

Thanks for the correction. We appreciate that.—BD

Launched Means Launched

On page 34, in the sidebar about the “Bent-

Wing Bird” in the article on “The ‘Death Rat-

tlers’” (June 2019), it states that 11 aircraft trav-

eled to Hawaii aboard USS Carl Vinson. It then

states, “...Shipley launched from Carl Vinson

along with a Wildcat and several B-25s and

other warbirds.” They all launched?

Anonymous, via e-mail

The short answer is “Yep!”—BD

Phake Photos?

I enjoyed your Tailview piece in the Febru-

ary 2019 issue concerning archival photos. But I

would quibble with your comment that “...pho-

tos are always factual. They never lie.” I would

submit that it’s not true in this era of digital

images. It’s too easy to doctor a photo. Even rela-

tive amateurs can do it easily enough with the

current electronic technology. Not to put too

fi ne a point on it, but these days a person would

be wise to be somewhat skeptical. I trust that

your sources are vigilant in ensuring that the his-

torical photos used in Flight Journal are authen-

tic, but there are many “fakes” making the

rounds on the Internet in all sorts of categories.

Tom Sakely, Warren, Michigan

Of course, you’re right, Tom. But our primary archi-

vists, Stan Piet and Jack Cook, are such long-time

pros that I think Stan has his own parking place at

the Library of Congress.—BD

Th e Navy Was in Korea, Too?

I really enjoy Flight Journal, but I’m disap-

pointed that you seldom, if ever, mention those

of us who were Navy pilots over North Korea in

the early 1950s. Most of us are no longer alive,

but those of us who are still kicking would like

to see something mentioned about some of the

planes we fl ew.

I was an F9F-2 Panther pilot fl ying off the

aircraft carrier USS Boxer (CV-21). We didn’t see

any MiG-21s, but the MiG-15s were faster than

the Panther and more maneuverable at low al-

titude, but we could outmaneuver them above

Dad Drove Apaches

I was thrilled to read the article on the A-36 Apache penned by

Maj. Charles Waddell (February 2017). My dad flew with Charlie in the

27th Fighter Bomber Group. My dad flew in the Royal Canadian Air

Force before Pearl Harbor and, in May 1942, transferred to the U.S.

Army Air Forces. Using my dad as my inspiration, I recently initiated

a bill in the U.S. Congress (HR 980) to award the Congressional Gold

Medal to all U.S. patriots who joined Canadian and British armed

forces during WW II. The following is an article written about my

father: https://militaryaviationchronicles.com/rcaf-raf-americans/471-2/

Tim Tracey

We stand behind your gold medal efforts, and we read your dad’s

story. We highly recommend it to our readers.—BD