TIM MAGUIRE

Colonel Dean Caswell, USMC (Ret)
(July 24, 1922 – Sept 21st, 2022)

AUSTIN, Texas (TND) — The last living U’S. Marine Corps fighter
ace of World War II passed on at the age of 100. Colonel Dean
Caswell died at his home in Austin, Texas on Sept. 21.

Col. Caswell joined the Marine Corps in 1942 and fought in WWII,
the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, according to his obituary.

The ace fighter pilot reportedly flew over 10,000 hours and served
in 110 combat missions piloting 56 different aircraft. He has been credited for shooting down seven enemy aircraft during aerial
combat during his service. He also apparently flew with the
legendary Blue Angels.

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (WSET) — At 20,000 feet in the sky,
history was made as the first female pilot in the Air National
Guard flew an F-35A Lightning II plane on her inaugural flight.

It took three years of training for 1st Lt. Kelsey Flannery to
reach the achievement, but she had to jump through many
more hoops than just training before she could fly.

The process started when she interviewed in 2019 for the
134th Fighter Squadron, or the "Green Mountain Boys."
Out of hundreds of applicants, Flannery was a member of
the small group selected to continue in the squadron as a
new pilot.

 
SANDY KOZEL

Charles Augustus Lindbergh
(February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974)

On this day in 1933, aviator Wiley Post returned to Floyd Bennett
Field in New York, having flown solo around the world in 7 days,
18 hours, and 49 minutes. He was the first aviator to accomplish
the feat.

Post, instantly recognizable by the patch he wore over one eye,
began the journey on July 15, flying nonstop to Berlin. After a
brief rest, he flew on to the Soviet Union, where he made several
stops before returning to North America, with stops in Alaska,
Canada, and finally a triumphant landing at his starting point in
New York.

Wiley Hardeman Post (November 22, 1898 – August 15, 1935)