Posted By RichC on September 12, 2009
I enjoyed listening and watching Space Shuttle Discovery land at Edwards Air Force Base last night (9/11) and see Mission STS-128 conclude. A perfect landing and successful 14 days in space as the NASA Shuttle program is one step closer to retirement.
click for larger images (NASA TV)
Posted By RichC on September 11, 2009
Our country has seen some tough times — times that have united and times that divided our nation and its people. In recalling old history lessons, its seems there’s usually an event or a trigger which brings about one or the other. Today, on the eighth anniversary of 9/11 … our nation is once again divided and we struggle to find something to unite us.
Personally speaking, it felt good to be ‘one united nation’ for a short time against an evil enemy … one as vile most of us can personally remember. Eight years ago, it was uplifting to see patriotism back in the forefront (perhaps Vietnam memories exist for me) and to see our entire nation rally besides those who lost so much on 9/11/2001. Few in the world stood in our way when our very righteous nation focused on eliminating those using terror — Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda.
Unfortunately a few years, a long war, divisive politics and a deep recession has mellowed our memories of uniting behind a common goal, and perhaps even our desire to fight those who still seek to harm our country and its people. Why do we forget so quickly and leave ourselves vulnerable to another attack? Why are those who plotted still free, and those who desire to repeat the same atrocities permitted to wreak havoc in other countries?
Thankfully, we have memorialized those who lost their lives or their loved ones on 9/11 with Patriot Day, and for at least one day refocus our energy; I’m also proud to have a President, who after being charged with protecting our country, recognizes the threats that still face our country. I’m not one to overly compliment President Obama, but am respectful of his care and concern for the security of our country — for that I’m thankful. Personally speaking, I have been relieved to see how President Obama has filled the shoes of Commander in Chief … except for the recent CIA re-probe by the administration (I don’t get that?)
As for domestic matters, I’m troubled over the progressive direction of our nation seemingly focused on squelching free-enterprise, capitalism and competition. The invasion by government into our personal freedoms, liberties and our country’s businesses is disconcerting. Besides the massive debt spending in picking winners and losers in the private sector our government seems to be on their way in taking over the health care and insurance industries. I have respect for those who see what they are doing as just and acceptable when they acknowledge what they desire and are doing, but have distaste (to use a mild term) for those who seek to deceive the American people in order to forward their political philosophy … particularly President Obama while using the bully pulpit. I can’t understand how one of our brightest Presidents has chosen the art of deception in order to move his progressive agenda forward? In his elegant speech on Wednesday night, his claims were wildly optimistic as far as how we would pay for his ‘non-existent’ health care plan, and certainly didn’t represent the leading bill being proposed by those in his own party. His adversarial accusation toward those members in congress and the media choosing to highlight the hidden objectives and pages of confusing and convoluted verbiage in the current House bill were far from presidential. This must be obvious to all?
I read an editorial in the Wall Street Journal that sums up my take on the current health care debates …
Medicare for Dummies
Contradictions worthy of the Marx Brothers.
The thing about the bully pulpit is that Presidents can make the most fantastic claims and it takes days to sort the reality from the myths. So as a public service, let’s try to navigate the, er, remarkable Medicare discussion that President Obama delivered on Wednesday. It isn’t easy.
Mr. Obama began by depicting a crisis in the entitlement state, noting that “our health-care system is placing an unsustainable burden on taxpayers,” especially Medicare. Unless we find a way to cauterize this fiscal hemorrhage, “we will eventually be spending more on Medicare than every other government program combined. Put simply, our health-care program is our deficit problem. Nothing else even comes close.”
On this score he’s right. Medicare’s unfunded liability—the gap between revenues and promised benefits—is currently some $37 trillion over the next 75 years. Yet the President uses this insolvency as an argument to justify the creation of another health-care entitlement, this time for most everyone under age 65. It’s like a variation on the old Marx Brothers routine: “The soup is terrible and the portions are too small.”
As astonishing, Mr. Obama claimed he can finance universal health care without adding “one dime to the deficit, now or in the future, period,” in large part by pumping money out of Medicare. The $880 billion Senate plan he all but blessed this week would cut Medicare by as much as $500 billion, mainly by cutting what Mr. Obama called “waste and abuse.” Perhaps this is related to the “waste and abuse” that Congresses of both parties have targeted dozens of times without ever cutting it.
Apparently this time Mr. Obama means it, though he said this doesn’t mean seniors should listen to “demagoguery and distortion” about Medicare cuts. That’s because Medicare is a “sacred trust,” and the President swore to “ensure that you—America’s seniors—get the benefits you’ve been promised.”
So no cuts, for anyone—except, that is, for the 24% of senior beneficiaries who are enrolled in the Medicare Advantage program, which Democrats want to slash by $177 billion or more because it is run by private companies. Mr. Obama called that money “unwarranted subsidies in Medicare that go to insurance companies—subsidies that do everything to pad their profits but don’t improve the care of seniors.”
In fact, Advantage does provide better care, which is one reason that enrollment has doubled since 2003. It’s true that the program could be better designed, with more competitive bidding and quality bonuses. But Advantage’s private insurers today provide the kind of care that Mr. Obama said he would mandate that private insurers provide for the nonelderly—”to cover, with no extra charge, routine checkups and preventative care.”
Advantage plans have excelled at filling in the gaps of the a la carte medicine of traditional Medicare, contracting with doctors and hospitals to coordinate care and improve quality and covering items such as vision, hearing and management of chronic illness. If seniors in Advantage lose this coverage because of the 14% or 15% budget cut that Mr. Obama favors, well, that’s “waste and abuse.” [my comment: I wonder if the Congressional Health Care plan will be sliced and dice the same way? I’ll bet not.]
Mr. Obama did also promise to create “an independent commission of doctors and medical experts charged with identifying more waste in the years ahead.” That kind of board is precisely what has many of the elderly worried about government rationing of treatment: As ever-more health costs are financed by taxpayers, something will eventually have to give on care the way it has in every other state-run system.
But Mr. Obama told seniors not to pay attention to “those scary stories about how your benefits will be cut, especially since some of the folks who are spreading these tall tales have fought against Medicare in the past and just this year supported a budget that would essentially have turned Medicare into a privatized voucher program.”
This is a partisan swipe at one of the best GOP ideas to rationalize the federal budget, despite Mr. Obama’s accusations that his opponents want to do “nothing.” This reform would get Medicare out of the business of spending one out of five U.S. health dollars, and instead give the money directly to seniors to buy insurance to encourage them to be more conscious of cost and value within a limited budget. Democrats would rather have seniors dance to decisions made by his unelected “commission of doctors and medical experts.”
Mr. Obama also called for “civility” in debate even as he calls the arguments of his critics “lies.” So in the spirit of civility, we won’t accuse the President of lying about Medicare. We’ll just say his claims bear little relation to anything true.
Posted By RichC on September 10, 2009
The conclusion many might make from a recent Popular Mechanic article is that diesel vehicles might be a good solution when fuel prices are high, but they don’t want to spend more for them when fuel prices are low.
According to JD Power’s Omotoso, hybrids are projected to become 9.5 percent of the passenger-car market by 2015 (up from 3 percent this year), yet diesels will grow to become just 3.5 percent of the car market here by 2015, up from less than 1 percent this year.
The criticism that I have is that even though more diesel vehicles are now available (Audi, BMW, Mercedes & VW), North America has mostly the wrong models — all but the Volkswagen Jetta and Sportwagen TDIs. How can the mainstream even consider a family sized ‘do all’ vehicle when the only ones available are 40, 50 and 60 thousand dollars? As the article points out, “except for the VW Jetta TDI and, to a lesser extent, the new Audi A3 TDI, the diesels we can get in the U.S. are expensive premium cars and SUVs. So even if more diesels are coming, when will we see the small, 50-mpg-and-better economy diesels that populate Europe? Don’t hold your breath.”
Posted By RichC on September 9, 2009
Inventories for diesel vehicles in the U.S. are near ‘zero’ — it’s a frustrating time for a guy who has been waiting for his next Volkswagen TDI … or BMW diesel. Thankfully I can wait and am not in absolute need of a new car, but having to pay MSRP and above, “IF” one can find the model vehicle they want, isn’t and attractive way to buy a new car. I was talking with a dealer friend of mine and their VW TDI inventory and car due in were quickly gobbled up during the “Cash for Clunkers” program.
“About 70% of the cash-for-clunkers sales done at VW dealerships were for diesel models …” (WSJ)
Even before the program, Volkswagen clean diesel sales were strong … in fact, the June sales numbers for the popular VW Jetta TDI Sportwagen saw 81% of their vehicles being sold with the diesel engine. According to Volkswagen spokesman Steve Keyes, Volkswagen is not only wanting to import more diesel Jettas, they are “considering offering only the TDI diesel Jetta wagon—dropping the gasoline model.”
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Posted By RichC on September 8, 2009
This update slipped through the cracks this busy weekend, but Roz Savage made landfall in Tarawa an island in the Pacific Ocean completing her second leg of rowing from California to Australia. The arrival at this tiny island marked 104 at sea since leaving Hawaii (see previous post).
From Roz Savage’s blog:
I stepped ashore, setting foot on dry land for the first time in 105 ?days. This was now my third arrival after prolonged periods at sea, so ?I wasn’t surprised when the ground seemed to lurch beneath my feet. My ?brain had adapted to being on a constantly pitching boat, so now it ?was over-compensating when I stood on terra firma. I looked up at the ?crowd of several hundred people that had come to greet me, and ?wondered if my first act on arriving in Tarawa would be to topple over ?like a drunkard.
Then two big hunky men in traditional island outfits approached and ?knelt in front of me, forming a cradle with their arms. “Thank heavens ?for local tradition” I thought, as I sank gratefully onto the ?proffered cradle.
I was carried to a plastic chair, and the hunky men were joined by ?several more who performed a local dance of traditional welcome. I ?felt like visiting royalty as I smiled appreciatively. They presented ?me with a coconut, its top lopped off so I could drink the cool, ?refreshing, sweet coconut water inside. It was exactly what I needed. ?I was feeling a bit woozy after my exertions. It had been an ?exhausting 3 days.
As I approached Tarawa from the south on Sept 4th, I hadn’t been sure ?if I would manage to make landfall under my own steam. Given the ?strong easterly winds that had prevailed over the previous few days, I ?thought it much more likely that I would get close to the island but ?miss it by several miles, and would need a boat to come out to catch ?me as I whizzed past.
But finally Neptune decided to give me a break. I had already made it ?safely past the island of Abemama (where Robert Louis Stevenson lived ?for a while). I was making good progress in a northwesterly direction, ?but there was a problem. Unless I managed to shift course to north- ?northwest, I would run slap into the island of Maiana. I had to choose ?whether to go south of it, which would mean I had no chance of getting ?to Tarawa under my own steam, or else east of it – which was the way I ?wanted to go, but was it possible? Under present wind conditions, no, ?it wasn’t.
Then, finally, the long-awaited southeasterly wind arrived. Woohoo! ?Now I was in fine shape. The wind only lasted a few hours, but I was ?able to ride it all the way up the east side of Maiana, which lined me ?up nicely for Tarawa.
I rowed late into the night until I was reasonably sure I was clear of ?Maiana and its reefs. Then I tried to grab a quick nap, but I kept ?opening one eye to squint at the GPS to make sure I wasn’t going to ?shipwreck. At one point I got up and rowed some more, just to make ?doubly sure. It would have been a real shame to get this far only to ?end up on a reef within sight of the finish.
So as I approached the final 20 miles into Tarawa, I had had less than ?6 hours of sleep in the previous 48 hours, and the heat was brutal. ?The wind had dropped away to nothing and the sun was intense. When I ?got to 9 miles out, I really wondered if I was going to make it. After ?rowing 3000 miles, the last 9 seemed to loom very large. I put some ?good rocking music on to help me through.
And finally, mile by mile, I crossed off the final hours of my voyage. ?After each mile I posted another Tweet and had a bite of food. A boat ?arrived to escort me the last mile or two to land. On board were ?Nicole, Hunter (from Archinoetics) and Conrad (our cameraman). Also ?Rob, the New Zealand High Commissioner, who put his sea kayak in the ?water and paddled alongside me.
But I could feel that I was getting depleted. As I always seem to do, ?I get over-excited on my final day and push myself too hard. I arrive ?on land dehydrated, sunburned and exhausted.
The last mile was really tough. I wondered if it would ever finish. ?Rob told me I was rowing against the incoming tide. I was reduced to ?counting tens. Just ten more strokes. Then another ten. Then another ?ten. As I crossed my finish line of latitude, I collapsed backwards ?off my rowing seat.
But nothing that an ice cold beer wouldn’t cure (oops, ignore this ?bit, please, Dr Aenor!). Nicole knew what was needed. I heard some ?splashing as I lay on the deck with my eyes closed, and then Nicole’s ?head popped up over the side of the boat. She had jumped off the ?escort boat into the water and swum over to Brocade, beer in hand. It ?was a bit warm after its time in the water, but tasted pretty darned ?good regardless. Now that’s what I call a dedicated Program Director!
So now I am on Tarawa, quite possibly one of the most remote places on ?the world. I’m dying to tell you all about it, but this blog is long ?enough already, and the Solicitor General’s wife’s aunt is waiting to ?give me a much-needed massage. So I’ll sign off now, but will tell ?more tomorrow. I intend to blog every day until we leave Tarawa, ?probably Sept 17th. But internet access here is very limited, so ?please forgive me if I miss a day or two.
Posted By RichC on September 7, 2009
The weekend was busy as usual with the annual Red Stewart Airshow and my Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter’s (EAA284) Tail Dragger Fly In and Pancake breakfast. Set up was smooth on Saturday afternoon and most of us enjoy relaxing for the evening on the field as the temperature cooled and the airshow started. I can say with assurance that everyone enjoyed Stewart’s hospitality and the excellent performances by mostly local aerobatic pilots. The show topper as usual was the nighttime performance by Bill Leff in his T-6 “Texan” with a spectacular display of aerobatics in the dark with lights and pyrotechnics. It was definitely worth staying until after dark.
Speaking of after dark and pyrotechnics, the Cincinnati Riverfest Fireworks on Sunday evening were great too. We arrived just after dinner and relaxed for a few hours on the levy while waiting for the 9:05 show to begin. It was great and we really couldn’t complain since leaving with nearly a half-million wasn’t all that bad. It only took us about a half hour to get onto the interstate; not bad considering?
Click for larger images
Posted By RichC on September 5, 2009
An interesting balloon photo shoot was happening for about 30 minutes above my house as the still air of the evening settled in.
I spent a few hours in the yard into the evening and watched the full moon rising in the woods. The weather and evenings have been nice.
Posted By RichC on September 4, 2009
I used an excellent free conference call product from FreeConference.com yesterday. The registration took about 3 minutes and a conference call can be scheduled in about 5 minutes. I set up my first call and had very good results while conferencing with three others … that is, right up until the end — see comment at bottom*. The call quality was excellent and having two options in setting up a free conference was most appreciated. It is hard to beat the price … FREE, although each participate must cover the long distance connection (there is a 10 cents per minute 800 number option if desired).
The first method is to schedule the call and reserve the appropriate number of lines (number of callers) in a planning process. The wizard walks the conference call planner through the steps by picking the date, time, etc. An email is sent to each participate or a fax document is ready to be filled out for those not savvy with email — do they still exist? The email contains the information needed to call in and participate at the appropriate time along with an 
attachment that will insert an entry into a calendar (ie. Outlook, Google calendar, Thunderbird/Sunbird/Lightning, iCal, etc.)
The second, and simpler, method is to give out the Conference on Demand phone number and private access code. This makes it very easy to put together a quick conference call. For example, today I sent ouf the time, Conference On Demand number and Access code via SMS message. Within a few minutes each participant had dialed in and 30 minutes later we were finish. Really simple.
* The glitch I mention above was one in which the participants of my conference call had all disconnected and I continued to tinker with the *-number control combinations. Unfortunately I found myself connected to another conference call … one that I wasn’t invited too. One oddity was that I could hear all the participants on this “green energy” call, but they couldn’t hear me? Lesson — avoid using this service IF the calls are classified or if critical information is being discussed and shared.
Posted By RichC on September 4, 2009
Labor Day weekend promises to be a busy one in and around Cincinnati with events from political tea parties to the annual spectacular Riverfest f
ireworks. I’ll be prepping for the Fly In, Airshow and Pancake breakfast at Red Stewart Airfield in Waynesville Ohio (great small airshow about 6PM Saturday) while the Cincinnati Tea Party will be holding a big rally at Voice of America Park in West Chester (press release below). I won’t be there, but hope the voices from SW Oho are heard nationwide … and particularly in Washington DC.
The Cincinnati Tea Party is proud to present the Voice of America Freedom Rally, September 5 from 1:00 p.m. to 6:20 p.m. at the Voice of America Park Museum in West Chester. The rally will feature America’s voice, along with the voices of average citizens who are becoming engaged in the political process and holding their representatives accountable. Following are details and the schedule of events:
12:00 p.m. Onsite Parking Available
1:00 p.m. Music, Entertainment, Merchandise and Food Booths
Dan Rivers, music
Anntones, music
Jim Klosterman, reprising his role as Uncle Sam from the March 15 Tea Party
2:30 p.m. Speakers
Jason Rink, Director of Education and Outreach for the Ohio Freedom Alliance, member of the Ohio Liberty Council – Speaking about the connection between faith and health care
Greg McAfee, Small business owner – Speaking about “America’s Scoreboard: We’re in the Fourth Quarter – What It’s Gonna Take to Win”
Shannon Hartkemeyer, Mother, member of the Cincinnati Tea Party, first-time candidate for Fairfield Township Trustee – Speaking about why she’s running for office
Rob Scott, Founder and president of the Dayton Tea Party – Introduction of patriotism
3:00 p.m. Patriotism
Pledge of Allegiance
Star-Spangled Banner
3:10 p.m. Speakers
Harald Zieger, East German immigrant, small business owner – Speaking about “The Voice of America Heard Around the Globe”
Tracy Miller, Cancer survivor, member of the Houston Tea Party – Speaking about “The Bastardization of the Constitution”
Harlene Holland, Honduran immigrant, mother – Speaking about “Taking Back Our America and Our Constitution”
Mike Wilson, Founder and president of the Cincinnati Tea Party, first-time candidate for state legislature (Eighth District of Ohio) – Speaking about citizen involvement in politics
DakLak Do, Vietnamese immigrant, small business owner – Speaking about his journey to freedom in America
Todd Young, Attorney, first-time candidate for U.S. Congress (Ninth District of Indiana), founder of the grassroots group called NO PIGS – Speaking about issues facing America
Chris Orecchio, Small business owner, member of the Ohio Liberty Council – Speaking about health care
Rich Apuzzo, Consulting meteorologist – Speaking about global warming, and cap and trade
Thomas Tabback, Author, inspirational speaker – Speaking about “We the People Health”
5:00 p.m. Town Hall Program
Representative Michael Turner
Representative Jean Schmidt
Ohio gubernatorial candidate John Kasich
House Minority Leader John Boehner
6:20 p.m. Conclusion
God Bless America
America’s voice will be heard on September 5, as it was during World War II, from the historical site of wartime broadcasts that were heard around the world. The very first VOA program in 1944 began, “We shall speak to you about America and the war. The news may be good or it may be bad, but we will tell you the truth. (Source: Ohio History Central, An Online Encyclopedia of Ohio History)
Rally Location and Logistics
Front lawn of the Voice of America Park Museum
8070 Tylersville Rd. West Chester, Ohio 45069
Onsite Parking
The grassy area south of the Voice of America Park Museum building on the east side of the driveway. Must have VIP parking pass.
VOA MetroParks lot; entrance off of Cox Rd.; $5 for a pass (if you don’t already have one)
Offsite Parking Within Walking Distance
UC Physicians at University Pointe, 7700 University Ct., West Chester, OH 45069
Offsite Parking With Shuttle Buses – $2 Donation
Hope Church, 4934 Western Row Rd. Mason, OH 45040
Lakota West High School, 8940 Union Centre Blvd., West Chester, OH 45069
Lakota East High School, 6840 Lakota Lane, Liberty Twp., OH 45044
For more information: http://cincinnatiteaparty.org/Events/voarally2009.htm
National and Regional Involvement
September 5 marks the first round of national Stand Up for Liberty events. The Voice of America will be in the community of West Chester, Ohio, and is presented by the Cincinnati Tea Party in partnership with the Cincinnati 9/12 Project, the Dayton Tea Party, the Indiana Tea Party, and the Ohio Liberty Council. The Stand Up for Texas event in Austin is presented by Texas liberty groups, including the Tea Parties from Austin, Baytown, Beaumont, Dallas, Houston, Katy, Lufkin, McAllen, Mount Pleasant, San Antonio, Sugar Land, and Wichita Falls.
Upcoming Events
9/12 National March on Washington, DC Saturday, September 12, 2009 9:00 a.m. music and speakers, 11:30 a.m. march, 1:00 p.m. rally More information: http://912dc.org/
Glenn Beck Viewing Party Saturday, September 12, 2009 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (doors open at 12:00 Noon) Crowne Plaza Hotel-Blue Ash 5901 Pfeiffer and Blue Ash Roads Cincinnati, OH 45242 (513) 793-4500 RSVP: http://www.cincinnati912project.com/?page_id=393
About the Cincinnati Tea Party
The Cincinnati Tea Party is a grassroots, nonpartisan group opposed to wasteful government spending. Our core values are fiscal responsibility, limited government, and free markets. Our goals include influencing elections for the betterment of America, promoting state sovereignty (Federalism), and compelling our elected officials to comply with the Constitution as written by our Founders. The Cincinnati Tea Party was founded by a group of lifelong Cincinnatians in February 2009. In April 2009, Community Tea Parties were launched to allow local leaders to spread the core values at the neighborhood level.
For Additional Information
Cincinnati Tea Party: http://www.cincinnatiteaparty.org
Cincinnati 9/12 Project http://www.Cincinnati912Project.com
Dayton Tea Party http://www.daytonohioteaparty.com
Houston Tea Party http://www.houstontps.org
Indiana Tea Party http://www.inteaparty.com
Ohio Liberty Council http://www.ohiolibertycouncil.org
Posted By RichC on September 3, 2009
While talking with a long time client and friend Bruce Claflin about the business climate, our conversation turned from that sour subject to our families. We both have close ties to living World War II USAF veterans and have sons heading in a similar direction — AF ROTC. H
is son being older and finishing up his university program recently and talking with Bruce seemed like a good place to gain some insight … so father-to-father I picked his thoughts on how to help my son navigate the politics and challenges.
As the conversation progress, we ended talking more about his dad’s experience (Howard Claflin) as a B-17 pilot than ROTC. Eighty-eight year old Mr. Claflin was recently interviewed by Brian Albrecht of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and I found the article interesting enough to pass on to my father-in-law. The interview and video footage below, was done at the MAPS Museum at the Akron-Canton airport last month, the same place our family visited a few years ago. Reading and listening to this generations stories leave little doubt in my mind that, as coined by Tom Brokaw, they were and are “The Greatest Generation.”
| B-17s over Berlin |
A WORLD AT WAR cleveland.com/news Bomber pilot Howard Claflin recalls his first mission of World War II and the day he got shot down.As the vintage B-17 bomber landed with a roar of remembrance at Akron-Canton Airport last month, nearly 100 World War II veterans watched and took a slow, heartfelt breath of the past.
An icon of their youth, these bombers once filled the skies from Europe to the Pacific during the war. Bristling with machine guns — top, bottom, front, back and both sides — it was aptly named the Flying Fortress.
The vets would get a chance to get up close and nostalgic in tours of the old “Fort,” plus a B-24 Liberator bomber and P-51 Mustang fighter that also had flown in as part of the Collings Foundation’s Wings of Freedom Tour, barnstorming across the country.
One of those vets just watched with a knowing smile as the others lined up for their chance to soar over the horizon of history.
Howard Claflin, 88, of Silver Lake in Summit County, had already been there — flying B-17s with the 8th Air Force on 16 missions before being shot down on a flight over Hamm, Germany, and spending 53 weeks as a POW.
The restored plane carried a bomb-bay full of memories for Claflin. “It was a good aircraft to fly, one of the best,” he mused, watching as the B-17 taxied to a halt.
Claflin had wanted to be up in the clouds ever since a German zeppelin cruised over his childhood home in Akron. “That’s when I said I want to fly someday,” he said.
When war broke out, the Cuyahoga Falls High School grad enlisted in the Army Air Forces, got his pilot’s training and flew straight into the meat grinder in the skies over Europe. The 8th Air Force’s 47,000 casualties (including 26,000 deaths) represented about half of all Army Air Force losses during the war.
Claflin got an appreciation for the risks on his very first mission — a bombing run to Berlin, the first such raid by the 8th Air Force, that took three flights to complete. After bad weather scuttled their first attempt, the formation had to turn back a second time due to heavy losses from enemy anti-aircraft fire when the sky, as the former pilot recalled, turned black from exploding flak.
“You were just lucky,” Claflin said of what became a routine of running a gantlet of fighters and flak. Once safely back, “all you thought about is, I’ve got another day,” he said.
His biggest worry was his plane being damaged and forced from the protective cover of the bomber formation. Instant fighter bait. “The worst thing that could happen is to get out by yourself,” he said. “Then you’re in real trouble. Then they’d come and get you.”
Yet he remained optimistic. “I was always wondering how it could get better,” Claflin said.
He’d need all the optimism he could muster after flak hit his plane just as it dropped its bombs over Hamm. Claflin and two other crewmen parachuted to safety but were immediately captured.
One of the POW camps where he was imprisoned was Stalag Luft III. Claflin arrived a month after 76 Allied airmen broke out of the camp through tunnels (as popularized in the movie “The Great Escape”). Only three made it to freedom, and 50 of those recaptured were executed.
Claflin said the Germans posted signs at the camp: “Escape is not a sport. You will die. We will shoot.”
But the POWs persisted. Claflin said he was assigned to scraping lead solder from food cans to be reused for splicing electrical wiring to light other escape tunnels.
One of his most harrowing experiences came at another camp near Hammelburg when British bombers hit a nearby target at night.
As Claflin and other POWs stood outside to watch the fireworks, one of the bombers was hit and dropped like a fiery comet straight for the camp. “I thought Boy, it’s going to hit right on us. This may be the end,’ ” Claflin said.
Suddenly, he saw a vision of Christ, clear as day, spread across the sky. The stricken plane roared overhead, just clearing the camp, then exploded.
Claflin said nothing of the vision. Nor has he ever tried to explain it. “I usually don’t tell people about that,” he said. “But it happened. That’s all I can say.”
Otherwise, life as a POW involved long weeks of cold and deprivation. As the number of Red Cross parcels shipped to the prisoners dwindled, food shortages became a major issue.
Claflin recalled that one time a rabbit made the mistake of hopping into camp. It was immediately surrounded by 600 hungry POWs who formed a circle, linking arms, foot-to-foot, so somebody’s dinner wouldn’t escape. It didn’t, nor did Claflin ever get a taste of that German hossenfeffer.
But there were also moments of kindness and understanding from his captors, according to Claflin.
While traveling on a train to be interrogated shortly after his capture, Claflin said he was spit on by an enraged German civilian. Understandable. He shrugged it off. But when his guard momentarily left, an elderly woman sitting across from him gave Claflin a sly smile and slipped him a roll of hard butterscotch candy.
“That was something I’ll never forget,” he said.
As the war neared an end and POWs were marched away from the advancing Allied forces, Claflin said the prisoners helped carry the rifles of their guards — mostly old men in their 60s, the last dregs of Germany’s former military might.
“They all told us the German people would kill us if they could,” he said. “One guard told me, One day when this war ends, I’ll go home to nothing. My home is gone. My family is gone. Everything is gone. I hope you fellows get a better deal than we did. You deserve it.’ ”
Claflin returned home to a career in sales, a marriage to his wife, Margaret, a Cleveland girl (now deceased), and raising four sons.
When he looks back on the war, it’s with a sad sense of the tremendous loss of life but a firm belief in the necessity for military preparedness.
The war also taught him a lifelong lesson, Claflin said. Even when others around are being blown from the sky, even as your own crippled plane spirals toward certain doom, even as your life drains away in the slow starvation of a POW camp . . .
“There’s always a chance,” Claflin said. “Never give up.”
UPDATE: A book that details one of the return B-17 missions that his father talked about — although pricey enough that I’d like to find it in a library: Night of the Intruder: First-Hand Accounts Chronicling the Slauhter of Homeward Bound USAAF Mission 311
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