1. Chad

   07/27/2007 at 3:26 pm

   OH…………..freakin’ burn on that ladies face. I hope she feels about the size of rat poop………for that is what she is.

   Reply
2. Freedom Now

   07/27/2007 at 6:07 pm

   Yeah, I live near Miramar Airbase and I know how this shopper feels. However, you have to look at the big picture.

   The world doesnt revolve around your petty inconveniences.

   My best wishes goes out to Capt. Fresques and his family.

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3. ALLONS

   07/27/2007 at 7:50 pm

   CPL M

   Thanks for this post. It just shows how the non-military and average person in this country thinks. 9-11 happened almost 6 years ago. They have forgotten that day. I am afraid that it will take another 9-11 to get them out of their nap. I promise you that when a gas cloud or a nuke goes off these will be the same people SCREAMING ENOUGH WAS NOT DONE!!! WHERE IS MY LAWYER!!!

   ALLONS

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4. NJLauren

   07/27/2007 at 8:17 pm

   I live in South New Jersey and my house is the fly over zone enroute to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. I here flyovers usually 3 to 4 times a day and I love it. Whenever I hear them I run to the window or door to see them.

   I also know that sometimes its soldiers killed in Iraq being taken to Dover.

   I hope that woman now feels like a LOSER…

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5. Deb

   07/27/2007 at 8:57 pm

   I believe that the letter writer was a man. I got this in an email a couple weeks ago from one of my former penpals and I looked it up on snopes.com just to check the validity. The letter writer was very wrong to go off the way that he did without knowing the circumstances, but he did write an apology a few days later. If you go to snopes.com and type in Luke AFB in the search thing it brings it all up.

   I live in a town where they train F-15 fighter pilots (173rd Fighter Wing) and we hear jets ALL the time. Personally, I love it!! My friend lives in the flight path and when they take off her whole house shakes, but she loves it too.

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6. Donna

   07/27/2007 at 9:28 pm

   Cpl M,
   Thanks for posting that. Yeah, I’ll bet that whomever that was that complained felt about as big as an ant when he or she heard why they were flying over so low. All I can say is that I love it when I hear them fly overhead. I’m like NJLauren. I run to the window to try and see the jets when they fly over.

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7. Tracy

   07/28/2007 at 12:20 am

   wow, hard to believe that someone living close to an AFB would really complain like that. It takes all kinds. I’m glad the record was set straight and that the man writing the letter had the guts to apologize. Maybe he learned something important through this incident.

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8. monkeysdad

   07/28/2007 at 9:30 pm

   Ahhh the sounds of freedom!!!!!! I was stationed at Hickam AFB and our barracks were at the end of the runway. Nothing like a 3am wake up from a U2 takin off.

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9. ALLONS

   07/29/2007 at 8:14 pm

   Monkeysdad,

   I grew up on Air Force Bases. At Vandenberg we had windows shatter when a missle was launched. At Minot, we practiced little league next to the flight line. I then joined the Army. Tanks. Beleive it or not. You learn to sleep when you are allowed while they are firing. Those 8″ arty rounds though, would wake anyone up.

   ALLONS

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10. Cpl M

    07/29/2007 at 11:35 pm

    There are a few big guns out here that always give me a jolt when they fire. I think I’ve been awakened by them maybe five times since getting here. iPods are great things to fall asleep with.

    Good thing is the guns are usually firing off flares.

    Reply
11. Bob the Liberal

    07/30/2007 at 1:29 am

    I see 4 F-16′s flying low, my first thought is

    “Cool!” Like at those birds go!”

    Reply
12. Miriam

    07/30/2007 at 1:34 am

    Might I mention my concern that there is too much tension building between ordinary citizens who DO support our troops (even if they don’t understand them or grasp the situation in the Middle East) and the troops who are doing a valiant job in very tough conditions.

    Perhaps for the last decade or two the military has been too sequestered from ordinary citizens and so that’s what gives rise to misunderstandings such as this. But that isn’t necessarily the fault of the individual citizen. If there is blame to be handed out, I would lay it at the feet of the powers that be that have been trying to blacken the name of our brave soldiers (and airmen) and reduce their numbers. To immediately write off a citizen, who was undeniably acting like a boar, only plays into the hands of those who truly do wish harm to our troops.

    I applaud Lt. Col. Scott Pleus’s attempt at spreading understanding instead of insults. Perhaps the citizen will even learn to keep a civil tongue in his head, who knows?

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13. ALLONS

    07/30/2007 at 6:58 pm

    CPL M,

    8 inchers have been retired. But trust me. If you are within a mile of a Battey going off. That Ipod would not help. The first time I experenced a Battery fire I thought I was back in Califorina going through an earthquake.

    ALLONS

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14. Veronica

    07/31/2007 at 3:29 pm

    A friend recently posted about the above incident. To say that I was angered by the “shopper” is to put it midly. As the PROUD wife of a Navy veteran, my heart goes out to all of our men and women in uniform and their families. I live near the Marine Corp Air Station in Yuma, Az, and the Yuma Proving Grounds, and when we see flyovers, we are so excited! Even the early morning detonations, once we got used to them, don’t bother us. Everytime I see a jet, B-52 or chopper, I am filled with so much PRIDE that it brings tears to my eyes. Bless Lt. Col. Pleus and all of the men and women under his command, along with the whole of our military.

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15. Janet Coumas

    07/12/2008 at 9:15 pm

    I just got an email about the fly-by for Capt. Fresques in ’95. I hadn’t heard about it before. I live in California, but we had a “casita” in Sun City West from late 1995 to 1999. I loved to see the jets fly over and on my walks I looked up to spot them when I heard them going over. The noise NEVER bothered us. I remember well Litchfield Rd.–loved Cracker Barrel at I-10. I know when you buy homes in that area there is a disclosure about the base but memory is convenient. Zero sympathy for those people. I support our troops! Period! The base was there first. Go someplace else.

    I hated that McClellan AFB in Sacramento was closed when Clinton started slashing. Huge airplanes hovered over I-80, hardly moving. I loved them and missed them when they were gone.
    I hope that woman has the grace to be shamed.
    Keep up the great work.

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16. Red Jackson

    07/31/2008 at 11:22 pm

    Full details are at Snopes.com. See http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/wakeup.asp ; the complainant was Navy during Vietnam and issued a heartfelt apology.

    Reply
17. J. Hutto Trammell

    09/05/2008 at 3:27 pm

    Nothing new to add except, ya know what I MISS?? Grew up in Portsmouth, VA hearing the jets break the sound barrier, now that’s the most awesome sound there is. We now live on the backside of the flight path for the touch&go field for Randolph AFB, they’re out there right now practicing and it’s wonderful. I keep waving:) maybe one of these days……….Then ya hear the thump of ‘copters and run out and get to see 4 Cobras flying over, i wouldn’t care if they woke me up, it’s just makes ya heart swell with pride and awe.

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18. Beth

    02/14/2009 at 10:20 am

    A fly over is also a reassuring reminder…..”We are protected” I live in the U.P. of Michigan, we lost our bases up here. I always felt more confident when I knew in a moments notice, “those planes would be in the air…,when needed”!
    Our military needs to be respected, we are a privelaged country to have the protection and freedom they keep for us!!
    Respect, Admiration, Love are a few words that describe my feelings to our military.
    Bless you all!

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19. Capt. USMC

    07/08/2009 at 11:07 am

    I served at Cheery Point, NC for 3 yrs and the thunderous sound of the Harriers taking off vertically could be heard for miles outside the base. But I would caution those who call the letter-writer un-American or un-patriotic to not react just as vilently as he did. HE was a Vietnam Veteran! Here’s the apology that was published in the local paper – that isn’t mentioned in the fwds:

    An apology from the heart to the airmen of Luke

    Jul. 9, 2005 12:00 AM

    Regarding “Flyby honoring fallen comrade” Letters, June 28):

    I read with increasing embarrassment and humility the response to my unfortunate letter to The Republic concerning an Air Force flyby (“A wake-up call from Luke’s jets,” Letters, June 23).

    I had no idea of the significance of the flyby, and would never have insulted such a fine and respectful display had I known.

    I have received many calls from the fine airmen who are serving or have served at Luke, and I have attempted to explain my side and apologized for any discomfort my letter has caused.

    This was simply an uninformed citizen complaining about noise.

    I have been made aware in both written and verbal communications of the four-ship flyby, and my heart goes out to each and every lost serviceman and woman in this war in which we are engaged.

    I have been called un-American by an unknown caller and I feel that I must address that. I served in the U.S. Navy and am a Vietnam veteran. I love my country and respect the jobs that the service organizations are doing.

    Please accept my heartfelt apologies. – Tom MacRae, Peoria

    Reply

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