The White Falcon - 14.01.1961, Blaðsíða 3

Saturday, January 14, 1961
WHITE FALCON
b
A Nation Reminisces
(For many years, servicemen
who call themselves Yankees be-
cause they live north of the Mas-
on-Dixon Line and those who call
themselves, Southerners or Rebels
have argued just who won the
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Civil War. Militarily, the South
surrendered, but in contemporary
barracks debates, the South has
yet to give up. Now, in harmony,
the entire nation is commemorat-
ing that historic battle. Here’s
some facts—anybody for an argu-
ment—Ed.)
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Icelandic
Chance t
Girl Gets
o Fly Jet
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Five Year Commemoration of Civil War to Begin
AFNS—On Jan. 8 Americans be-
gan a five-year commemoration
of the Country’s bloodiest war,
the Civil War which began Jan.
9, 1861. It started when shore
batteries near Charleston, S. C.,
forced the steamship “Star of the
West” to abandon its attempt to
reprovision Ft. Sumpter. It raged
for four years until Confederate
General Robert E. Lee’s surrend-
er Apr. 9, 1865 at Appomattox.
In its grim course the war was
to consume 622,511 lives, a figure
that exceeds by 46,350 the total
American deaths in World War
I (116,516), World War II (405,-
399), and the Korean War (54,-
246).
To this deadly ledger the North
contributed 364,511 dead from its
field forces of 2,213,363, while the
South counted 258,000 from a
force of about one million.
The cost to the Nation is smash-
ed cities, industries, farms, and
the interruption of natural econ-
omic and industrial growth can
never be accurately calculated.
The dollar cost has only been esti-
mated, and this in figures com-
piled in 1866 so their relation to
present day dollar values is only
speculative.
The North estimated their cost
at $6,190,000,000, and the South
at $3,000,000,000. By 1910 the cost
of the war, including pensions
and burial of veterans had reach-
ed $11.5 billion.
Here are some facts about the
American Civil War:
* In 1860 the population of
the U. S. was 31,433,321, of which
about 23,000,000 were in the 22
Northern states and 9,000,000 in
the 11 Southern states. Of the
latter total, 3,500,000 were slaves.
* Of the 364,000 on the Union
side who lost their lives, a third
were killed or died of wounds and
two-thirds died of disease. The
chance of surviving a wound in
Civil War days was 7 to 1; in
the Korean War, 50 to 1.
* Fully armed, a soldier car-
ried about seven pounds of am-
munition. His cartridge pouch
contained 40 rounds, and an ad-
ditional 60 rounds were carried
in the pocket when a heavy en-
gagement was anticipated.
* Artillery was used extensi-
vely, but only about 10 per cent
of the wounded were brought
down by cannon .
Civil War “firsts” include:
* Aerial reconnaissance began
when observers went up in cap-
tive balloons.
* The first battle of iron-clad
ships and wide use of sea mines.
* A practical machine gun, re-
peating rifles, and wire entangle-
ments.
* Rifle artillery and mobile
railroad artillery.
* Electric telegraph communi-
cations for control of large troop
deployment.
* Use of railroads to shift
large troop concentrations.
A rundown on Centennial events
this year follows:
* January 9 - Secession con-
vention, Jackson, Miss.
* Jan. 11 - Secession conven-
tion, Montgomery, Ala.
* Jan. 26 - Signing of seces-
sion ordnance (re-enactment), Ba-
ton Rouge, La.
* Feb. 12-18 - Inauguration of
Jefferson Davis, Montgomery,
Ala.
* Mar. 3 - Lincoln sworn in
as President (re-enactment be-
fore a joint session of Congress),
Washington.
* Mar. 4 - Inauguration of
Lincoln (parade and inaugural
ball), Washington.
* Mar. 16 - Secession conven-
tion, Mesilla, N. M.
* Apr. 16-22 - Organization of
last regiment infantry, Pennsyl-
vania National Guard, Philadel-
phia, Pa.
Chief ControlIerTakes Look Back on Career
By SSgt. F. C. Rogers
The torpedoing of an Icelandic
freighter off the northern coast
of Ireland during World War II
almost deprived Keflavik Airport
of the services of its present high-
ly capable Chief Air Traffic Con-
troller, Bogi Thorsteinsson.
In February Bogi jumped from
the sinking E.S. Dettifoss into the
icy waters of the Atlantic. He
swam and floated for 20 minutes
before climbing into an overload-
ed, wave-washed raft with 18 of
his shipmates. An hour later a
Royal Navy escort ship picked up
the shivering survivors. Sixteen
Icelanders went down with the
Dettifoss.
In February 1946, the ex-ships
radio operator started working at
Reykjavik Airport. He received
his initial training from the Eng-
lish who were then operating the
local air control system. In 1950
he went to Atlanta, Ga., where
he trained with the American
C.A.A. for six months.
Bogi was made the first Kefla-
vik Chief Icelandic Air Traffic
Controller here in the spring of
1951. At this time Icelandic C.A.A.
took over commercial air traffic
control responsibilities at Kefla-
vik. He has now held this position
almost 10 years.
At the present time Bogi heads
a team of 15 approach control and
tower operators, handling both
military and commercial traffic.
In 1959 they directed some 42,000
aircraft movements at Keflavik.
Working closely with the 57th
Fighter Squadron, it is usually
an Icelandic operator who gets
the approval for intercept scramb-
les from the Reykjavik Air Con-
trol Center and passes it on to
Scorpions on alert.
Capt. Ernest J. Gyurits, flight
facilities officer and Thorsteins-
son’s closest U.S. counterpart,
feels that Bogi’s friendly nature
and technical competence have
been important factors in smooth
working relationships which exist
between the Icelandic tower opera-
tors and the AACS flight facili-
ties people.
An avid sportsman, Bogi has
been chairman of the IKF, Sports
Club of Keflavik Airport, since
its organization in 1951. The IKF
has entered a basketball team in
the intramural league each year
since then, with the exception of
1959.
In commenting on Icelandic-
American sports activities, Thor-
steinsson enthusiastically notes
that this winter’s activities have
been more extensive than ever.
“Tell Pan Am 707, there’s no sheep on the runway,” gests Bogi Thor-
steinsson, Chief Air Traffic Controller.
Stewardess Says
Thanks to All
(Continued from Page 1.)
describe it!”
This sincere statement came
from a woman who first flew solo
in a glider when she was thirteen
years old. Miss Astrid Kofoed-
Hansen, who is one of the two
licensed woman pilots in Iceland,
was the guest last Monday of
IDF and AFI and fulfilled a year-
ning ambition when she became
the first woman pilot in Iceland
to have flown a military jet after
an orientation flight in a T-33.
No stranger to flying, Miss
Kofoed-Hansen literally spends
most of her time up-in-the-air. As
a stewardess for Loftleider, Ice-
landic Airlines, she flies the Euro-
pean routes and the run to New
York. Her lifelong interest in
aviation has been influenced, she
admits, by her father who is Di-
rector General of Aviation for
Iceland as well as a licensed pilot.
Her instructor pilot on the
flight, Capt. Dick Ehrlich of the
57th Fighter-Interceptor Squad-
ron, said, “She’s a good pilot.
As soon as she got the feel of
the bird she flew it with no
trouble at all.”
During the flight, Captain Ehr-
lich showed Miss Kofoed-Hansen
the communications and naviga-
tional facilities used by both mili-
tary and commercial aircraft at
Keflavik Airport. From the
ground point-of-view, Miss Kofo-
ed-Hansen was quite familiar with
these having worked for the Ice-
landic CAA at Keflavik for a
year and a half.
At the conclusion of the flight,
Captain Ehrlich presented Miss
Kofoed-Hansen with a certificate
making her an honorary member
of the “Black Knights”. Then-
debriefed and de-equipped, but
with the excitement of the flight
still eye-lashingly apparent, Miss
Kofoed-Hansen said, ‘It was a
great privilege—thank all of you
so very much.”
Connally Heads Navy
Keflavik Airport Navy men will
have John Connally Jr., for their
secretary during the Kennedy ad-
ministration. Recently appointed
by the President-Elect, Connally
is 43 and like his boss, is a Navy
veteran.
A Fort Worth lawyer, Connally
has served under Vice-President
Elect Lyndon B. Johnson as an
administrative assistant when
Johnson was a House member and
senator.
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