Considering the nature of the argument of what/who killed MvR, and the role that ground fire played, I always find it interesting to listen to Gen. Yeager talk about "proper" a/c vs. a/c combat, yet sometimes shake my head at what I perceive as his own fixation on the missile combat approach. It's interesting because in the last two aviation-intensive wars we have had, our airmen have had to focus mostly on the problems from ground-to-air weapons. So the lesson of MvR's downing is still applicable today. So it goes, "the more things change, the more they stay the same."
Mark Daymont
mdaymont@yahoo.com