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Positive thoughts and prayers sent.

Thanks to all of you. It is much appreciated and there are positive signs, I believe it's helping.

They've taken dad off sedation and he can usually respond to basic commands (squeeze finger, wiggle toes).
He has movement in all extremities but is only partially conscious.
He's developed pneumonia, likely from the ventilator. We've been pushing to get him off the ventilator for several days but the doctor is being very cautious. Maybe today.

It will be a very long and difficult battle but my brothers are stepping up, we will figure out what to do and deal with it.
Just like dad taught us.

Repost, from Dad's memoires:

Quote:

CO-OP work at white Sands missile range (working at WSMR 6 months and going to NMSU for 6 months).

I was assigned to the pneumatic section of the Missile Bourne guidance and Control Group (MBG&C). The pneumatic section consisted of me and my supervisor who was off on a boondoggle.
There were several men in the hydraulic section along with their supervisor.
Everyone showed up for work on time and as soon as the whistle blew, they cleared off the benches and starting playing cards and the supervisor disappeared.
This went on for a couple days and I asked Tony what was going on.
He said no one told them to do anything so they didn't do anything.
Upon further questioning, Tony said there a couple of test plans (TPs) that the group was supposed to be working on and they were in the tech library.
I went to the library and found TP63 and TP64 that were assigned to the MBG&C and checked one of each out.
I reviewed the TPs for a couple of days and then caught the hydraulics supervisor and told him we had work to do. He said to tell him what he was supposed to do, but the next day he went on leave.

I organized everything and started everyone to work. They were happy just to have something to do since their days were very long just sitting around, and didn't resent that an 18 year old kid was telling them what to do. It was a good thing because at the end of the first month I had people showing up looking for me, people who had been transferred in to work in the pneumatic section under my direction.
We were furthest behind on TP64 so I attacked that first. .....

(TP64 called for specific testing on the guidance system for the Nike SAM.)

Quote:

I have strived to live by the following credos:
I believe that 90% of a person's problems are brought on by himself.
I believe that a strong integrity is the most valued personality trait. I believe that the second most important trait is the ability to make and live up to a commitment. I am convinced that anything can be accomplished if enough time and effort are devoted to the task.

I wish your father a full and complete recovery my friend.

Positives thoughts and prayers sent x 10!

That's good news. We will keep up our end of the bargain if your dad holds up his. No doubt he will try. More prayers on the way.

Thanks for the update Sammy and the sage words of wisdom from Dad.

Keep us posted - especially if there's anything we can do.

Wishing you and yours all the best, Baz

Thinking about your Dad & your family Sammy
All the best
JB

Your dad and your family will be in my thoughts today. Hoping for the best.

Prayers and best wishes for your father Sammy.

Hoping for the best for you and your family, Sammy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sammyg2 (Post 8719640)

....It will be a very long and difficult battle but my brothers are stepping up, we will figure out what to do and deal with it.
Just like dad taught us.

That's positive news about your dad Sammy....time will work wonders with his recovery and he has an awesome support group. Best wishes on all fronts....

Love and appreciation are the strongest medicine and it sounds like your father is getting a double dose. My best wishes to your father and family.

Those memoirs would make an interesting read!

And I can tell, Sammy, that you're a chip off the ol' block.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rusnak (Post 8720379)

Those memoirs would make an interesting read!

And I can tell, Sammy, that you're a chip off the ol' block.

He wrote about growing up in New Mexico during the war, not too far from Alamogordo.
He described how one morning in the 1940's the normally busy military airport outside town was really quiet.
Then the entire sky got really bright for about 20 minutes.
The radio stations said it was a weather phenomenon.
I'll see if I can dig that up.

^ Thanks! I can almost picture that in my mind. A unique time in our nation's history.

Nike Missile. Wow.

Your Father lived in the absolute pinnacle of aviation design and engineering, missiles and aircraft. I envy his memories, Sammy.

Nike Missiles

1951(27 Nov) - Nike Ajax missile intercepted an aircraft flying at 15 miles range, 33,000 feet altitude

Noodle this through: at the end of WWII, just six years earlier, guys had to engage enemy aircraft with guns, nothing but guns.

Continued prayers for the Big Guy, Sam. I wish your family the best.

And just four years earlier, some people believed that the "sound barrier" was like a physical wall.

I take mental pictures from the movie "The Right Stuff" and overlay them on Sammy's dad's stories. I almost wish I was there.

A little more trivia: RE: ICBMs

Quote:

The current Minuteman force consists of 450 Minuteman III missiles in missile silos around F.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming; Malmstrom AFB, Montana; and Minot AFB, North Dakota.

It is a guided missile with three solid-fuel stages, and in the post-boost stage (“bus”), a liquid-fuel propulsion system rocket engine is used to fine-tune the trajectory of the reentry vehicle and/or dispense individual warheads to separate targets. The missile has a gimballed inertial guidance system.

The third stage has precision shutdown ports which, when opened, reduce the chamber pressure so abruptly that the interior flame is blown out. This allows a more precise trajectory which improves targeting accuracy.

Dad went to work for Hercules (on the NIKE/Hercules nuke tipped SAM) around the time i was born and he came up with the idea for that third stage separation design described above.
He suggested using forward-pointing shape charges to blow open the ports and instantly shuft off the booster motor at precisely the right time.

IIRC it was the first major development project he managed.

It ended up improving the accuracy of the warheard big time and saved about 50 pounds off the old design.
1 pound of 3rd stage weight savings was worth a $million and many miles of range.
That same design was used on all the latter versions of minuteman missiles, the Polaris and Poseidon missiles, and I think it was used on the MX missile.

PS that was a long time ago, I sure hope that detail isn't still classified!!! :eek: