Me (left) watching out the rear window of the refueling airplane.
I never served in the military. I know plenty of people who have and still do. A few years ago, I had an opportunity to see just a small part of what some of these brave men and women do when I got to fly on a refueling mission for a story I was writing. Our mission was to fly from Knoxville to Memphis, turn south and follow the Mississippi River to New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico and then turn back toward Knoxville over Alabama and Georgia. Along the way, we would drop our massive KC-135 StratoTanker to within 13 feet of a B-52 Bomber (while flying at 30,000 feet and traveling roughly 400 mph) and refuel the B-52 in mid-air. You can read the whole story here.
It was one of the most amazing and unforgettable things I have ever done. On this Fourth of July, I will think of those men and women who do things like this every day to protect us and the freedom we enjoy every day.
The view from the back. (photo by Wes Hope.)