First Aero Squadron

Fri, 21 Apr 2006 23:34:02 GMT

Today is San Jacinto Day, when Texans remember the victory Sam Houston, a true American hero, had over Santa Anna in the Battle of San Jacinto, which won Texas' independence. So maybe it's a good time to finally get around to writing about a fun trip I took last month to Texas City and Galveston with my two youngest sons, where we discovered some other interesting Texas military history.

I'd been down to Texas City with one of them a year earlier, to see the dike, which juts out 5 miles into Galveston Bay, and was built to keep silt away from the Port of Texas City. We'd spent much of our time at Armand Bayou Nature Center that trip, and so had just enough time to take a brief look at the dike. I noticed there was a park nearby with a couple of airplanes, and made a mental note to check them out next time.

On this latest trip we did just that, and I was surprised to learn some local aviation history I didn't know anything about. It turns out that the aircraft (an F-100 and a steel replica of an early army plane) marked the location of the United States' first active aero squadron, which was put in place as a precaution because of the unrest in Mexico at the time. The squadron lasted from 1913-15, when it was hit by the 1915 hurrricane, which was about as bad as the tragic 1900 storm (though folks were better prepared by then).

You can click on the photos below of the markers and camp photo to learn more about that history. When we first got there, a sign under the jet declared "Birth Place of U.S. Air Force". I just assumed that was local bragging, but after reading the markers I guess Texas City has a legitimate claim to that, though I'm sure there are at least a few more places out there that could make a similar assertion.

After looking over the park, we went all the way out the five miles on the dike and watched some of the ships go into the Port of Houston (at the northwest end of Galveston Bay). Unlike most port cities, Houston really doesn't have a good place to see the ships go in and out, which is one of the reasons I wanted to make the trip.

Later that day after going over to Galveston Island we saw everything from the other side of the Ship Channel, from Seawolf Park (on Pelican Island). The submarine there (Cavalla) actually seems to be in better shape than it was when we visited in 1993, years before these two were even born. There's also a destroyer that's still in pretty bad shape. It was neat seeing the sub because I had just seen the movie U-571 (whose creators had gone to considerable lengths to depict things accurately) a few days before, so everything was fresh on my mind. Folks usually either like Navy stuff or they don't, but if you're one of the former, I'd recommend seeing it.

It was a fun day and a good example of how sometimes trips work best when things don't go quite according to plan. Last trip I was frustrated we were so short of time, but had to get back to see their sister's guitar class perform. As a result, we made a second trip and got to see a lot more than we had planned for the first time anyway. Also, since it was spring break, it took a looooonggg time to get our lunch, so ended up going to Seawolf park instead of the Tall Ship Elissa, which was a lot more fun anyway. Maybe it was payback for being accommodating about the long wait at the restaurant - things worked out great anyway.

Twilight Future

Sun, 17 Jul 2005 01:59:59 GMT

Here's one of my favorite photos I took a while back. It really captures how I feel about space. I am stuck smack-dab in the middle between the generation that went to the Moon and the generation that's going - I sure hope - to put us up in space to stay.

Right now everyone's still looking back to the "glory days". I love them too; I can remember when Apollo 11 launched, 36 years ago today, and landed four days later. But sometimes I don't think I could watch another Apollo documentary, even though they've been getting better and better.

I'm much more interested in the generation that's coming. I doubt they'll debate endlessly about whether we should go into space or not. Instead, it will simply be a given, and commercial space will be the preferred route. I am going to do what I can to help them.

This photo was the culmination of a long day at Space Center Houston. I've titled it "Twilight Future" (Copyright 2003 Gordon Vaughan). It's about a very big past and a very small but ultimately more interesting and promising future.

Even with a big family, I had to wait a long time for some kids who were really interested in aerospace (it's important to me that each pursue their own interests). These two just may be the ones. Maybe they just look like little kids to you, but they're the future.

Light Side: Aerospace

First Aero Squadron

Twilight Future