Col. Demas T. Craw, the deputy executive officer of the 2nd Bomb Command, Maj. Pierpont M. Hamilton, assistant chief of staff for intelligence for the landings in North Africa, and one infantryman come ashore with the first wave of the 9th Infantry Division at Port Lyautey, French Morocco, in a clandestine effort to secure an armistice from the Vichy French commander. The Americans get behind the Vichy lines, but Craw is killed as their vehicle is attacked. Hamilton and the enlisted driver are captured. With a full scale attack eminent, the French commander in Casablanca agrees to a armistice with Hamilton, who, after reaching a US tank on the beach, radios Gen. George S. Patton to stop the action. Both Craw and Hamilton are awarded the Medal of Honor. Hamilton’s service career would extend into the mid 1950s. He will pass away in 1982.
More than two dozen F-35 Lightning II fighters are heading to Kingsley Field, Ore., after Air Force Secretary Troy Meink signed the official record of decision to base the jets there on Oct. 5, clearing the last bureaucratic hurdle for the Air National Guard base to host the service’s third…