It was quite a shock to lose John Noveske in the prime of his life, on this day, four years ago. He left a family, friends, and a great legacy of excellence in firearms manufacturing. He will not be forgotten and many a pint will be tipped back in his memory today, and over the next few weeks, as those who remember him gather at SHOT Show in Las Vegas.
May he rest in peace.
On Monday, while visiting SIG SAUER, I heard about the passing of an industry great, Mr Mike Dillon. Even if you haven’t fired one of his Miniguns, you’ve probably used one of his reloading presses. He’s touched so many lives over the years, even ones that didn’t know him. I wanted to wait until his family had dealt with the initial shock before I said anything, and then I read this fitting tribute from Dillon Precision.
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Mike Dillon. Mike left us on the morning of November 7th, 2016. He leaves behind a large family including wife Carol, sons Stephen and Christopher, daughter Stephanie, and 9 grandchildren. Mike’s legacy has touched the lives of countless people worldwide. He revolutionized the ammunition reloading industry and made it what it is today. Mike also redesigned and manufactured the M134 Minigun that is now in service in the United States and foreign military forces. As a passionate aviator, he worked for TWA as a 2nd officer for 13 years and later made a name for himself as a writer for Air Progress Magazine. He is recognized by some as being the one who started the warbird restoration movement in the 1960’s.
Mike’s dedication to his family, his customers, and this country was exemplary. We hope to continue the legacy that Mike Dillon worked so hard to build and we will never forget the impact that he has had on us all. We take comfort knowing he is flying in the blue skies of heaven above.
During the coming months we will be adding an archive of Mike’s articles, videos, and photographs to this site. Just follow our Facebook page, we’ll post the content there when we upload it here, and you will be able to stay abreast of each addition as we incorporate it into the site.
May he Rest In Peace.
You may have known him by his pen name, Dalton Fury. But in life, he was known as Tom Greer. Not long ago, we told you that Tom had terminal pancreatic cancer. I’m sorry to say that he recently passed away from cancer at age 52.
He wrote the book, “Killing Bin Ladin” about his time as an Army officer in Delta, and also created a series of fiction fearuring ex-Delta Operator Kolt Raynor. I think there was a lot of Tom in Kolt.
He was a great man, both in and out of uniform. He would often travel to Atlanta’s Hartsfield International airport near his home to give copies of his books to service members and that was the majority of my interaction with him. I sent him copies of his books to hand out. I supported his work via SSD, and exchanged notes. I’m very sorry to see him taken so young. He’s a man who still had a lot to offer the world.
He will be missed.
Initially, I didn’t want to post about his passing, not wanting it to be a spectacle. Even though he had written several nooks, he was not a public man and I’m not sure that anything I could say would properly honor the man. Then, his brother CSM Steve Greer, shared this video memorial to Tom, so my feelings changed on the subject. It’s solemn and I found it a very fitting tribute.
Rest In Peace
Last week, AFSOC added a statue of a Special Tactics Operator to the memorial park at Hurlburt Field, Florida. Considering the 24th SOW is a major portion of AFSOC’s combat power, and Special Tactics Airmen have been instrumental in the joint fight, its about time their contributions are recognized.
Special Tactics, the Air Force’s ground special operations force, has been engaged in every major conflict since 9/11, continuously deployed for more than 5,000 days to more than 73 locations. As a result of their actions in combat, the Special Tactics community has earned the highest number of valorous medals in the Air Force since the Vietnam War.
In the last 40 years, only ten Airmen have received the Air Force Cross, the service’s highest medal it can bestow for valor in combat. Eight of those recipients were Special Tactics Airmen.
Beside the statue are two plaques which include the names of those Airmen who have earned the Air Cross Cross as well as the 8 ST operators who have fallen in training and the 19 who perished in action.
In true Special Tactics fashion, the dedication ceremony ended with memorial pushups.
Photos courtesy of North American Rescue.
Reading the timeline each year is a sobering experience. We suffered a horrible loss that day. The images haunt me. There were 2996 immediate deaths on September 11th, 2001, but wasn’t just an attack on America. It was an attack on the world, with victims from over 90 countries.
Even now, victims and rescuers alike suffer life threatening medical conditions due to the exposure to toxins during the attacks. They continue to succumb to these lingering wounds.
And then, there’s the war. It doesn’t end. In the ensuing 15 years we’ve definitely taken the fight to the enemy and even cut their head off a time or two. The names change, but they remain enemies of freedom.
Even now, the world is faced with the threat of a resurgent Islamic fundamentalism that targets our ideals in both word and deed. We must oppose them in every case, lest our efforts thus far, be in vain.
Never Forgive, Never Forget
Later that day, at 1720 – 7 World Trade Center, a 47-story building, collapses.
1028 – The North Tower of the World Trade Center collapses.
1003 – United Airlines Flight 93 is crashed by its hijackers as passengers try to retake the plane over Somerset County, Pennsylvania. There are no survivors.
