Obit watch: March 5, 2026.

March 5th, 2026

Master Gunnery Sgt. Juan Jose Valdez (USMC – ret.). He was 88.

Sergeant Valdez was the last American service member out of Saigon on April 30, 1975.

Master Gunnery Sgt. Valdez was the senior noncommissioned officer in a detail of Marine security guards at the American Embassy, a last outpost of U.S. power in what was then South Vietnam.

…

Sergeant Valdez and his fellow Marines maintained order as a procession of Sea Stallion and Sea Knight helicopters swooped in and lifted off from the embassy grounds and the rooftop of the chancery building within the embassy compound, as some 2,500 frantic people crowded inside it and others desperately tried to scale the walls.

…

Before loading helicopters at the embassy, Marines searched evacuees for weapons and threw any they found into a swimming pool. At dawn on April 30, Ambassador Graham Martin, carrying the American flag that had been lowered in the compound, boarded one of the last flights out. Sergeant Valdez and a handful of Marines stayed behind to protect his departure.
Panicked civilians soon broke through the gates and surged up the stairways of the chancery. The Marines retreated to the rooftop, barricaded the access door and waited for their own ride out. They could see North Vietnamese troops converging in the street.
Maj. James Kean, the commanding officer of the Marine guards, recalled years later in an interview with CBS News, “There were 17 divisions of North Vietnamese coming across the bridges into Saigon, and when the sun came up, we saw them.”
When the last helicopter, a CH-46 Sea Knight, descended to the rooftop, Sergeant Valdez stood back as Major Kean and nine enlisted men got on board first. Sergeant Valdez was nearly left behind: He was thrown off balance and fell on the rear boarding ramp as the pilot lifted off.
“The ramp, you could see behind me, it was starting to go up, and that helicopter wanted to get the hell out of there,” he recalled in a 2021 interview.
Staff Sgt. Mike Sullivan, one of the men already onboard, told The Los Angeles Times in 1990 what happened next.
“I looked at the back of the helicopter door, and I noticed two hands hanging there,” Sergeant Sullivan said.
Sergeant Valdez was grabbed and pulled aboard. It was approximately 8 a.m. on April 30, 1975. After a 30-minute flight, the chopper arrived at the U.S.S. Okinawa offshore.

Lou Holtz.

When Holtz, slender and bespectacled, arrived at Notre Dame in 1986, taking on college football’s most pressure-packed post, he hardly projected the image of a tough coach who might inspire his players to win one for a latter-day Gipper.
“I’m not very smart and I’m not very impressive,” he remarked. “I’m 5-10, weigh 152 pounds, speak with a lisp, appear afflicted with a combination of scurvy and beriberi, and I ranked 234th in a high school class of 278.”

…

Holtz’s teams compiled a 249-132-7 record in his 33 years as a collegiate head coach. In his 11 seasons at Notre Dame, his teams went 100-30-2, placing him second in career victories at South Bend to Knute Rockne’s 105. He took the Irish to nine consecutive major bowl games, winning five of them.

He did have a short and unsuccessful season with the New York Jets in 1976, which was also Joe Namath’s final season.

His team was 3-10 when he resigned with one game left in the season, walking away from a five-year contact to become head coach at the University of Arkansas.
“God did not put Lou Holtz on this earth to coach pro football,” he said.
In his memoir, he wrote, “My short-lived tenure in the N.F.L. has been a source of embarrassment for me, not because the Jets didn’t do very well under my leadership (they did not), but as a result of a so-so commitment on my part.”

…

When he was 28 years old with three young children, little family savings and his prospects of becoming a collegiate head football coach in doubt, Holtz set down life goals, professional and personal. He came up with 108 items.
While Notre Dame was preparing for its 1989 Fiesta Bowl game with West Virginia, he said he had accomplished 84 of those goals, among them sitting next to Johnny Carson on “The Tonight Show,” meeting the pope and dining at the White House.
Holtz, a practicing Roman Catholic, met Pope John Paul II while touring the Vatican. Even before his award from President Trump, he was invited to the White House by President Ronald Reagan (who in the role of Notre Dame’s George Gipp in the 1940 film “Knute Rockne All American” implored Rockne from his deathbed to “just win one for the Gipper”). He also accepted invitations from Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, who was governor of Arkansas during part of Holtz’s coaching tenure there.

Awful Announcing:

He would go 60–21–2 across seven years at Arkansas, but was fired in 1983 amidst debate over his TV ads endorsing conservative senator Jesse Helms. Holtz’s exit was painted as a resignation under pressure at the time, but athletic director Frank Broyles admitted it was a firing in testimony in a 2004 case, saying, “I felt like he was losing the fan base with things he said and did.”

ESPN.

Posted in Firings, Heroism, History, NFL, Obits, Religion, Sports | No Comments »

Flaming hyena update.

March 4th, 2026

Misty Roberts, the former mayor of DeRidder, Louisiana: guilty of “carnal knowledge of a juvenile and indecent behavior with a juvenile”.

(Previously on WCD.)

Posted in Law, Politics | No Comments »

Obit watch: March 3, 2026.

March 3rd, 2026

The 1940 Air Terminal Museum in Houston. Chron (feels short and incomplete). KHOU. Houston Chronicle (archived, but I think this is a longer better article).

I never visited the Museum. I wanted to, some weekend when I was in Houston with nothing else to do. But that never happens.

FotB RoadRich, who informed me of this, was an active volunteer at the Museum, and brought me all sorts of tchotchkes from the Museum shop, some from defunct airlines. I don’t have his permission to quote the email he sent me, but he filled all sorts of volunteer roles at the Museum and was down there at least one weekend every month.

This is sad and awful and stinks. There’s talk about maybe reopening the Museum if they can line up some more permanent funding, so maybe there’s hope. But today is a sad day for aircraft and history buffs.

Edited to add 3/4: FotB RoadRich granted me permission to quote his eloquent obit.

The Museum sent out an e-mail to its volunteers at exactly midnight on March 2 declaring its independence from, sadly, existence.

I for one remain optimistic that there is a chance this is a first step toward a new future for the iconic art deco terminal building from aviation’s pioneering era, and its many and unique artifacts, some of which are us volunteers. I’ve given many years to support the Museum as an attendee, volunteer, senior volunteer, pilot, marshaller, docent, mop jockey, yammering aviation enthusiast, event staffer, security badged ramp guide, fly-in coordinator, chair stacker, tug operator, graphic designer, photographer, Model AA driver, museum blog contributor, mechanic, and collector of airport FOD. I’ve also driven thousands of miles to do this because there simply is nothing like the place, and I hope the unique collection of architectural history, aviation history, Houston history, and darned amusing volunteers get to be enjoyed by many more people as soon as possible.

The Houston Chronicle article linked here (wants to activate my DRMs does it??? Hands off my DRMs please) calls today’s announcement a “pause”, which gives me hope for the Museum’s future.

(See above for the link – DB)

Posted in History, Obits, Planes | 1 Comment »

Short random gun crankery.

March 2nd, 2026

The Range in South Austin is involved in an ugly legal dispute.

Grant Shaw, co-founder of The Range at Austin, says his business partner Alessandro Bosco and others are intentionally tanking the enterprise to buy it back cheap, minus debts and investors. The accusation is false, according to the company’s largest creditor, and the lawsuit is an attempt to put off what it says is “inevitable.”

…

Shaw is going to court today to try to block a foreclosure sale of the 52,000-square-foot business and property along Interstate 35 in South Austin.
In a nearly 400-page court filing, he maps out the alleged “scheme” perpetrated by his former colleagues, which involves derailing an effort to refinance a longstanding debt while positioning a third-party to swoop in, foreclose and take over.
“Those are all untrue statements and desperate attempts to avoid foreclosure,” said Thomas Sansone, owner of the limited partnership TASAN, which had millions in equity in the company and Range Collection LLC, the company now tasked with collecting his debt. Sansone and both companies are named in the lawsuit.
Sansone, who is also Shaw’s former father-in-law, says the company owes him about $10 million from years of investments, capital calls and bailouts. He was described by another former investor as a “lifeline” for Shaw and the business. Sansone said he took on the bank loan when it came due years ago but hasn’t been repaid.

Fact I did not know, but find interesting:

Shaw and Bosco built another company together called SB Tactical, which produces controversial arm braces for guns. The braces can help turn a pistol into a rifle and the company fought the U.S. government to continue selling them. SB Tactical has been wildly successful and helped fuel other ventures like The Range.

I go to The Range from time to time. I’ve never shot there, and in terms of new guns, there’s very little there for me. But I do like the Collectors Firearms inside The Range.

In other news…

“Wild LI geezer built basement shooting range and staggering gun lab — just steps from Chaminade High School: DA”

Much of this story is hysterical, ignorant, or both. But this jumped out at me:

The probe launched in January 2025, after Chou was flagged as an alleged frequent online buyer of gun parts from multiple retailers — purchasing roughly 112 firearm-related components over the course of the prior year, according to prosecutors.

“Flagged”?

Sounds to me like credit card companies are reporting online purchases of firearms accessories to law enforcement. Might be something to keep in mind. Perhaps make your purchases in cash at gun shows, if you can.

I also wonder if this is just a New York thing. For some reason, I have it my head that credit card companies aren’t allowed to do this in Texas, but don’t ask me for a citation to the specific law or regulation.

Posted in Guns, Law | No Comments »

Obit watch: March 2, 2026.

March 2nd, 2026

Neil Sedaka. THR.

“I was the king of the tra-la-las and doo-be-do’s in the ’50s and ’60s,” he told Reuters in 2010. “It had to have a very catchy tune, with a catchy beat that you can dance to.”

Ed Iskenderian, “The Camfather”.

Mr. Iskenderian was best known for building or “grinding” camshafts, which are essentially an engine’s heartbeat. A camshaft consists of a rod and shaped lobes that synchronize the opening and closing of the engine’s air intake and exhaust valves. The size and shape of the lobes can be adjusted to affect power, torque, performance and fuel efficiency.

…

He started his own camshaft production company, as the sole employee, in 1946. A onetime apprentice tool-and-die maker, just back from wartime service in the Army Air Forces, he found the Los Angeles hot rod scene running at full throttle and the wait for high-performance camshafts to be a frustrating five months. He bought a grinding machine from a mentor and placed it on a dirt floor in a back room of a friend’s machine shop in Culver City, Calif.
His first major project was enhancing the performance of Ford Flathead V8s, a dominant racing engine of the 1940s and early ’50s. His solution was to create “fast action” cams that opened the intake valves earlier and held them open longer during the combustion process, allowing more air and fuel to flow into the cylinders, boosting horsepower.
Within a decade, he became the leading cam authority. His cams powered numerous iconic engines, including the four Pontiac V8s that fueled Mickey Thompson’s Challenger 1 when he became the first American driver to exceed 400 miles per hour, on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in 1960.

…

The camshaft company, now in Gardena, Calif., south of Los Angeles, has expanded to 60 employees and 100,000 square feet of space. Mr. Iskenderian was considered among the first to use computers to design camshafts, though it was also said of his skill, with only mild hyperbole, that he could grind one out of a broomstick.

…

Mr. Iskenderian’s boyhood during the Depression left an indelible imprint. He seldom threw anything away, friends said. The Cadillacs that he preferred for daily driving were often filled, except for a small space behind the steering wheel, with soda bottles, books, magazines, camshafts and fishing gear. More than one visitor to his office failed at first glance to see him sitting behind the mountainous pile on his desk.

For the historical record: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is burning in Hell.

Posted in Cars, History, Music, Obits | No Comments »

Firings watch.

February 27th, 2026

LaTroy Lewis fired as “assistant defensive line coach” of the Atlanta Falcons.

What makes this mildly interesting is: he was hired February 10th.

Mr. Lewis is accused of assaulting a woman while he was working for Michigan.

The woman informed then-Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore, whom she knew personally, about the incident, according to her attorney. But Moore did not report Lewis and “weaponized” the incident against the woman, Truszkowski said, including sending her lewd and sexually charged text messages.

Posted in Firings, NFL, Sports | No Comments »

Obit watch: February 27, 2026.

February 27th, 2026

Dan Simmons passed away last Saturday. My source for this is a tweet Lawrence forwarded me from David Morrell: Lawrence has also posted his own obit, which is much better than anything I could post.

He was a pretty swell writer. I haven’t read everything he wrote, but I’ve read quite a bit. I liked Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion quite a bit. He also did some pretty good suspense books: I’m very fond of Darwin’s Blade and the first two Joe Kurtz books (I haven’t read the third). He also wrote The Terror, which was turned into a TV series.

FotB RoadRich sent over two obits: Dan McGrath, writer for “The Simpsons”. (He co-wrote the “Time and Punishment” segment of “Treehouse of Horror V”, the one where Homer turns his toaster into a time machine.)

Also by way of RoadRich, Elizabeth Snead, former THR writer. I missed this, but she sounds fun:

During THR’s Costume Designers Roundtable in 2012, Lincoln’s Joanna Johnston told Snead and executive features editor Stephen Galloway that designing wardrobes for film was “somewhere between a war and a circus.”

…

Snead often brought her poodle Mina on assignment. She found the abandoned dog, dingy gray and with chipped nail polish, on a street near Dupont Circle in Washington. Once she bathed the pooch, she discovered Mina had snow-white fur.
She retired from journalism in the mid-2010s and returned to Florida, where she turned her attention to animal activities, such as showing her pack of Maltese dogs competitively and breeding Napoleon cats.

Bobby J. Brown, actor. He played “Officer Bobby Brown” on “The Wire”, a character based on a real police officer named “Bob Brown”. I think RoadRich rolled his eyes a little when he told me this.

Other credits include “Law & Order: SVU”, “We Own This City”, and “From Within”.

Posted in Books, Obits, TV | No Comments »

Obit watch: February 25, 2026.

February 25th, 2026

Lauren Chapin, actress. Other credits include “School Bus Diaries”, “The Amorous Adventures of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza”, and “Scout’s Honor”.

Sondra Lee, actress. Noted:

Lee went on to direct cabaret shows based on the music of Stephen Sondheim, including I Know Things Now: My Life in Sondheim’s Words, performed by Jeff Harnar; #Sondheim Montage, performed by Harnar and KT Sullivan; and Another Hundred People, performed by Harnar and Sullivan.

Robert Carradine. Other credits include “Jackson County Jail” (Lawrence, I have this, if you want me to bring it over Saturday), “Django Unchained”, and “Timecop: The Berlin Decision”.

Posted in Movies, Obits, Theatre, TV | No Comments »

Nothing can stop the U.S. Air Force…

February 21st, 2026

…except a good firing.

Joe Scott out as men’s basketball coach.

The Falcons failed to finish better than 10th place in the Mountain West in any of his six seasons at the helm, including last-place finishes in each of the past two seasons. They were 3-14 (0-6 MWC) when Scott was suspended and haven’t won a game since.
In five-plus seasons, Scott went 15-78 in league play.

Mr. Scott was “indefinitely suspended” in January as a result of accusations that he “mistreated” his player. He was previously with Air Force from 1999 to 2004, and actually had a successful run there:

…he guided Air Force to the 2004 NCAA tournament, winning 22 games and the Mountain West regular-season title.

Posted in Firings, Sports | No Comments »

Two short notes on film.

February 20th, 2026

The short film “They’re Made Out Of Meat” is available on the ‘Tube. According to the notes, this was the maker’s final project at the New York Film Academy.

(Previously on “They’re Made Out Of Meat”, the Terry Bisson story.)

Also available on the ‘Tube: “Tomorrow”, starring Robert Duvall.

I feel like I have written about this movie before. I watched it for my literature and film class at St. Ed’s, and I very much like it. I saw “Slingblade” first, but Duvall’s performance in this reminds me a lot of that movie. I commend it to your attention, especially with it being available online. (When I saw it, I had to trek down to Waterloo Video and rent a DVD.)

Posted in Movies, Obits | No Comments »

Obit watch: February 20, 2026.

February 20th, 2026

Eric Dane, for the record.

I am not a big fan of that TV show, but ALS is a horrible disease, and he was only 53.

Posted in Obits, TV | 1 Comment »

Obit watch: Februrary 19, 2026.

February 19th, 2026

Tom Noonan, who I think was an underappreciated actor.

Other credits include the short film “They’re Made Out of Meat” (wait, what?), “12 Monkeys” (the series), “Roadside Picnic” (the series, wait, what?), “Heaven’s Gate”, and “F/X”.

David Hays, theater designer. He also co-founded the National Theater of the Deaf. I wanted to call this one out because there’s a pretty good “Mannix” episode (“The Silent Cry“, season 2, episode 1) that features actors from the NTD, and (as I recall) was filmed with their cooperation and support.

I’ve been holding this one for a few days, looking for a place for it: Bob Croft, pioneering free diver.

When he made his first record-setting dive, in 1967, Mr. Croft was a U.S. Navy petty officer first class working as a research subject on submarine escape procedures at the Naval Submarine Base in Groton, Conn. In a test dive at the 40-foot mark in a 118-foot-deep water tank there, he held his breath for 6 minutes 10 seconds — an astonishingly long time — by inflating his lungs 50 percent longer than normal human beings could.

…

He then embarked on a private expedition, financed largely by himself, to break the free-dive record of 197 feet set in 1966 by Jacques Mayol, one of his main rivals in the sport. On Feb. 8, 1967, about two miles off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Mr. Croft made his first attempt to top that mark, but fatigue and the water’s cold temperatures forced him to turn back at 185 feet.

…

Once he passed 200 feet, he continued to 212.7 feet — the deepest point of his descent — where he activated the sled’s hand brake and fastened an alligator clip to the rope. He then climbed the rope, hand-over-hand, to the surface.
In all, he had spent 2 minutes 6 seconds underwater.

…

Mr. Croft, a brawny 5-foot-8, raised his record to 217.5 feet in late 1967 and then to a remarkable 240 feet in August 1968, breaking a record of 231 feet that had been set by Mr. Mayol that January.
Mr. Croft retired from free diving after the 240-foot dive, still believing he could have gone deeper. He left his goal of 250 feet to others. It has long since been exceeded: In 2023, Alexey Molchanov of Russia set the current record of nearly 512 feet.

Posted in Geek, Mannix, Movies, Obits, Theatre, TV | No Comments »

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