Hall of Fame Hall of Fame

There are many halls of fame that have already been established. Most noticed are the athletic related halls of fame but there are also various performing arts halls of fame. There are halls of fame under slightly different nomenclatures honoring inventors, scientists, philosophers, politicians, businessmen, police, firemen, and even people in military intelligence have their own hall of fame. Until now, though, there has never been an all encompassing Hall of Fame. To satisfy the obvious need for a Hall of Fame to honor the very best of the very best, FM1081 has established the original Hall of Fame Hall of Fame. It is here that we honor those who have made superlative contributions in various fields of endeavor and have made the world a better place.

Albert Einstein, Sir Francis Bacon, Euclid, Gregor Mendel, Burt Rutan, Mike Melville (First Commercial Astronaut)

John Riggins, Darrell Green, Christian Adolph Jurgenson, Larry Bird, Johnny Unitas

Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Robert Duvall, Robert DeNiro, Donald Sutherland, Harrison Ford

Lenny Skutnik, Dave Foreman, and Sam Pulliam. Pat Tillman, the NFL player who was KIA in Afghanistan.

Lenny Skutnik dove into the frozen waters of the Potomac when the Air Florida flight went down at the 14th St Bridge. He pulled one person to safety.

Dave Foreman and Sam Pulliam were involved in the rescue of the survivors of the ethanol carrying freighter that went down off the coast of Virginia in the middle of a cold and dark winter night. Foreman is a Coast Guard rescue diver and Pulliam was the flight mechanic on the rescue helicopter. Foreman's contribution was locating and securing survivors in the Atlantic's 44 degree water that was covered in fuel oil - he's out working in the open seas at night, in dangerously cold water and everything is covered in oil. Pulliam manned the extrication device on the helicopter and had responsibility for rendering primary care to the survivors. Again, working over the water in the dark on a flight deck covered in oil. Both of these men worked in highly perilous environments. They did the jobs they were trained to do and there are six people alive today because of it.

Hugh Thompson has been added to the Hall of Fame Hall of Fame. He piloted a helicopter in Vietnam. During the My Lai massacre, he landed his helicopter in the direct line of fire of GI's who were killing civilians. His actions saved the lives of innocent civilians. This man took on not only the opposing army but his own, too. He exhibited true courage and is a true hero.

Bob Dylan, Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Beethoven, Mozart, Judy Collins, Stephen Stills.

R. Lee Ermey, Bob Hope, Rocky Beier, Ted Williams, Joshua Chamberlain, Daniel Sexton Gurney, John Surtees, Archimedes, Cal Ripken, Henry Ford, P. J. O'Rourke, Dr. Robert H. Goddard, Ted Turner, Dr. John D. Anderson, and Chuck Yeager.

R. Lee Ermey is noted for many movie appearances, mostly as a military figure, he is the host of the History Channel's "Mail Call" and he has made several trips to Iraq and Afghanistan to visit the troops. The troops just love seeing this guy. He has done what they have done and he really picks up their spirits.

Bob Hope put on big shows for troops overseas for three generations. Just as with Gunny Ermey, he didn't have to go visit the troops, he WANTED to.

Rocky Bleier played running back for the Steelers in the 70's. He had played a season for the Steelers and was drafted into the military. He served in Vietnam until he was wounded with rifle and grenade fragments, causing him to lose part of one of his feet. He recuperated from his wounds and then began training to return to football. Everyone told him that he'd never make it. He could barely walk when he was discharged from the military. Two extremely tough years of training and he was back as a running back with the Steelers. Pro athletes of the period were generally not drafted. Most served time in the Guard or the Reserves.

Ted Williams. Greatest Hitter who ever lived. The Head of the class you might say. It is a pity to have him frozen out of consideration. Williams also gave up some of his best years to be a Marine Fighter Pilot (which he considered his greatest achievement.) John Glenn was in his unit in Korea. Flew in WWII and Korea. Pat Tillman before Pat Tillman was born. He is already in the Baseball AND the Fishing Halls of Fame.

Joshua Chamberlain was a Union battalion commander for the 20th Maine at the battle of Gettysburg. His unit held one end of the Union line against successive charges of a unit from Alabama. The last charge was fought hand to hand with bayonets. The North had actually been losing the war until the battle of Gettysburg and one more loss could have meant the beginning of the end for the North. In leading his men to hold the end of the line, Chamberlain arguably saved the Union that day. He eventually attained the rank of Major General and was awarded the Medal of Honor. In civilian life, he was a professor at Bowdoin College and served as the governor of Maine for four terms.

Dan Gurney is one of only 5 American drivers to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix, the finest form of auto racing. He has also won NASCAR, Can-Am, Indy car, and Trans Am races. He actually manufactured the cars he won races with later in his career. He is, as one site states, "one of the most important figures in American auto racing."

Cal Ripken played for the Baltimore Orioles. He owns the consecutive games record. He currently owns a facility in northeast Maryland that accommodates his minor league team AND several fields where he hosts a baseball camp for kids. He is the prototypical sports role model.

Henry Ford founded Ford Motor Company and showed the world how to use an assembly line to make automobiles.

Dr. Robert Goddard was a pioneer in rocketry. He is the genius behind the beginning of the US rocket work.

Ted Turner started CNN and the TBS networks. In terms of capitalizing on the advent of cable TV, he has no equal. He became fabulously wealthy in the process. He also won the America's Cup in 1977. In addition, he speaks his mind.

P. J. O'Rourke is an author. He can be found in the humor section. Only because the book store people find him so hard to categorize. He is an eminent social scientist that can put words and concepts together in a way that is unparalleled. He covers our current state of human life in a way that can take you from one edge of a spectrum to an opposite one in one sentence in a way that will just make your jaw drop. Read All The Trouble In The World.

Dr. John Anderson has been nominated by the Managing Editor. He authored a book on the history of the airplane. He has not only a broad base of experience, but he has the rare ability to explain things in a way that is understandable by normal people. The Aerospace Editor actually gave the Managing Editor a copy of his book. It is one of the highlights of the newsroom.

Chuck Yeager is a World War II ace and noted test pilot. He is the first person to have flown faster than the speed of sound. He is a living legend in the field of aviation.

Burt Rutan founded and operates a company called Scaled Composites. They built the airship that won the X Prize - all they had to do was launch an aircraft into space, land it back on earth and launch and land the same vehicle within two weeks. Rutan is perhaps our generation's equivalent of a Goddard or a Ford.

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