See that young lady sitting in the cockpit, grinning ear to ear? An observer today might chuckle and think she was a harmless little girl one would come across on a college campus or in a library. But the Nazis, at least the ones who survived her onslaught, would beg to differ. She was a war hero, and a deadly one. This was Natalya Meklin, an excellent combat pilot who flew PO-2 short-range low altitude night bombers into the thick of heavily defended Nazi strongholds. Natalya didn’t fight alone. On the contrary, she was a Night Witch – just one “fighting friend” in a whole unit of brave aviatrixes in the legendary 588th Night Bomber Regiment, the only combat aviation regiment in history that was entirely comprised of women,
Nonfiction
The OODA Loop: A Closer Look At the Kenosha Shooting
Introduction: This episode of the Gunslingers USA Podcast features a frank conversation I had with Iowa resident Jake Pries, owner and lead instructor of a firearms training program in Iowa. Our topic of discussion: the firefight between Kyle Rittenhouse and three armed combatants on August 25 during the Kenosha riots.
Historical Fiction becomes fact, hiding useful lessons
Summary: Historical fiction often blurs into real history. Too many historical facts are fabrications. We must learn to better distinguish between the two, and gather useful lessons from each.