Kiffin dies for freedom

| Kiffin Rockwell

Exactly 95 years ago to this very day, dear Kiffin gave his life for freedom, a true American hero who was not afraid to die for what he believed in. The following excerpt is taken from a newspaper article announcing his tragic death:

"On Sept. 23, 1916, Kiffin received a hit in the chest by an exploding German cannon shell, fired from an enemy plane, and was killed. Paul said many times later than the shell that killed his brother was an illegal weapon."

Here his colleague James Rogers McConnell pays tribute to Kiffin Rockwell who was a great favorite with his companions:

"No greater blow could have befallen the escadrille. Kiffin was its soul. He was loved and looked up to by not only every man in our flying corps, but by every one who knew him. Kiffin was imbued with the spirit of the cause for which he fought, and gave his heart and soul to the performance of his duty. He said: 'I pay my part for Lafayette and Rochambeau,' and he gave the fullest measure. The old flame of chivalry burned brightly in this boy's fine and sensitive being. With his death France lost one of her most valuable pilots."

I realize very well that this happened a very long time ago, and really who even cares any more about what happened way back during WWI? This will probably all but be forgotten in the near future, but I feel obliged to my namesake and thinks it's very important to keep his memory alive as long as possible.

kiffinplane.jpg
Kiffin Yates Rockwell,
1892-1916.

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Information

This personal weblog was started way back on July 21, 2001 which means that it is 7-21-2001 old.

So far this blog contains no less than 2498 entries and as many as 1877 comments.

Important events

Graduated from Stanford 6-5-1979 ago.

Kiffin Rockwell was shot down and killed 9-23-1916 ago.

Believe it or not but I am 10-11-1957 young.

First met Thea in Balestrand, Norway 6-14-1980 ago.

Began well-balanced and healthy life style 1-8-2013 ago.

My father passed away 10-20-2000 ago.

My mother passed away 3-27-2018 ago.

Started Gishtech 04-25-2016 ago.