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General control line discussion => Open Forum => Topic started by: Steve Scott on June 23, 2009, 08:46:26 AM
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I was saddened to hear of the passing of a true giant of a man, Ed McMahon, this morning at age 86.
A decorated WWII USMC fighter pilot and recently a brigadier general with the CA ANG, I met him on a redeye flight from LAX to BOS back in 1982. I was on active duty in the Boston area and took some leave time to fly back home to the Seattle/Tacoma area. I rented a car and drove HWY101 (the Pacific Coast Highway) around the Olympic Peninsula and Oregon coast and on down to Solvang, CA where I met a friend (a lady friend). We toured the Santa Barbara area before heading back to her home in Venice.
A couple of days later I boarded a TWA redeye out of LAX and back to Boston. Just before they closed the door and pushed back, a party was rushed aboard into the 1st class section and the privacy curtains were closed. We speculated who this "VIP" was. It was a long flight and we soon found out it was Ed McMahon and his private party. They had just completed filming the Tonight Show's anniversary show and he had to immediately head back to the Boston area for a family funeral. As soon as that was done he had a show to do in Nashville. I went up and introduced myself after landing in Boston and waiting in the baggage area. He asked if I were active duty to which I replied in the affirmative and we had a nice chat.
He was also a brother freemason and was obviously proud of the affiliation of our Founding Fathers in the Order (virtually all signers of the Declaration of Independence were freemasons and it is claimed the Boston Tea Party was enacted by a Lodge who recessed and went down to dump the King's tea into the Harbor).
Despite his eventual financial problems in later life and the endless hawking of various sweepstake programs, he was known for being a generous person. But man, was he ever a BIG guy...