Milan Vrekic

“It was Carla and Phyllis’s diary that broke the political gridlock and spurred the government to take action. Since 1970, human lives saved by ELT radios worldwide number in the thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands. With the development of the newer 406 MHz beacons, thousands more will be found. The ELT story is directly traceable to the suffering of Carla, Phyllis, and Alvin F. Oien, Sr. in The Viking.”
― Ross Nixon, Finding Carla: The Story that Forever Changed Aviation Search and Rescue

“One of their best customers was an executive at Texaco, and one day Harry Ferkauf casually asked him about the possibility of a summer job for his son. “Harry, you know how I feel about you and Gene,” the man replied, “but Texaco doesn’t hire Jews.” From that day Gene Ferkauf knew that if he was to be a success, he would have to do it on his own; the world’s great companies were not interested in the likes of him.”
― David Halberstam, The Fifties

“So Alvin F. Oien, Sr. died hard and alone. He’d pushed himself to the end the way he pushed himself throughout his life. Though he’d not made it more than a half-mile from his beloved Viking and family, he died the way a man should die: trying.”
― Ross Nixon, Finding Carla: The Story that Forever Changed Aviation Search and Rescue

“The Ghost Army’s deception equipment was recycled to be used in the army’s “Aggressor Force” training program. It was a hypothetical enemy to train against, with the unstated goal of fighting communism. As for the artists, actors, technicians, magicians and designers of the Ghost Army, they kept silent about their war experiences because the records were still classified Top Secret. Some stayed in the military to continue their careers, while most returned to civilian life faced with answering the question, “What did you do in the war, daddy?” They could reply with an ETO travelogue of impressive adventures without ever mentioning how they had a personal hand in conning Adolf Hitler.”
― Gerry Souter, The Ghost Army: Conning the Third Reich