Every other Thursday, Air Force One flies low over the York River to nearby Langley Air Force Base for a touch-and-go landing as a drill, and then returns to Washington by a different route. I was explaining this to a couple out sailing the river when lo and behold Air Force One swooped in a northwest path across the river at a high altitude. This time it was escorted by four fighter jets in a diamond formation, suggesting the real thing. CNN reported later that President Obama was on his way to South Dakota to speak. It was his 50th state as President.
Basilone Returns
August 21, 2026
USS John Basilone exited Yorktown Naval Weapons Station after reloading Tomahawk missiles for the Iran war. John Basilone stands as one of the most celebrated enlisted Marines in American history, a figure whose courage at Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima carved his legacy into the bedrock of the U.S. military story.
