Farewell to the Tomcat

The venerable F-14 Tomcat, two seat Navy/Marine fighter/bomber, is being retired:

The F-14 Tomcat was forever immortalized in American pop culture in the 1986 movie "Top Gun." The movie featured unforgettable characters with names like "Maverick," "Viper," and "Iceman," and lines of dialogue like, "I feel the need for speed." In short, it was cool.

In real life, the venerable jet served the Navy and the nation well for 36 years, from Vietnam through Desert Storm, Libya, Kosovo, Afghanistan and now, Iraq.

I must admit that I have a special fondness for the Tomcat. Not because of Tom Cruise, but because one of my first dates with Mrs. HolyCoast was to see Top Gun at the giant Newport Cinema. It has the biggest screen in Southern California, and that movie was pretty impressive on in that theater (of course, Mrs. HolyCoast was pretty impressive, too).