I'm fairly sure I remember a story (probably on PRuNe, but I can't find it) about a USAF F15 pilot who made a weather-related course diversion en route Iceland - UK, which took him over Northern Ireland (at 40,000 feet). The story went that he was surprised and embarrassed to subsequently receive an 'air combat' decoration for his activities in this hot combat zone
15 years ago I met a US Marines Captain on board an RN Minesweeper in Bremerhaven, Germany, during a VIP reception. After a couple of G&Ts the conversation focused on his medals and he sheepishly admitted that one was for being in the Northern Ireland combat zone...at 34 000 feet in Business Class on a US Airlines flight to Germany.
Got any good ones about ships and lighthouses?
Considering that NI wasn't a combat zone for the US and those two 'this is no-****' stories sound so much alike I think we can throw the bull**** flag on them.