Lots of words start with V. There's vexation, for example, which suggests the opposite of calm. And there's vindictiveness, to which, of course, we never ever want to resort. And there's the Latin vale, which we might think of as a happy word, since we press it into service in the word carnival, which means, literally, farewell to the flesh. But that Latin word vale must be one of the saddest words ever invented, since it means farewell, goodbye. Thank goodness there are many happier V words, five of which I call your attention to in this little series dubbed V is for . . . . Anyway, for all five you should avoid going to the given coordinates; instead, solve the five puzzles and then set out for a little walk. The following little puzzle is easy enough: match the letters to the names, then enter the string of letters (without any spaces) into Certitude, in order to receive the actual coordinates for this hide. And please take a few minutes to read the stories of the people mentioned, especially the ones about whom you probably know nothing at all.
FIRST . . .
A POTUS to hold a patent
B Black American awarded the Navy Cross
C Major League Baseball player to have his number retired
D person to win TWO Nobel Prizes
E Black woman to travel in space
F person to break the sound barrier
G Major League Baseball player to win MVP award in both the NL and the AL
H POTUS to visit the People's Republic of China
I pedestrian killed by a motor car
J person independently verified to have walked around the Earth
K person of color and of Native American ancestry to serve as VPOTUS
L person to be killed in the construction of the Hoover Dam
M person to die in an airplane crash
N woman to fly solo across the Atlantic
O woman to hold federal office in the United States
P African-American to play in Major League Baseball
___ CURIE, MARIE
___ CURTIS, CHARLES
___ DRISCOLL, BRIDGET
___ EARHART, AMELIA
___ GEHRIG, LOU
___ JEMISON, MAE
___ LINCOLN, ABRAHAM
___ KUNST, DAVE
___ MILLER, DORIE
___ NIXON, RICHARD
___ RANKIN, JEANNETTE
___ ROBINSON, FRANK
___ SELFRIDGE, THOS. E.
___ TIERNEY, J. G.
___ WALKER, MOSES FLEETWOOD
___ YEAGER, CHUCK
You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.