THANKSGIVING: WASHINGTON, RUSH, AND THE NY TIMES

Today is Thanksgiving 2012.  Here's George Washington's proclamation designating Thursday, November 26, as "a day of public thanksgiving" as requested by the House and Senate, 223 years ago.

Issued by President George Washington, at the request of Congress, on October 3, 1789

By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and—Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favor, able interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other trangressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally, to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

Go. Washington

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There had been previous occasions of thanksgiving, dating from the Jamestown, Virginia, settlement in 1607 and of course the better-known feast held by the Pilgrims at Plymouth, Massachusetts, after surviving that first winter of 1620-21.  Subsequent observations were held from the 1630s through the Revolutionary War.

In recent years Rush Limbaugh has read The Real Story of Thanksgiving on his radio program, stressing the Pilgrim traits of individual initiative and self reliance.  It's available here:

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2007/11/21/the_real_story_of_thanksgiving

In response, two years ago the New York Times published a combination rebuttal and elaboration.  It's available here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/weekinreview/21zernike.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

My families were relative latecomers to the New World, arriving 15 and 18 years after the Pilgrims' landing at Plymouth.  (A naval aviator relative--a 10th cousin twice removed--notes that we share an indirect ancestor aboard the Mayflower, "on the cruise without Skyhawks.")  But whether the future will offer greater or lesser reasons for thanksgiving than this year remains in the hands of We The People.

AVIATION SUPERSTITIONS

Mercy sakes, how time flies.  It’s more than FORTY-ONE years since I sold my first magazine article.  The April 1971 edition of Air Progress included “Omens, Augurs, and Jinxes” which I had written for a magazine writing class in college.  Professor Roy Paul Nelson pledged that anybody who made a sale got an automatic A for the class, and I sorta recall that one other student aced the course.

Here’s some extracts from the manuscript, originally written as “Confessions of a Superstitious Aviator.”

I remember distinctly how it all started.  I was watching the afternoon movie on TV—one of those aviation films of the late ‘30s, possibly Tail Spin with Alice Faye.  There was a scene at the Cleveland Air Races where a girl pilot was smoking a cigarette near a plane being refueled.  “Hey, you,” warned a mechanic, “don’t you know you ain’t supposed to smoke around airplanes?”

“Nah,” came the laconic reply.  “I’m not superstitious.”

It’s been years since I saw that movie—well before I learned to fly—but the incident keeps coming back to haunt me.  You would think that in the space age there would be no room for superstitions in as exact a science as aviation.  But if you look for them, you’ll find more than a few of the old jinxes, hexes, and omens still persist.  There are some new ones, too.  Even sky-diving, the space-age sport, is affected.  My pals who enjoy leaping out of airplanes say that it’s bad luck to wish a jumper well before he makes an exit.

Anybody with a passing interest in aviation knows that, of all the superstitions connected with the business, the oldest is that which predicts doom for the pilot who allows his photo to be taken before takeoff.  The origins of the legend are somewhat nebulous, but the fact that it reportedly happened to a pretty fair pilot named von Richthofen seems to bear considerable weight.

“That’s ridiculous,” I said.  “Look at all the guys who had dozens of pictures taken and nothing happened.  Look at Lindbergh.  Look at the astronauts.  They’re on live TV, which must be worse than a plain old Brownie.”

By now I was fascinated.  Not that I believed any of that stuff, but my curiosity was aroused.  Since the photo jinx had originated in World War I, I decided to check for other superstitions of the era.  I found plenty.

Good luck charms and talismans of incredible variety seem to have found their way into cockpits on both sides of the front.  Some, however, were more exposed to the elements.  Take the case of a pilot in the Lafayette Escadrille (note: Edwin C. Parsons, who penned a hugely enjoyable memoir, The Great Adventure.)  He placed his fate in the care of a stuffed black cat.  The creature was tied to one of the struts whenever the pilot went on patrol.  One day the cat stopped or deflected a bullet that otherwise might have struck its owner.  The 100-mph slipstream rapidly depleted the mascot’s stuffing, rendering it limp and torn upon landing. But replacement stuffing and some quick needlework had the black cat operational again.

Stuffed animals, however, were not adopted only by Allied pilots.  At least one German ace with 30 victories (Ltn. Ulrich Neckl) posed on his Fokker D.VII with a teddy bear that reputedly he carried into combat.  It would be difficult to imagine a less Teutonic and less warlike mascot, but the ace was still around on Armistice Day.

In the midst of war it seems that true love, and its reasonable facsimiles, accounted for many of the items aviators took aloft to protect themselves from occupational hazards.  One French pilot refused to wear a regular flying helmet, preferring a girlfriend’s silk stocking for headwear (Jean Navarre, the enfant terrible of the Verdun Front.)   Scarves, rings, hankies, and even baby shoes were at one time considered bulletproof.  Even riding crops were carried by ex-cavalrymen, but apparently nothing was as widely sought after as a girlfriend’s garter.  According to popular legend, mystical powers were attributed to garters removed from the leg of a virgin during the dark of the moon.  In the best Joseph Heller style, however, there was a catch.  If the girl didn’t remain true, the garter lost its protective powers and the pilot was in danger until he found a more trustworthy female.

It struck me as odd during all my research that rabbits’ feet were conspicuous by their absence.  Apparently the mental processes of airmen do not place much faith in such conventional talismans.  But the charms and gimmicks devised were more original than such ordinary means.  The biplane pilot’s trademark, the white silk scarf, for instance.  Somebody told me that never, under any condition, should you ever wash your scarf.  I had been flying more than three years when I heard that one, and since my scarf had been washed a few times, I promptly dismissed the concept as invalid.  But one of the pilots I knew, thinking of having some fun at his wife’s expense, turned pale when she pulled his formerly feelthy scarf out of the washer.  He carried on for several minutes, bemoaning the curse by which he could never again wear his favorite scarf.  The plot backfired though: his act was so good that his wife was completely convinced.  She wouldn’t let him near an airplane for the rest of the week.

The last good-luck habit I discovered was sticking a wad of chewing gum on the fuselage before clinging in.  As with the other superstitions, this one seems to have no basis in recorded history, but was widely adopted during World War II.  The plot is not difficult to imagine: The pilot is in a hurry to take off, forgets to put the gum by the cabin door (“Use Your Checklist”), and fails to return.  That one really grabbed me since I’m a big Spencer Tracy fan, and he forgot the duty chewing gum in A Guy Named Joe.

So my course is set: on that happy day when I might resume flying, I’ll have my teddy bear bedecked with scarf, garter, and chewing gum added to the check list.  And don’t you even think about taking my picture before takeoff….

GIFTS THAT KEEP ON GIVING

Last year was the centennial of John M. Browning’s timeless, matchless M1911 pistol, which has only gained in stature over the last ten decades.  But other tools in the military cabinet have passed the half-century mark, and some not only remain in service but, like the 1911, remain in production.

Browning M2 .50 HB.  (1938 to today.)  Besides the 1911, another long-long lived Browning design is the ageless M2 .50 caliber.  Designed as a water-cooled gun during WW I, “Ma Deuce” in its current air-cooled form was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1938 and has served in perhaps 90 nations covering dozens of wars and conflicts.   Powerful and potent, at 74 years and counting, the M2 is a strong contender for another centennial weapon.

Armalite AR-15/Colt M16.  (1962 to today.)  “The black rifle” entered military service as the Air Force’s AR-15 in 1962.  It’ll be interesting to see what sort of semi-centennial the controversial weapon receives this year.  To put that record in perspective, the M1 Garand lasted 21 years (1936-57) while the classic ‘03 Springfield remained in limited inventory until about 1957. 

However counterintuitive it may seem, half-century airplanes are far more common than firearms.  Here's the roster of that exclusive club:

Bell UH-1 Huey.  (First flight 1954, operational 1961.)  The Bell Model 204 evolved into the long-lived UH-1 (utility helicotper), and the Army’s last Hueys retired only last year—a full 50-year career.  Meanwhile, UH-1s remain flying with as many as 40 other nations.  Thus, the Huey belongs to an elite club of military aircraft dating from the Eisenhower administration (1953-1961).  Here’s a quick look at others from the era of hula-hoops and Mickey Mouse ears:

 Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.  (First flight 1952, operational 1955.)  The Cold War icon, the eight-jet intercontinental bomber remains in front-line squadrons fifty-seven years after original introduction.  According to its Air Force Fact Sheet, the BUFF (Big Ugly Flying…Fellow) may still be flying in 2045.  No, that’s not a typo for 2025.  And yes, that would mean a service career of NINETY years; 80+ years for individual aircraft.  In stunning comparison, the Forrestal class aircraft carriers—also from the Ike era--were active for “only” 43 years.

Lockheed C-130 Hercules.  (First flight 1954, operational 1957.)   The Hercules has aptly been called “the DC-3 of the postwar era.”  With well over 2,000 delivered, the enormously capable, “stretchable” Herc is flown by some 60 countries.  Dillonites will appreciate its ballistic options in the AC-130 Spectre and Spooky gunships, packing enormous firepower.  The Spectre loadout includes 40mm and 105mm cannon while the Spooky adds 25mm gatlings.  From Vietnam to Iraq, Hercs just plain deliver.

Lockheed U-2. (First flight 1955, operational 1957.)  The world’s most famous reconnaissance aircraft made global headlines when Francis Gary Powers’ CIA bird was downed over Russia in 1960.  Nearly half of the 86 airframes were lost in accidents or shot down over Russia and Communist China.  However, the high-flying spyplane remains a valuable asset, and the Air Force plans to keep it until 2015, a service life of 58 years.

Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker.  (First flight 1956, operational 1957.)  If you have a fleet of jet bombers, you need a fleet of jet tankers.  That’s why Boeing adapted its 707 airliner for in-flight refueling and made one of the most remarkable conversions in aviation history.  From first flight to operations took less than a year.  Boeing built 800 Stratotankers to support 744 B-52s, and both will remain in service for years to come.

Northrop T-38 Talon.  (First flight 1959, operational 1961.)  Nearly 1,200 were built through 1972 as the world’s first supersonic trainer, and it’s still the lead-in trainer for USAF fighter pilots.  Talons were used by four other nations: Nationalist China, Germany, Portugal, and Turkey.  The derivative fighter, the F-5 Tiger, may still be used by 20 or more of 30-some air forces that have purchased it.

Lockheed P-3 Orion. (First flight 1959, operational 1962.)  Based on Lockheed's still-incomplete Electra airliner, the Orion offered off the shelf availability with promising performance.  Though a maritime patrol aircraft, its endurance and multiple sensor systems make it useful ashore, including in Afghanistan.  More than 15 foreign users have joined the dozens of U.S. Navy Orion operators.

Boeing Vertol CH-47 Chinook.  (First flight 1961, operational 1962.)  Almost 1,200 Chinooks have been flown by 16 nations, and just one helo kept the Brits in business in the Falklands in 1982.  Today the big chopper remains in low-rate production, meeting the need for heavy lift, especially in Afghanistan where the floor can be 8,000 feet and uphill in all directions.  Apparently a successor is not even on the drafting board.  As Chinook pilots say, “The only replacement for a Chinook is another Chinook.”

Grumman E-2 Hawkeye. (First flight 1960, operational 1964.)  A carrier-based early warning and control aircraft, the Hawkeye appears to have an open-ended lease on life.  Its distinctive feature is the rotating radar dome that provides a huge view of sea and sky, capable of detecting and sorting friendly, unknown, and hostile targets to hundreds of miles. Perhaps most remarkably, the Hawkeye’s foreign users include both Israel and Egypt.

Cessna T-37 “Tweet”.  (First flight 1954, operational 1957.)  Almost 1,300 Tweety Birds were produced in a 20-year production run, serving as jet trainers in 18 countries. Its 52-year USAF career ended in 2009 while the ground-attack variant AT-37 Dragonfly featured a 7.62 minigun in the nose.   Reportedly armed Tweets continue hosing drug runners in Columbia and Peru.

Douglas A-4 Skyhawk (first flight 1954, operational 1956.)   The Navy’s first jet light attack aircraft was intended as an interim design but remained in front-line Marine service until 1979.  It’s still flying support sorties in the U.S. and Israel, and in operational squadrons with Argentina and Brazil.

F-4 Phantom (first flight 1957, operational 1960.)  A hugely successful and versatile aircraft, the mighty Phantom debuted with the Navy and was retired by the Air Force in 1996.   But it’s still flown by Japan, South Korea, Turkey…and Iran.  Those nations will remain Phantom Pflyers for awhile, as it’s now 52 years in service and counting.

Other 50-year aircraft include and the English Electric Canberra (in service 1951-2006); the huge swept-wing turboprop Tupelov 95 “Bear” (1956 to today); and the prolific MiG-21 (in service 1959 to today).  

Joe Taxpayer has received more than his money’s worth from the foregoing products.  Heaven knows, that’s a rare situation amid the perpetual fraud, waste, and abuse that characterizes so many government programs.

It’s also a reminder that frequently The Latest is not The Greatest.