 Proudly, we hail. From New York City, where the American stage begins, here is another program with a cast of outstanding players. Public Service Time has been made available by this station to bring you this story as proudly we hail the United States Air Force. The story is entitled Visibility Zero. The story of a single day in the lives of an Air Force specialist and a radio news reporter. In a moment, the first act of Visibility Zero has proudly we hail the men of the United States Air Force. First, are you a veteran, a former service man? If so, you should know about your new opportunities under the liberalized re-enlistment policy of Uncle Sam's Air Force. You see, right now, the United States Air Force is accepting a wider range of skills for the choice of U.S. and overseas assignments. And listen, a paid 30-day delay in reporting can be granted upon request. Another advantage is that there's a more favorable conversion list in effect for all veterans, especially those with critical skills. The Air Force may be able to guarantee you training in a critical skill. Yes, if you qualify, this guarantee may be made even before you re-enlist. You can get full details on all these new liberal benefits by contacting your nearest Air Force recruiter. Talk it over, see why it's a fact that today and tomorrow you're better off in the United States Air Force. Get the real lowdown and all the changes that have been made since your separation, changes that will benefit you. And now your Air Force presents the proudly we hail production, Visibility Zero. My name is Donahue, clip Donahue. I edit and produce a radio documentary series called Diary. Maybe you've heard it. Remember our broadcast from Chalmers Air Force Base a few weeks back? I've covered a lot of stories in my time, but, well, you get to cover one like that once in a lifetime. Of course, there's a lot you didn't hear on the air that night, how it all came about in the first place, for instance. Any reporter in the business can tell you how it is. You start out to do a routine story and wind up in the middle of something bigger than you bargained for. That was the way it was that day in Friedensburg. Friedensburg, a small, neat, efficient New England town which adjoins a large, neat, efficient Air Force Base, Chalmers Air Force Base. But let's take it right from the beginning. And the beginning, I guess, is the evening when an airman named Steve Marker came home from his base a little later than usual. Hey, honey, I'm home. Hey, you're late. You know that? What's for supper? Hot roast and salad, okay? Okay, fine and terrific. Hey, what have you been up to? What do you mean, been up to? A guy comes home. Where the cat and canary grin on his face? You're awful nosy, you know that. Maybe you don't really deserve to be the wife of a celebrity. Celebrity? Can I have your autograph on a check for the butcher? Forget it. Hollywood may want me, and then I'll buy you the whole shop. Enough! Really, what happened today? You know you can't keep it in much longer. Come on in the kitchen. I'll tell you what, I'll wash up. You remember about three months ago I told you about seeing this fellow Donahue out at the base? Clip Donahue, you mean? The man who does diary? Yeah, that's the one. Want to hand me the soap? Here. What about Clip Donahue? Seems I'm going to be on his next show. On your show? But what? I mean, why? Okay to use this towel? But never mind. What about this show? He wants to do a whole series of shows on different aspects of the Air Force. First one will be on how ground-controlled approach works. And unless they've built another one since I left work, I'm in charge of the only GCA shack on the base. I'm supposed to see him tomorrow afternoon and the next day we go to work. It sounds so exciting, but will you actually be talking on the air? What do you mean? I'm talking on the air every day. Oh, the pilots, I mean on the air with people all over the country listening. Isn't that exciting? Well, I'll know more about it tomorrow. Meantime, lady, how about that pot roast? Celebrities have to eat too, you know. Next day I got my first look at Airman Steve Marker, specialist in ground-controlled approach. I looked up from my desk as he walked into the rat race that the diary staff calls home. He was a tall, square-cut kid in Air Force Blue. I say kid. He was probably 30, but he looked 21. Maybe it was his air of frank curiosity that made him look young. Sergeant Marker? Right. Oh, I didn't recognize you with your hat off, Mr. Donahue. Don't think I've ever seen a picture of you without it. Pure vanity, Steve. Some guys have hair, I have a hat. Not exactly a fair trade, but it's the best deal I could make. Have a seat. Thanks. Hey, this is some operation you've got here. A little more confusion than in your GCA shack, eh? A little, yes. I guess you get used to it, though. Steve, if it suddenly went quiet in here, nobody would be able to get any work done. Come on, I'll show you around. I sure like that. This is all new to me. Fair enough. Because when I get out to that radar shack of yours tomorrow, that will be all new to me. Let's go. Steve knew his GCA all right. I gained a healthy respect for the wealth of technical information he had right at his fingertips and in language that a layman like myself could understand. I can tell you about the system itself, the radar equipment, or where you can actually look at it, Mr. Donahue. But for general purposes, GCA, a ground-controlled approach, is a system of radar and radio communication, which lets a man on the ground become the eyes and hands of a pilot who can't see the ground he wants to land on. Do you have to conduct many GCA landings out of charmers? Not many, but we put in plenty of practice with incoming pilots, even in good weather. Because if and when a real emergency comes, well, it's a job where you can't afford to get out of practice, so put it that way. I see what you mean. Look, Steve, I think I've got as much as I need at this point. I'd like to start early in the morning tomorrow and take the whole day with you. I've already cleared the idea with the proper people out of the base. Sounds well to me, Mr. Donahue. I'll see you in the morning. Say, why not have some coffee with us at the house? Sally'd be tickled to death to meet you. All right, thanks, Steve. I'll take you up on that. See you then. Next morning, I pulled into the marker's driveway at 6.30. A drizzling rain was falling, adding to the darkness. I took my portable tape recorder from the car and walked up to a neat white house. You must be Sally Marker. Mr. Donahue, come in out of the weather. Here, let me take you things. Thank you. All right. Just in time, Mr. Donahue, coffee's on. I smell it. But now look, you two, you can't go on calling me Mr. Donahue. Let's make it clip Steve and Sally, huh? Fine. Come on in the kitchen. I'm with you. Sally, I must say you have a mighty attractive little house here. Well, it's home. Don't you want to leave your case here in the hall? Oh, this. This is a portable tape recorder. I might as well take it along. I want to pick up a few feet of sound later. What kind of sounds? Just background stuff to weave in behind the opening narration of the story. The sounds of an American airman starting his day. Yeah. Like that. That percolator, for instance. Yes, and I want to get some of the earlier sounds. After coffee. Sally's coffee was the kind that makes even a gray, wet morning seem a lot more cheerful. One more cup? No, no, thanks, Sally. But that was delicious. I let her think it was her blue eyes, but it was really her technique with a coffee pot that hooked me. Oh, so now it comes out. No, I hate to get up from here, but I do want to pick up a few sounds before we leave. Yeah, we'd better move. I'll set you up right now. Do you need an electrical outlet for your recorder? No, no. It's battery powered. Now, here's what I'd like. You'll never know for sure what you may need doing a documentary show like Diary, so you take everything. The alarm clock that wakens Steve and Sally at six each morning. The home sounds of an average American starting his day. I was glad Steve used an electric razor. It's kind of hard to record the other kind. But you know, Steve was more of an electric razor than an average American. He's a highly specialized custodian of human safety. If I'm going to be late, I'll call you. All right, dear. You'd better run now. Look at the time. That's right. I'll see you tonight. Lousy weather. About par for New England coast this time of year, though. Say, do you mind if I turn on your radio? Catch the tail end of the news. Humidity, 95%. More cast for today. Overcast along the coast. Possible heavy fog moving on shore. Drivers in the coastal area are advised to leave early this morning to allow for extra driving time. Visibility may be limited. Lesson again at 8.30 when... That's mainly what I wanted to catch. How does this affect your operations, Steve? Well, if the fog moves in, our planes will be grounded, most likely. One thing about it, though... What's that? If anybody is up when the fog rolls in, we'll be in business. This sure looks like G.C.A. weather and no mistake. Well, here we are. That's the office over there, if you can call it that. Steve and I walk toward a yellow van on wheels, a low oblong shape with a square vertical housing rising from one end of it. That panel you see across the front is the horizontal antenna housing. The vertical antenna is inside the square gimmick on the end there. Looks like a pretty compact setup. Well, there's not much waste space inside. Here we are. You go up first. This is where we work. Hey, Jeff. I want you to meet someone. Oh, hi, Steve. This is Airman Jeff Willoughby, my traffic controller. Jeff, Mr. Clip Donahue. Sure as a pleasure, Mr. Donahue. Steve told me yesterday that you were coming out. Hi, Jeff. You're not originally from New England, I take it. If you'd like him into the Air Force, any place as far north as Chattanooga was Yankee country to me. Jeff's just my right arm out here. His job is to bring the plane in. It's a long-range approach. Get it lined up for landing. Well, then Steve takes over on the approach scopes and talks them down. That's the part that counts. I've sure learned a lot. Just the two of you work here in the van? Well, sometimes there's more, but usually just two men handle things. Look, I'd like to get some of this basic information on tape. Hold it a second, Steve. As soon as I get this thing ready for action. There. Just a second now. That's it. I just want to get a few questions. Now, Steve, general information. For instance, what is the basic equipment you work with here? The tools of the GCA trade, so to speak. Well, it works like this. We've got two radar systems here. The long-range system is called the search system. It'll pick up an incoming aircraft 30 miles out. It searches the horizon in a complete circle. And the second system? That's the approach system. That's for the close-in work. Two sets of scopes are involved. One takes over from the search system at about 10 miles, and the final set is for the last two miles. Those are the ones that tell the story, eh? They sure are. You need detail for that kind of work. And these final approach scopes give it to you. I can tell if a pilot is as little as two feet high, low, or off to the side in his final approach and corrected for him. I didn't realize you could work so exactly. Oh, yes. The one scope has a final approach. The other line marked centerline. The idea is really simple. You just keep the plane lined up perfectly on the glide path and centerline. And he's bound to make a perfect landing even though he can't see. The idea sounds simple all right, but how about the actual doing of it? Well, like anything that has to do with landing an aircraft, it's got to be done just right. Training and experience are the only insurance you've got. OK, fine. Hold it. Well, that's good, Steve. I want to reload now, and then maybe you could set it up for me to record the sounds and instructions of an actual landing. Well, I got word from the tower just before you got here, Steve. All traffic is grounded until this weather thins out sound. There's more fog on the way. We can set up a dry run for your clip with Jeff and me running through the whole procedure while you record it. The only thing missing will be the actual contact with the pilot. Well, that's fine. With the right narration and editing, you'll be able to make a perfect landing with the right narration and editing. We can make it sound good even without the complete set up. Excuse me a second. That's the tower line. GCA, marker speaking. What? Let me get a pencil. OK, shoot. Flight number 291. Check. What's the word from double ACS? Right. What's his trouble? Oh, brother. How much fuel has he got? OK, one last thing. What's his radio frequency band? UHF, right. OK, I'll hang up now. I've got to call Weather. Operator, let me have Weather. Emergency priority. What are those sirens outside? Crash crews, both ends of the runway, most likely. Hello, Operator. What's happening? I'll tell you in a second. One thing's sure, though. You wanted a story. You sure as heck got one now. Hello, Weather. This is GCA. I have an aircraft in distress. You are listening to visibility zero. Unproudly we hail. Our second act in a moment. Here's something we want every veteran to know about. The United States Air Force needs men who are skilled in so-called critical jobs. Jobs that keep America's air defense strong. And for that reason, new opportunities, new benefits are now available to veterans who re-enlist in the Air Force. A wider range of skills is now accepted with a choice of United States and overseas assignments. What's more, qualified men can be guaranteed technical training in a critical skill. On the basis of aptitude testing, this guarantee can be made even before you re-enlist. The Air Force has other important advantages for you, too. A paid 30-day delay in reporting if requested. A more favorable conversion list for all veterans, especially men with technical experience and know-how. There's also a new grade policy in effect, plus new rules on eligibility. So if you're a veteran of any service, contact your nearest Air Force recruiter now. Remember, today and tomorrow, you're better off in the United States Air Force. You are listening to Proudly We Hail, and now we present the second act of Visibility Zero. That's how it can happen. In a moment, you're caught up in a flood of events beyond your control. I kept the recorder going, picking up everything as it happened. Watching Steve Marker go into action, I was reminded of the way an athlete snaps directly in the full speed of the opening gun. Moving precisely, he wasted no single motion. He was everywhere at once. Jeff, let me know the second you pick up anything on the search system. Bearing should be around 2-7-0. Yeah, I think I got him now, Steve. Yeah, yeah, there he is. Hey, I guess it was a good one, as bearing is 2-7-4. Hello. Tower from GCA. I have the incoming aircraft under radar surveillance. About 29 miles from touchdown. Do you have radio contact? Confirmative. It's a commercial overseas flight 291. Pilot John Crispin. I have the flight number already. Turn them over to us for a radio check, okay? Roger. Frequency cleared to 291. Okay, Jeff, take it. Chalmers, GCA to flight 291. Chalmers, GCA to 291. Come in, please. Over. Overseas flight 291 to Chalmers, GCA. This is Chief Pilot John Crispin. Over. 291, how do you read me? Over. GCA, I hear you loud and clear. Over. 291, let me have your airspeed, heading and latitude readings, please. Over. Roger, GCA, airspeed 1-5-0 heading 2-7-3. We have good radio and radar contact with 291. We'll take over now. We'll give you a call when he's 10 miles out. Roger, GCA, bring him down as easy as you can. He's got children aboard. Steve had little time to talk, but I gathered that flight 291 for all the calm efficiency with which this operation was moving was in real trouble. The pilot filled in the details of his report by radio, which I recorded. No apparent danger of fire, thank the Lord. 37 passengers aboard, 6 crew, one engine out, feathered nicely. Another on the opposite side, leaking oil, and should freeze up any minute. What's going on? We'll be coming down. That was it in a nutshell. If she could make it, Flight 291 had to land at the airfield nearest the coast with a runway long enough to handle four-engine aircraft. That was Chalmers. 291, we still have you in good radar contact. I will transmit the emergency procedures for Chalmers Air Force Base. Do you read me? Over. Roger, GCA, but advise will not be able to follow standard emergency procedures. I'll be lucky to stay in the air until we reach Chalmers. We'll probably be landing on two engines only, and the first try will have to be the one. Oh, not at all, I'm afraid. Skip the procedures, Jeff. If he can't follow them, no use wasting time. Give him the weather and landing information. Check. GCA 291, understand you are unable to comply with emergency procedures. Well, don't worry. We'll get you down if it can be done. Here is weather for this area. Ceiling 50 feet. Obscure. Visibility one-eighth of a mile and closing. Wind is calm. Altimeter setting two-nine-nine-two. Do you read me? Over. Loud and clear, GCA. Altimeter setting two-nine-nine-two. Field elevation is one-zero-zero. Runway wet. Braking action, good. Your heading is okay, but altitude a little low. I have no intention of giving up, but this aircraft might... With these two airmen working so deliberately at their job, it was hard to grasp the fact that they were the only hope for the lives of more than 40 people. A crippled airliner was limping toward us, blinded by fog. And now its eyes were the eyes of two men in a small radar van on the ground. Whenever a real tape ran out, I reloaded and kept recording. There was nothing else for me to do. Jeff, let me have distance and bearing. Distance one-nine miles. Baron two-seven-two, altitude two-five-zero-zero. Two-nine-one-two, GCA. You don't suppose you can move the field a little bit closer out this way, do you? Number four engine has just gone up. Hold the cat, Steve, what now? I'll take it, Jeff. Two-nine-one from Chama's GCA. This is your final controller. Understand two engines out. Can you maintain altitude? Over. Negative, GCA. We'll be losing altitude from this point on. Our one hope is that we are not fully loaded. With luck, we just might make your field yet no high hills nearby, I trust. Over. No hills, two-nine-one. Listen, I'm going to bring you straight in from your present heading. No landing pattern, no nothing. It will mean landing downwind, but it's the closest approach. Okay? Over. That seems to be the only chance we've got. How am I doing at present, by the way? I can't see a thing. Over. Altitude and heading okay for now. Just hold up your rate of descent as much as possible. Begin your initial cockpit check and check your gyro. Over. Will do, GCA. By the way, with all this weather about, I don't suppose anything else in the sky that we just might run into. Over. I have a tower report as of ten minutes ago, two-nine-one. No other air traffic in your area. Over. Okay, GCA. Get in so far as practical. Over. Hold on for a moment, two-nine-one. Jeff, call the tower. Two-nine-one, two over the ten-mile point and half a minute. Hello, two-nine-one. Over. Still here, GCA. Over. You are approaching the ten-mile mark. I have you in good radar contact. Your altitude is two-one-zero-zero. Coming down fast, but maybe not too fast. Your heading is okay. Go into your final cockpit check now. Set your gyro and don't reset it from now on. To reduce drag, I'll give you a signal to let down your landing gear at the last minute. Same for flap settings. Hold off as long as possible. Over. Understand message, GCA. I'm losing too much altitude. I suppose I can jettison some of the baggage. Over. Roger, two-nine-one. Do it quickly. Nothing below you, but trees and coastline right now. Your heading is two-seven-five. Swing back to two-seven-two. A little more. That's better. You're a little low. Do your best to hold it up. Over. Roger, GCA. Well, I think we've done all we can up here. From this point on, I think it'll be up to you. Okay, two-nine-one. No need to acknowledge anything I say from now on unless you can't comply with instructions or unless I request acknowledgement. Just keep listening. I'll be talking to you without interruption from here on in. Your direction is perfect now. Elevation low, but you don't seem to be losing as fast as you were. Correct your heading. You're off the center line. Come a little more to your right. That's good. Hold it. Hold the two-nine-one. This is going to be close, but we can still make it. We've got to make it. Airman Steve Marker sat tensely over his radar scopes. His eyes never wavering from their luminescent surfaces. It was as if they were an extension of his own senses, dictating the tiny changes in heading and altitude as he fought to keep flight two-nine-one on an approach path which would not spell sudden disaster. The tension in the crowded little van was like static electricity in the air. Jeff had checked with the tower as the settling aircraft passed the six-mile mark. And now, with less than 600 feet of altitude, she was within five miles of the runway and losing altitude steadily. Over Steve's shoulder, I could see the blob of light which was the water tower, blocking two-nine-one's approach to the runway. I had heard Steve say the situation was not impossible. Maybe he was right, but it looked impossible. I tried to imagine what the pilot must be feeling at that moment, sitting hunched forward in the cabin of two-nine-one, waiting to bank around an invisible tower and then land on a runway he wouldn't see until he touched down on it. I could almost see him, straining his eyes ahead into the fog and waiting for the voice in his earphones. You should be making out our fog lights about now. You'll be over-touched down in ten seconds. Remember to flare out just a little. Five seconds. Four. Three. You're over-touched down. Now! GCA to two-nine-one. You okay, Mr. Crispin? Over. I... I don't know how, but we're all in one piece. Thanks, GCA. GCA to two-nine-one. Believe me, Mr. Crispin, you're welcome. Oh, the emergency crew should be knocking at your door any second. You'd better check in with the tower. I'm clearing you to their frequency now. GCA, out. I switched off the recorder and slumped into a chair. Steve looked up from his scope, laid down his microphone, and we just sat there grinning at each other. I guess both of us were five years older than we'd been 30 minutes before. Two days later, Diary went on the air with a story titled Visibility Zero. Remember how we closed the show with the sound of two-nine-one coming in? And as the huge tires screeched their complaint at a somewhat heavy landing, the tension drained out of us all. I must guess at what Airman Steve Marker felt. Among other things, surely a tremendous satisfaction at finding himself equal to a job not one man in a thousand could have pulled off. For yours truly, Clip Donahue, there was the exclusive story you have just heard, a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a reporter. And finally, I hope for you who are listening, a new appreciation of your air force. Now from the Diary newsroom, this is Clip Donahue wishing you good night, America. Many times, a man is skilled in a particular job, yet unable to find a use for it. As this happened to you, are you a service veteran with a service-gain skill that's going to waste? Then listen, you may be able to put that skill to work as a member of the United States Air Force. The Air Force needs experience and know-how gained in all the armed forces. If you possess one of the critical skills needed to keep America's air defense strong, you can put that experience to work in the Air Force and do so at a higher grade and with higher pay than you may realize. You've earned credits toward a valuable retirement income, so protect that initial investment. For full details, write or visit your Air Force recruiter. Ask for the special Prior Service Man's folder. This folder will show you why, today and tomorrow, you're better off in the United States Air Force. This has been another program on Proudly We Hail, presented transcribed in cooperation with this station. Proudly We Hail is produced by the Recruiting Publicity Center in New York for the United States Air Force. This is Ralph Rowland inviting you to tune in this same station next week for another interesting story on Proudly We Hail.