 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 women in the Air Force. It's hard for us to remember the time when there were no women in the Air Force. To us, the sight of a young woman proudly wearing the uniform of her country, walking down any street in any city or town, has become an everyday event. Perhaps we have become too accustomed to it. Perhaps we no longer are aware of the tremendous job they do. The jobs they do are important, often critical. Without them, our Air Force would not be the tremendously effective organization it is today. Proudly, we hail Airman 1st Class Millicent Jones, Airman 1st Class Ann Jones, and Staff Sergeant Sarah Jones of the women in the Air Force and every member of the WAF. Our first act curtain will rise in just one moment. But first, if you're a service veteran, well, then you think about this for a moment, will you? Are you making the most out of your service gain skills? Well, here's something you should know. You may qualify to enlist in the United States Air Force in a gray that will be a real pleasant surprise to you. The Air Force needs men with training and experience gained in all of the armed forces. If you're skilled in one of these critical jobs needed to keep America's air defense strong, well, then the Air Force offers you an opportunity to put those skills to work to your best advantage. You've already earned credits toward a valuable retirement policy, so why not protect your investment? Your Air Force recruiter has a prior serviceman's folder that will give you full details. Write or visit him right away for your copy. And now your United States Air Force presents the proudly we hail production, Three Girls Named Jones. Ten dollar clock in here right away, and I mean immediately. That big galoot. When he boots one, he really boots one. Well, girl, you should have known better. A guy can write, but this is a woman's magazine and he's a man and a single one at that. He's like the proverbial bull, except your magazine is a glass house, not a china shop. Don't throw it, boss lady. Whatever I did, put it down. You know I'm not the type to throw things, Ollie, but if I were, this would be the time. Oh, then something's really wrong. I thought maybe... That's the trouble, Ollie. You didn't think definitely. I'm fired, huh? Well, you should be, Ollie, but you're not. You're a good writer, Donnet. And I'm going to keep trying to teach you how to write for my magazine if I have to drop dead in the attempt. Well, I keep telling you I'm not worth it, but you never believe me. You are. But every time I give you an important story or a series, you get that chip on your shoulder. And how does it end up? Well, I'll tell you. You jump in with both size 13s, criticize without knowing the facts, and we get letters like this. Well, it doesn't do any good to wave it in front of my face like that. I can't read it that way. I'm not going to read it. It's going to be read to you. Just as Millicent Jones wrote it, her own story, true to life. And who may I ask is Millicent Jones? Millicent Jones is an airman first class, Ollie, a member of the woman in the Air Force stationed in Washington. In fact, she's a general secretary. She has two sisters, Ann and Sarah, who are also in the Air Force. She says she picked up our latest issue the day before yesterday. Read your article on the WAF in your latest series, Careers for Young Women, and flipped her lid. She says she's sure not to be the first or only wonder, right? But she's positive, she's one of the angriest. Well, probably one of the frustrated ones I wrote about. You know, short, dumpy, stringy hair, couldn't get a husband, so she joined the WAF. Not if my eyes see right. She must have anticipated that remark because she enclosed a picture. That you can look at. Well, it must have been taken years ago, the bathing suit looks at least five years old. Airman Jones goes on, Ollie, my duck, and I quote, If Mr. Clark would care to find out the truth about the WAF, perhaps he should go straight to the source. I don't know where he got his facts, but they're not facts, they're fiction. Sincerely yours, Millicent Jones, airman first class, period, exclamation point. She has a subtle touch. Well, Ollie? Washington, hmm? Only take me a few minutes to pack, right? Right, Ollie. I can take just enough time to cancel my date tonight, yes? Just, Ollie. I shall be gallant, persuasive, charming, forceful. No? No. I want you to see her, talk with her, listen to her. I don't know where you got the information you printed, but she says it's false. I want you to be open-minded, fair and honest. I have a feeling that Airman Jones is going to show you a butt good. I wrote what I thought and believed. Nothing fair, lady, will ever make me change my mind. Fair well. I wouldn't be too sure, Ollie, my boy. I wouldn't be too sure. Honestly, Irma, I'm so excited I can hardly file these. My hands are shaking so. I don't blame you, Millie. I'd be shaking two of us on my way to Europe. Oh, it seems impossible. At this time tomorrow we'll be in the air over the Atlantic. And day after, we'll be in Paris. It's like a dream. Oh, boy, I should have such dreams. But it'll never happen to little old me. Sure it will. Am I salary, are you kidding? Join the wire, Irma. Then you can go almost anywhere in the world. You do things, see things. Oh, I thought of it lots of times. I'm scared. I'm scared to take. It means signing up for three years, taking your chances on assignments. I'd probably end up in the middle of a desert, digging for water. Oh, no you wouldn't. You're a top-notch secretary. You'd be sure to end up with a good assignment. What's better than being a secretary to a general at the Pentagon? Boy, if I knew for sure I'd get something like that, I'd join up in a minute. It wouldn't matter to me where I was. Sure I'm lucky to be in Washington. But in the WAF, I just know I'd have fun wherever I was. And I'd always know I was helping my country. That's a good feeling, Irma. Yeah, I know. And you know, I feel that way every time I give blood. It makes me feel like I'm really doing something. Oh, gosh, it's almost thirteen hundred. I've got a check with bowling about transportation. Yeah, and I better finish this letter. I'm not getting paid for sitting here and drooling. Two, three, four, seven, please. Very sincerely yours. Hello, this is Airman Jones. I'm your Brisbane secretary. Yes, that's right. You have? Good. What? Oh, don't worry. If anything, we'll be there an hour early. Thanks, so long. Mil, what time are you taking off into the wild blue yonder? Tomorrow morning at nine. Oh, boy, I wish I had your luck. It's not luck, Irma. You get only what you go after in this world. Back home, everyone said. Going into the Air Force, eh? Is that enough for you? Why don't you settle down and get married like a sensible female? To them, Waterville was the whole world. But not to me. I knew I'd find what I was looking for in the WAF, and I did. You know what my family'd say? Crazy, that's what she is. It wasn't bad enough she moved to Washington, but the Air Force, crazy. I'm getting up to courage, though. One of these days I'm gonna do it. Good for you, Irma. You'll never regret it. General Brisbane's office, Airman Jones speaking. Yes? Mr. Clark? From what magazine? Oh, uh-huh. Yes, I guess so. But you'd better give him a map. If he knows as little about the Pentagon as he does about the WAF, he'll need one. Hey, Mil, you look a little pale. Do I? Irma, do you remember that letter I wrote to the editor about that article I read on the WAF? Sure, it was a Lulu. Well, he's here on his way up. Oh, the editor? No, no, the man who wrote the article, Mr. Clark. Yeah, and I bet he'll be tall, dark, handsome, young, and single. He will not. I bet he'll be middle-aged, married, and blind as a bat. It's a bet. Morning coffee treat for a week, huh? Done. By the way, Mil, you know exactly how long you're gonna be gone? I want to know what to say on the phone. We're scheduled for a two-week inspection tour. Two weeks in Europe with pay. Golly. Oh, now don't overdo it, Irma. We're going to work, not play. I know, but still. Airman Jones? Yes. You owe me morning coffee for a week when you get back, Mil. I beg your pardon? Oh, nothing. Just a private joke. I'm Airman Jones. And you, I suppose, are Mr. Clark. I don't think you have yet, Mr. Clark, but you will. My editor told me to be open-minded, fair, and to listen while you talk. Shall we declare a truce? All right. Temporarily. But remember, I didn't start the war. You did with that half-baked article. I just took a defensive position and fired. You may be pleased to know that according to my editor, you hit the target. I am indeed. I did come to talk. May we, here? There's not much privacy, Mr. Clark. I'm due to have lunch in a few minutes. Okay, but not Dutch. That shot wounded my editor where it hurts the most. As for me, I should be delighted. Oh, fine. I'll be right with you. Golly, some people have all the luck. See what I mean, Irma? A uniform gets them every time. So you see, Mr. Clark? Your article made me pretty darn sore. I'm in the WAF, so I know just how wonderful it is. I hate to bring this up, but I signed my articles, Oliver Clark, not Mr. Clark. Why don't you try, Olly, just to let me hear how it sounds? Tell me more about the WAF, Millie. No, I don't think I will. I have a feeling I'm wasting my breath. You just don't want to believe that the WAF can offer a girl just about everything she could want. Except a husband. I assure you, Mr. Clark, that being a member of the WAF hasn't made it harder to get married. If anything, it's made it easier. I've had more of a chance to meet young men and nice ones than I ever would have had otherwise. Then what's stopping you, surely a pretty girl like you hasn't gone without proposals? Now, why don't you open your eyes, Olly? Open your mind, too. I'm leaving for Europe tomorrow, and I'll be gone for two weeks. Why don't you talk to more girls like me? You won't be able to, well, to help feeling their enthusiasm, their interest in their work, in the Air Force. You should be in publicity. I'm asking you to be serious. Now, look, I have two sisters. One in Hawaii at Hickam and one at Y80 in Wiesbaden, Germany. Why don't you arrange it for them? They may be able to convince you where I can't. I'm sure you can fix it to go. Are you going to visit your sister while you're in Europe? I think so. We're scheduled for Wiesbaden a week from tomorrow. Uh-huh. Well, the boss gave me an unlimited expense account, so I'm off to Hawaii to follow up this story. What's your first sister's name? Anne. Anne, it is. And I'll see you in eight days. No, I'd like that, Olly, on one condition. What's that? I'll try, but it depends. On what? On what your sisters have to say. My name's Clark, Lieutenant. I was told I could find Airman Jones here. I cabled ahead. Oh, yes, Mr. Clark. Should be off duty in a few moments. Would he wait? Certainly, thank you. Well, how's the nursing business? Fine. You're that writer, aren't you? One that wrote that awful article on the WAF. Well, was it awful? I thought I was telling a pretty straight story. I'm afraid the girls here don't think so. And what do you think? I agree with him, Mr. Clark. He had more misinformation in that article than there is salt in the sea. That's all I seem to have heard since I wrote it. And you've been hearing right. The WAF has done more for more girls and more girls have done more for their country because of the WAF, than you could count. Count? I got lost just listening to that last sentence. Mr. Clark? Oh, right. And you're Airman and Jones? I am, Mr. Clark. Well, I would like to go on record. Millicent didn't get all the looks in your family. Easy, Mr. Clark. Hey, did you say Millicent? You don't mean my sister Millicent, do you? No one else. I saw her just three days ago in Washington. She was leaving for Europe the following day. How is she? How'd she look? Listen to me. You'd think she was still my baby sister instead of a grown woman. Well, she's a grown woman, all right. I'll vouch for that. Tell me, Mr. Clark. Your cable was sort of mysterious. What brought you to see me particularly? Well, it seems I wrote an article for my magazine. And Millicent didn't like it. She wrote to my editor. My editor sent me to see her. She told me how she felt and suggested that you could tell me more in the same vein. So here I am. Are you going to ask me questions? Of you. For example, you're a medical technician. What were you doing just now? I was assisting a doctor with minor surgery. You see, Mr. Clark, the WAF are helping the nurses in every way they can. With the nurse shortage, it's a lifesaver. But answer a question for me, Mr. Clark. Why did Millicent send you thousands of miles to me? Why wouldn't any WAF have done as well? She didn't exactly send me, Anne. She just suggested you. You see, there's one little detail I've overlooked. The moment I saw Millie, I knew she was the girl I was going to marry. I guess I wanted to kill two birds with one stone, give you a chance to look me over and learn about the WAF at the same time. You are listening to the proudly we hail production Three Girls Named Jones. And we will return to act two of our story in just one moment. Today, the men of your Air Force are soaring to new heights as of the blazer trail of air progress across the skies. And now is the time for you to join them. Become an airman with a highly specialized career. As a member of the serial defense team, you'll be entering a whole new world. A world of the future that offers free training in such fascinating careers as guided missiles and photography, radar, and well, gee, a host of others. You'll wear the handsome blue Air Force uniform, a uniform that gains respect and admiration wherever you go. So for a wonderful future with good pay, liberal allowances, and truly one of the world's finest careers, you become an airman in the United States Air Force. Talk it over with the friendly people at your local Air Force recruiting station. You are listening to Proudly We Hail. And now we present the second act of Three Girls Named Jones. There are a few branches of the Air Force where you will not find a member of the WAF. They may work in intelligence, photography, finance, and administration. They may be weather observers, communications specialists, dental laboratory technicians, or control tower operators. There isn't a girl in these United States who cannot find an interesting career in the Air Force if she has the high qualifications required in the WAF. Take Millicent, Anne, and Sarah Jones, the three sisters of our story. One, Millicent is a secretary to a general in the nation's capital. Anne is a medical technician stationed in Hawaii. Sarah is stationed at Y-80, and we spot in Germany, and she's a control tower operator. They're doing the work they like. They're seeing the world. They're doing these things as members of a great team, the United States Air Force. Just listen to Airman Anne Jones as she talks with Allie Clark, the magazine writer, whose uninformed article caused him to fall in love and travel all the way around the world. Medical technicians do a lot of jobs, Allie. We help the nurses care for the patients in the wards, in the operating rooms, in the dispensaries, and outpatient clinics. Well, it seems to me, Anne, that you could have done those things in civilian life. I didn't know how to do these things before I came in the service. Now that I've had training, experience, oh, it's a great feeling. Oh. How did the three of you happen to enlist in the WAF? Well, you'll have to be prepared for a long story. It starts way back. Oh, not when you were little girls. I don't think I could take it. No. It starts when Millicent was 13. I told you she was the youngest. There were four of us. Sarah came first, then I arrived. Now, after me, it was my brother Jim, and finally Millicent. When Millicent was 13, Dad died. We lived in a little town called Waterville. Mother was able to support us by doing every conceivable kind of work, you know, sewing, baking, washing, that stuff. Sarah, who was finished with high school, had to give up dreams of college and went to work as a sales girl in the local department store. And she's the one I'm going to be in Europe, right? Right. Anyhow, as soon as I finished high school, I went to work for Dr. Saunders. I wanted to be a registered nurse. But in Waterville, all I could do was sit in Dr. Saunders' office and answer calls and stuff. Millicent was a top-notch secretary, and it was being wasted where she was. Besides, the three of us wanted to go places, see and do things. Waterville was fine, but we knew it wasn't the whole world. So we talked it over and decided to enlist in the Air Force. We've never regretted it. You're a real Air Force family. It's a good kind of family to be. And do you know what? Not long after the three of us left, mother remarried. Manly it all liked. And she's as happy as she's ever been in her life. So in other words, the Jones family is doing all right? The Jones family is doing better than all right. It's doing fine. And you see, Ollie, joining the Air Force wasn't the last fling of three spinsters. It was three girls taking advantage of a wonderful opportunity. What more could we have asked? Homes, husbands, roots, maybe? We have roots, Ollie. And we'll have our homes and husbands, but we'll probably have better homes and husbands than we ever would have had if we'd stayed in Waterville. Okay, I'm being convinced. Oh, uh, incidentally, there was a letter from Millie before you came. Would you like to hear part of it? Now, what do you think? Let's see now. Feeling fine, excited about a European trip. I have you heard about Sally Holcomb going to officer candidate school. Oh, here it is. I met a man named Oliver Clark today. He's a magazine writer. A good one if he'd get his facts straight. He's kind of funny-looking. Well, let's stop right there, Anne. You know, in the way I like. And he's got charm, too. He's just loaded with the stuff. But he's also the most opinionated, stubborn, conceited and irritating man I've ever met. Well, stop. That's enough. Stop. I've got you. Well, what next, prospective brother-in-law? I guess I'll have to de-stubbornize, un-conceit, dis-opinionate and generally reform. That's not all. Seems to me not the most important thing. I know. I have to find out what it is that makes her feel the way she does about the WAF. Uh-huh. I can't lie to her and say I understand if I don't. Think you can do it? I'm going to dig deep, Anne. I'm going to try. Sarah next? I like you, Ollie. Lots of luck. Thanks. Come to our wedding. I'll not only come to it, I'll dance at it. So long. Why 80? That's a strange name for a place, Sergeant. That goes back to the war. It's a busy field because Headquarters, United States Air Force Europe, is just a few miles away that we spotted. Uh, you feel the same way, don't you, Sarah? About the WAF, I mean. Same as Anne and Millie? More so. I didn't think the WAF had bigger boosters than Anne and Millison. It's this way, Ollie. I can tell you this because you may be my brother-in-law. Well, I hope I'm going to be your brother-in-law. Well, I was almost 30 when I joined the WAF, Ollie. Around Waterville, I was already an old maid. That's the way it always is in a small town. In a big city, you'd just be reaching a peak. Not only that, Ollie, but I'm not pretty. You shouldn't say that. You shouldn't even think it. Oh, I'm not ugly and I'm not crying about my looks. I'm just stating facts. Back home, I was a kind of plain, nearing middle age, sort of poor woman. I was a sales girl at the local store, and that was as far as I was likely to go. Well, there was a man who wanted to marry me, 15 years older, a widower with three children, and he was a good man. But he wasn't what I wanted. Waterville didn't have what I was looking for. Well, that was the way I felt about my hometown, too. It was nice, the people were nice, but I wanted more. And you know how I felt. But where could I go? What could I do? I had no training. All I could do was sell. I was just a small town girl with big eyes. A small town girl with big eyes. A small town girl with big eyes. A small town girl with big eyes. A small town girl with big ideas. Don't you see what the WAF offered me? Now I do have a future, a place in the sun. Maybe I'll never find a man I want to marry, but not every girl does. I will have something good, though. Something solid as I grow older. You'll find that certain man, Sarah. I know you will. Maybe I will. I'd like to. But the point is that if I don't, I'll still have a good life. The Air Force trained me to do an exciting job. A few months I... I stand a good chance of getting another promotion. I won't slide down as I grow older. I'll go up. I'm glad you told me, Sarah. It helps me understand the WAF. I'm due to go on duty now. Do you want to go to the tower with me? I'd like to very much. General Brisbane and Millison to do any minute. You can watch us bring the plane in. You'd better do a good job. That plane carries a precious cargo. I'm glad you think so, Ollie. But to me they're all precious. You see, their lives depend in some degree on me. Little Sarah Jones from Waterville, USA. Five, zero, four, nine. Over. Air Force, five, zero, four, nine. This is Y-80 Tower. Over. Five, zero, four, nine to Y-80. We're two miles south of Weespot. Request landing instructions. Air Force, five, zero, four, nine. This is Y-80. You are cleared to land runway three. Wind north at eight with gusts to fifteen. Report to tower and downwind leg. Over. Roger and Wilco. You've got it, Ollie. That feeling, you know what they mean now. You can tell her you understand and you'll be telling the truth. Start singing the wedding march, Ollie. She's here and you can tell her. You're playing, Ollie. Five, zero, four, nine. Ollie? Where'd he go? Down to the field, I guess, to meet his girl. That sure is a beautiful ribbon. I love twilight like this anyplace. But here with the hills and the castle over there, it's something special. Like you. We don't really know each other, Ollie. How can you be so sure? Millie, I'm thirty-two. I've met a lot of girls. I've never felt like this before. Oh, look, look at that tower rising right out of the middle of the water. Funny, isn't it? Yeah, it's got a name, a mouse tower. Quite a story attached to it. It dates back to the tenth century. But it isn't true. Oh. I have another one, though. Doesn't date back as far, but I'd like to tell it to you. And it is true. I'd like to hear it, then. Well, it seems there was a smart aleck magazine writer. He wrote a story about the waft that wasn't very correct according to a certain fair young lady. She wrote a letter and he went to see her because his editor said the girl would change his mind. Yes, Ollie. So he went, and he met her, and he fell in love. But there was something that stood between them. She couldn't convince them about the waft. But she hoped he would be convinced, didn't she? She said she did. So he went all over the world talking, asking questions, listening. He listened with his heart and as well as his mind. And what did he find out, Ollie? He found out that she had been right. One day he felt it, and he swore he'd write another story and tell the truth as he now knew it. I'm glad. There's only one trouble with the story. It doesn't have an ending. It does now, Ollie. Not only an ending, but a happy one at that. If you're an ex-serviceman experienced in a critical skill needed to keep America's air defense strong, well, then why gully you're in luck? Because the Career Incentive Act opens up a new opportunity to the Air Force and to all veterans of all the armed forces. Yes, indeed, if you possess one of the skills the Air Force needs, well, you may qualify for the United States Air Force and in a gray that will be a real pleasant surprise to you. The Air Force needs men skilled in many, many important fields. So put your service-earned experience to work to your best advantage as a member of the Air Force team. Make the credit you've earned at a comfortable retirement payoff. So for complete details, write or visit your Air Force recruiter. Ask for the special prior servicemen's folder. See what a return to the service as an airman can mean to you. Remember 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 radio station. Proudly We Hail is produced by the Recruiting Publicity Center for the United States Air Force and this is Dick Herbert speaking and inviting you to tune in the same station next week for another interesting story on Proudly We Hail.