 proudly we hail how another proudly we hail one of radio's outstanding dramatic half-hours starring Lee Tracy and presented transcribed by your army and your Air Force from Radio City New York here is your star and host on proudly we hail the distinguished Broadway stage screen and radio star Lee Tracy you Kenneth Bang Hart and hello everyone welcome to proudly we hail I feel you're going to really enjoy our program for this is one of the most moving scripts I've had the pleasure of reading and doing in many a year it's a story about the Air Force about one member of the Air Force in particular and I think you're going to feel as close to Nick as I do we'll begin our story in just a moment after these very important words from Ken Bang Hart before you start your story Lee I have a short short message to the young men of America there may be a career for you in the United States Army or the United States Air Force and a real opportunity to serve your country see your local recruiter right away you're needed now Lee I know our audience is anxious for our play to begin I'm sure they are Ken and so am I with our star Lee Tracy in the role of Nick your army and your Air Force presents the proudly we hail production of the long flight sometimes in the darkness of the night I go back in one sense you could call it a dream for it only happens when I'm asleep but in all other ways it's no dream like a swimmer caught in a past flowing tide I'm swept over the barriers of time it is our great wave picked me up here in the present and deposited me in a world I knew and lived in seven years ago every time it's the same for the current that sweeps me into its flow is one of voices voices lost in time and space there sound a counterpart to the vibrant space of engines and flight red leader red leader they're flying jaco and oxcock close up your tails dragon that's water down there that help buddy red leader red leader red leader the only voice that is disjointed and out of place the only voice that's not part of the rest perhaps it's there because I was the leader of red flight perhaps it's Scottie's voice calling to me I don't haunts me more than the others always begins that way and it always takes me down down out of the sky away from the chorus of other voices to that faithful dawn Captain Khalia time to hit it sir and oh turn off that blasted light sorry sir will you sign this oh no why can't this I can't let a man sleep here here give me the thing so I wake up with him in Scott's I'll wake him up just go away turn out the light well you ought to be a briefing at 03 30 sir and it's 0300 now corporal will you go away yes sir oh brother hey mmm Scottie yeah you'll wake I don't know what's the matter couldn't you sleep I don't think so well cheer up it's morning at least it will be Sunday you better get up we got a date date with an angel I live it all over I feel it I see it as it happened then as we finished dressing go out into the warm moist darkness I hear the first bark of an engine as it clears its husky throat down on the line joined by others at the time we enter the mess all the night is alive with the background of sound the sound that is compelling that draws at the heart who's meaning not for some of your primary target we know that it's well covered by plenty of ACA from one will be made from five thousand feet the briefing room crowded and smoke fell the briefing officer with his pointer his shadow enlarged on the map exaggerating his movements clipped words lecture room manner unemotional presentation painting a picture that etches itself into our minds with grim finality people rubbing a sweat off the palms of my hands and wishing he'd hurry up and get it over with I already know this is the worst yet huh so good is it never is this tops it doesn't seem to make much sense nick I've got a feeling this time who has no this is different not just being scared not get off yet wait a minute I'm serious I'm serious too I've never felt like this before and I know what it means and I know there's nothing I or you or anyone can do I just wanted to say it it's been good knowing you Scotty you always had too much imagination for your own good don't you think I feel the same way every time we go out you think just because you feel it all of a sudden if something new and different let's stop talking like a dope gonna be a nice day hot couldn't pick a nicer one all right get it out of your system you think this is it yeah Nick I do I woke up around midnight and I knew then I lay there trying to talk myself out of it trying to get back to sleep but I couldn't longer I lay there and thought the more I knew that this was gonna be the day I got it don't you think that I wake up in the night and have the same kind of thoughts don't you think we all do maybe but I know you're different you're psyche you're also beat to the teeth your nerves are all shot you need three months of peace and quiet you're sick to death of the whole business I know because I'm just the same and Pat knows because he's just the same Jack and Steve and car all the rest of them another thing you got to get more than yourself to think about you got you got a crew depending on you think about that maybe you'll snap out of it now don't get sore I'm not so all right then get sore look I'll show you how much I think of your half-baked premonitions here take this with you it's just loaded with good luck full of magic God's made it out of quick silver don't be a dope Nick I couldn't take your good luck piece I stand there in the growing light of that summer dawn hot and angry more than that worried there's a look in Scottie's eyes it was never there before resigned is the word and the more I try to snap him out of it the more I try to arouse him the more aroused I get the good luck piece with something that had been with me for a long time the silver figure of a of a nymph with our arms raised skyward about two inches high and Scotty knew I'd never flown without her the resigned look was joined by one of stubbornness he wouldn't take it when he swung away from me I lost my temper grabbed him over the shoulder spun him around pulled open his shirt plus the figurine inside there now take it take it a throw it away I don't give a hoot which when the mission is over bring it back to me because maybe I'll need it good there staring at one another and cut through my anger and put a chill in my heart the way he looks at me he isn't mad like I am and he should be he should be mad mad enough to punch my teeth in instead of that okay make you feel better I'll keep it when you need it I'll give it back oh for the love of listen there's only one reason I want you to take it and that's to prove that all this superstition business is a lot of bunk I'm the one who shouldn't come back only I'm coming back see I'm coming back every time and you're coming back to now will you please snap out of it we're all nuts aren't we I wouldn't doubt that I'm near good reason plenty gotta go pick up my boys yeah well I'll I'll see you later keep your eyes open good luck good luck Nick I'll take care of this thing sure you won't take it back when I need it I'll ask for it my dream I watch him disappear in a half light then little guy shoulders hunched forward as though he were cold Scotty the poet Scotty the man who knew breaks on controls free and movable trim tabs set flaps up tail wheel lock mixture set bottle the litany of flights that's what Scotty called it that's what it is I guess the litany to be followed by the song a song that leads us straight into I didn't see him go down I was too busy someone who did said he shipped took a direct hit just disappeared though it never been there my dreams of suddenly find myself walking up the cinder path to our billet a feeling of numbness and dull shock hedge my thoughts and actions nothing's very clear even the realization of Scotty is gone is not yet penetrated deeply go into the room time is good still here nothing's changed the state of disarray that's a short time between our leaving and now walk to the desk and they're looking down at scarred surface something guides my hand to a piece of paper writing on it Scotty's writing I read it if I must fly in disputed air and match my wings in mortal combat if I must die amidst the cloud land with the harsh chant of engines soiling the silence of the universe then oh God of battle one wish I asked one prayer I pray let me return ghost as I am the guide others safely on their way it's then that the realization that Scotty Scotty the poet is dead it's then that I awake our starly Tracy will be back with a second act of the long flight in just a moment but first I have an important message to the high school graduates in our audience I hope you know by this time that the United States Air Force can help you plan and build a successful career and at the same time you can serve your country now when you're needed most never before in our history has there been such an opportunity for men qualified to work in radio radar electronics weather communications and many other fields so visit your local recruiting station and get all the details you're needed now you are listening to proudly we hail and now for the second act here again is Lee Tracy starring as Nick in the long flight that's my dream seven years old following me wherever I go and since that time I've been many places all over the States South America Italy Greece Turkey now here Cairo Egypt these days I'm working for a one-lung airline with flights northeast south and west anywhere there are four of us we got to surplus C-47s tonight I'm taking one of them to have an ear that's about 900 miles east of here across the Syrian desert no passengers just freight no co-pilot just the stars because of the heat I'll take off about midnight get there dawn nice night for flying Nick yeah doc you want to come along I'll be taking off for a smell a couple hours after you as soon as you get those goats loaded hot Docs flying arc you can say that again it's a manifest sunny thanks Pete everything checks are one way or another what am I hauling I'm mostly heavy stuff Nick not too heavy I hope no we left enough room to crawl into the cockpit that's what I like about you you're thoughtful that's what my mother used to tell me I have a nice trip thanks see you when I get back right I walk out into the close hot darkness and slowly across the tarmac towards the darkest silhouette of the waiting plane in the night it looks like a monstrous crouching bird huge waiting off to my right the sharp ghostly finger of light from the control tower probes a circular way the hangers left over from the other day stand behind me breeze fans against my face there's a feel of flight in it and overhead the stars are bright and beckoning I guess she'll do doc got her wings on you like to do the honors with the fire bottles hard I climb into the gaping side of the ship pull the cargo door to after me finally a call down to doc who stands below with the fire bottle clear clear right no longer silent or voice box is called for the night she's come alive I call the tower get my taxi instruction I can't cleared for takeoff that's the phrase I like ease the throttle engines leave off their chuckling a break into song flight song straight down the runway she roared full-throated and sure the throttle's rest against the stop she's eager to fly not a moment the green lights come closer she's ready to fly them the lights are gone the earth is gone the luminous dials of the instruments point the way through the dark void landing gear cuts itself in for the night and we're on our way at 10,000 feet between seven and earth I fly where space and time blend together to make a world like no other I am its only inhabitant a voyager in limbo within the cockpit the greenish light of the instrument panel is my heart without the dome of the star flex sky is a vastness both friendly and distant the hours ticked by the beat of the engines lulls the senses and the man's thoughts travel strange paths a line from one of scottish poems catches my mind and I repeat it over and over and over in starlight and black darkness in starlight and black darkness in starlight and black darkness shake it loose my mind is full of the memory of the man who wrote it scottie the poet scottie whose last poem was a plea to come back and help other pilots get home safely maybe that's what scottie's been doing maybe he's he's here with me now here in the empty silence of the cockpit a man's thoughts do travel strange paths even old stranger conversation hi scottie hi nick you've been a long time old buddy sure has awful good to see it I'm sorry about that last day scottie I just thought you couldn't tell nick only I could do that I just knew that's all you haven't changed much no I'm the same now you're written any more poetry you're the poet now nick me oh I'm just an airplane driver how do you like this old boat bucket flies doesn't she like crazy she is good to see you again scottie kind of like old times isn't it yeah you remember that guy who was always crazy huh not really when you're alone flying through the middle of nowhere you play a lot of strange games I go back over all a good time scottie and I had together places we went things that happen I tell him what's happened to me since the one thing I stay away from is the memory of that last morning so after I got back I went up on the cape I just lay there and I took it slow and easy for about two months must have been quite a time nick I was all of that scottie think you'll ever settle down Nick not for long this is where I live scottie this is my home all the settling down I ever do is be right here almost got married once scared me to think about it she wanted me to give up flying and take a job in her father's bank when I make a good banker just a type yeah I sure am her her name was Leona he suddenly the game is over scottie's blotted from my mind as the stars have been blotted from the sky one moment they were there now the darkness above matches that below and the plane gives an uneasy shrugged though she too were surprised then without further warning I'm caught in the foals of something ugly and relentless the night is no longer friendly it's become a vicious enemy it seeks to destroy the plane bucks and twist dropping and rising sickeningly a focus my eyes on the instrument panel the dials have begun to dance weirdly to the tune of the storm I cursed myself for not having fastened my safety belt this was a better clear calm flight too late for that now I decided to turn back get out of this thing I start to turn full strength of the storm hits my head is slammed against the roof of the cockpit how long it goes on I don't know I know I'm losing the fight the earth is much closer now and then it happens the plane rises up and up engine parking and agony and then down we plummet everything pulled out from underneath in that last instant my head crashed again the cockpit roof I know this is the end pay off somewhere in another world a world far from this endless sea of fog in which I've been drifting forever I hear a sound the sound I know and yet it's difficult to identify it comes closer fog starts slipping away slowly at first and faster and faster suddenly it's all gone I'm sitting in the cockpit of the plane with the dawn light growing strong about me what am I doing what's this all about my head aches numbly and there's a taste of sulfur in my mouth my thoughts group for an answer bit by bit it all comes back but when it's all in place the question what am I doing here is changed to by what freak of luck am I still alive my mind is too numb to work over I'm alive that's all I know and right now it's enough look about me in the strengthening light the plane is battered but still flyable perhaps just as strange as the fact that I realized have habanera is only a few short minutes ahead none of it adds up skies pale and clear in the early morning light as I come in for my landing with the left engine feathered silent not the best landing in the world but I get it down and one piece right now that's all it seems to match taxi over to the tarmac following the directions of a man who harm waves direction when I cut the switch and sit limply in the cockpit for a moment trying to rub some of the ache out of my head after a while I get up slowly and walk down the ramp between the heavy cargo boxes whose ropes by some miracle held them in place takes two tries to get that cargo door open I bet hi Jack we didn't think you were going to get here either did I you didn't fly right through that thing did you know what was it anyway one of those freak line squalls worse I've ever seen come up without any warning at all place the devil around here we tried calling you but it didn't do much good no you look kind of beat up I am oh you want to you want to check and see what kind of shape this buggy is going to beat up to sure given a one engine did you yeah left ones all shot okay I'll have a look thanks I walked carefully like a man on a tightrope across the tarmac towards the low-roof operation shack my head won't seem to come out of the spin that's in suddenly I hear someone calling my name I stopped and turned around slowly and Jack he comes running up hey Mr. Carrier I found us in the cockpit you must have dropped it what's the matter I stand there looking at what Jack holds in his hand it's the silver figure of a nymph with her arms raised skyward about two inches high it's the good luck charm I never flew without until I gave it to a fellow named Scotty the poet one morning seven years ago the days I reach out to take it burn my hand and through my mind runs a poem Scotty's last poem if I must fly in disputed air and match my wings in mortal combat if I must die amidst the cloud land with the harsh chant of engines soiling the silence of the universe then oh God a battle one wish I ask one prayer I pray let me return ghost as I am to guide others safely on their way thank you Lee Tracy for a thrilling portrayal of Nick in the long flight I'm sure our audience agrees with me that we'll remember this gallant pilot story for a long time to come well can Nick story well being one that touches us is really only one of the thousands of stories being written every day by pilots such as he am I right here exactly rightly I have another message and while it may not apply directly to those pilots it's nevertheless of real concern to American soldiers and airmen everywhere your army and your Air Force with their growing demands need medical professionals the Army and the Air Force medical services must expand right now the primary need is for physicians dentists nurses physical and occupational therapists dieticians veterinarians and specialists trained in all medical fields so if you're qualified volunteer for an immediate assignment to active duty right or wire the Surgeon General Department of the Army or the Surgeon General US Air Force Washington DC when you do it you'll know full well that you are needed now this has been another program on proudly we hail presented in cooperation with this station by your Army and your Air Force proudly we hail stars Lee Tracy and supporting Mr. Tracy in the cast or Joe DeSantis Bill Lipton Jack Jason and George Clark the long flight was written by Dewitt cock the music is composed and conducted by John Guarneri proudly we hail is directed by Charles Wilkes this is Kenneth Banghart speaking and here is your host and star the Tracy we hope you'll be with us next week for proudly we hail we have a program I'm sure you will enjoy it's entitled a party for crowback and it's a tale filled with suspense goodbye