 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 for your Air Force to bring you this story as proudly we hail the fighter weapons teams of the United States Air Force story is entitled high target this is the story of Staff Sergeant Ted Edgerton his girl Mary and how the teamwork displayed at the fighter weapons meet affected their lives our first act curtain will rise in a moment but first announcing new opportunities for former service men in the Air Force if you're a veteran of any service and are seriously interested in a brighter future you should take a close look at the Air Force prior service program you'll find that your skills and experience acquired in the armed forces can bring immediate rewards in the Air Force if you qualify in one of many needed categories you can enlist in an appropriate grade immediately and enjoy a 30-day paid delay in reporting if requested and if you don't have a currently usable skill you can take an aptitude test before enlisting which if you qualify will guarantee the finest technical training today's airmen receive generous pay raises increased bonuses and allowances and extended retirement benefits this is just part of the picture see your local Air Force recruiter for all the facts there's no obligation find out why today and tomorrow you're better off in the United States Air Force and now your Air Force presents the proudly we hail production high target it was plenty of excitement in the air at Selfridge Air Force Base today the names of the maintenance crew for the Eastern Air Defense Force rocketry team were posted my name was there staff sergeant Ted Edgerton and my pal tech sergeant Wendy Walsh and about 40 other guys this wasn't exactly new stuff for some of us our team had won the 30th Air Division meet in May and a month later the 30th and 37th divisional shoot-off but this was real big time this was the world wide rocketry meet at Vincent Air Force Base in Arizona Wendy and I acted like a couple of kids we got the news a fellow we made it we made it we're going to Yuma to Mexico maybe to Las Vegas we're going to see the world eat tamales dance the Van Dango we're going to Vincent with the greatest team in the world we're going to win the meat naturally all those desert sands that desert sunshine and how I love to travel as anybody told you they're taking us along to keep the planes in the air windy we'll be handling things like fuel oxygen repairs sure sure that part I like to I've always wanted to go to a world series and this is the first time I ever made a world series sure Ted the world series of the air the sharp shooting as pilots the fastest planes the keenest competition the best in the world at the biggest meet yep and eastern air defense force is going to win it well windy and I calmed down a little after a while but from that time on every time I thought about it which was pretty often I got that same feeling of excitement and pride I couldn't wait to write and tell my girl Mary about it of course I didn't expect that she would really understand Mary was waiting for me to leave all this to come home when my term of enlistment ended in a couple of months open a garage get married settle down but I couldn't help some of the excitement getting into my letter hey Ted oh excuse me you were writing to your girl I was telling of the news about our going to the meet I mentioned it but I don't think Mary would understand what it's all about well she's not stupid is she certainly not she's smart sweet okay then I think you ought to let her know what you're giving up for her what I'm giving up not giving up anything you're getting out of the Air Force aren't you you're going to settle down when you could be seeing the world learning something new every day when you could be in on the big things the new adventures and all because you're afraid to tell your girl that you want to stay in the Air Force look Wendy will you kindly get out and let me write to my girl okay okay I'll go if I said too much you have all right I'm a clam from now on crazy fool where was I and Mary today one of the greatest things happened to me that's happened in my whole life outside of knowing you maintenance crew chief for the Eastern Air Defense Forces rocketry team that's going to the weapons meet out in Yuma, Arizona we've got the greatest team in the world Mary Captain Morena captain of the team is the greatest pilot and the greatest guy he's got skill and nerve and courage you never saw such fellas greatest team greatest pilot greatest guy mother yes Mary look this letter from Ted he sounds just crazy about the Air Force always said he liked it like working on those jet blades I know I know but this is different I thought we were both counting the month till he got out and we were going to be married now I wonder wonder what dear well I wonder if he really wants to leave the Air Force listen listen to this we're the Eastern Air Defense team do you know what that means Mary it means we're all part of a team that works day and night to defend the ones we love in the meat our boys will be flying fighter interceptor planes shooting at a target about the size of an enemy bomber trying to perfect themselves in case they meet a real enemy and not just some nylon target he never wrote to me like that before maybe he thought you wouldn't be interested but I am interested fact I want to know more I want to know what he really thinks mother how far is it to you my Arizona goodness Mary I don't know why don't you look it up on the map I could call the airport mother do you think it's too far for me to go and find out for myself I think it might be a very good trip for you to take Mary hey look down there Ted what a view it looks like some giant took a big brush and hey that's it yeah that must be the painted desert that I've heard so much about not a camel in sight you couldn't see a camel from 10,000 feet up windy well you don't know me I got 20 20 vision this year is pretty country I don't know why I wasn't born a western cowboy instead of a Michigan Avenue that I can see you and a cowboy and that's just what I'm going to buy when I get to Mexico and one of those cowboy shirts souvenirs that's for me you're not thinking of a trip to Mexico before the meet sure tonight we've got a lot of responsibility windy Ted that starts tomorrow hey hey fellas word just came through we're all invited to a big barbecue tonight a barbecue where we're on the base all the food you can eat Mexican music and pretty girls to dance with talk about everybody's invited hey listen you guys I got the news for you know what are you thinking that's it even before we land and throwing a party for us and I accept what about your trip to Mexico oh that can wait tonight I settle for barbecue beef and tamale pie with a little Mexican music thrown in it's a real great party do you ever see so much food in your life Joe they tell me this one hundred pounds of beef and a half a ton of potato salad maybe there was before we started in on it yeah hey hey where's Ted I said something about the owning his girl that's all yes operator I said Lisbon Vermont yeah the number is one five ring three hello Mrs. Peterson this is Ted how are you fine thank you I mean I speak to Mary please oh oh then I'll call later when you expect her I don't oh well if you'll tell me where she is maybe I could call her there I really don't know where she is Ted Mary's all right isn't she Mrs. Peterson oh yes now don't you worry Ted Mary's just fine you'll hear from her goodbye goodbye wait girls to jump jump no nobody ever understand the perspective mother-in-law or so they tell me come on Ted come on back to the barbecue the party's just getting good I think I'll turn in when now look fella don't let a little thing like a girl's mother get you down nobody's got me down I just feel like turning in we're likely to have a big day tomorrow and we'll be ready for it okay okay have it your way I'll see you don't I really was kind of upset about Mary but I tried to tell myself it was just the way her mother sounded on the phone anyhow I had other things to think about the meat began the next day and I wanted to be out on the flight line early as it turned out everybody else was there early including windy we were all kind of nervous keyed up rare and ago good morning Sergeant Edgerton morning Sergeant oh what a day for the meat sunshine blue skies it looks so clear you ought to be able to see what'll be going on up there instead of having to watch a radar scope or listen to the radio we welcome you to the USF fighter weapons me and particularly to the rocketry competition here at bits of Air Force Base 19 will participate in the fire interceptor base here comes Captain Morena he's scheduled for the first sortie for Eastern Air Morning Sergeant Morning sir it's like a great day yes sir it's gonna be a great day for us are you a prophet don't see how we can miss our teams the tops yes sir I second that you all set sir yeah okay ship looks rare and ago this morning she is sir this is the day you make a perfect score captain well I'll be up there trying there will be three levels of firing 9000 20,000 and 35,000 feet each pilot will fly six missions at the three different altitudes Captain Morena of the Eastern Air Defense Team will make the first sortie at 9000 feet our first man captain of the Eastern Air Defense Team was on his way the worldwide rocketry meet had begun we were listening on the radio with all the years when we got trouble the starter generator on Lieutenant Stanley's plane scheduled for a 910 takeoff conked out this meant removing the app section and rolling back the engine to replace the starter this kind of job usually takes seven or eight hours and we got real trouble here Sergeant we got no alternate plane for Lieutenant Stanley by the time we get this job done it'll be too late for today's competition who said that winning or losing the meat may depend on getting this plane in the air let's get out it okay all right come on fellas you heard what the man said yeah the man's right the enemy's breathing right down our neck so let's get going there she goes I never would have thought we could have done it if I had six pairs of hands and feet well how long did it take us to do that job Ted let me see three hours and 18 minutes nobody tells the general he might expect us to carry on like that every day it was a good job sergeant I get captain the only thing we were too busy to listen to what you were doing but we heard you had a hit well it's a probable the judge is the checking they'll find out it's a bullseye I'd like to be a judge up there on that chase plane taking pictures of the hits and I could really see what's going on if Lieutenant Stanley gets a hit that'll tie us with Faris Air Force Lieutenant Stanley gets a hit you boys can count it a hit for the maintenance crew a pilot can't score unless he gets a chance to shoot that's just with Faris Air Force what did I tell you we got the best shop shooters in the meat we've got the best maintenance crew in the meat more trouble over here Ted something wrong with Lieutenant Jones playing something wrong with the afterburner looks like we're gonna gonna have a new one a new afterburner how much time we got captain ten of Jones is due for another sortie this afternoon how we can do it give us three hours three hours what do you think we are Superman maybe not but we've got to act like we are we did it we got Lieutenant Jones playing back in the air in two hours and a half they told us it was some kind of a wreck we all felt bushed at the end of the day but excited and happy to Eastern Air Defense was tied with Faris Air Force for first you are listening to the proudly we hail production high target we'll return for the second act in just a moment are you a service veteran then listen carefully this message is for you you may be qualified to enlist in the United States Air Force in a grade that will surprise you if you possess one of the critical skills needed to keep America's air defense strong the Air Force offers you an opportunity to put your skill to work and at a higher grade and higher pay than you may realize the Air Force needs experience and know how gained in all the armed forces and now thanks to the new career incentive act you can put your service gain skills to work to your best advantage by returning to the armed forces as a member of the Air Force team write or visit your Air Force recruiter for the special prior service man's folder it's full of important details you'll see why today and tomorrow you're better off in the United States Air Force and now we present the second act of high target at the end of the third day our Eastern Air Defense team was still tied for first place with Faris Air Forces but the Western Air Defense team was creeping up on us I was heart and soul for winning but back in one corner of my mind was this nagging worry about Mary there was still no word from her so that evening I made another try at getting her on the phone once again I got her mother hello this is Ted Mrs. Peterson how are you I'm all right how's Mary is she there no she's not here Ted well where is she how could I reach you tell me what's going on Mrs. Peterson I haven't heard from Mary I can't get her on the phone maybe you're not calling the right number Ted what what's that have you tried calling the hotel in Yuma Yuma Arizona that's right well what would I be calling Yuma for I want to talk to Mary your daughter Mary I know well that's the best place I know to find her goodbye Ted operator operator wake up will you operator get me get me the hotel in Yuma which hotel I don't know the names of the hotels any hotel well all of them one at a time till I get the right one yes and will you hurry up please okay I've got change Mary is this Mary Mary Peterson is it really you of course it is well what on earth are you doing out here when did you come last night last night why didn't you let me know what happened well it was kind of sudden I guess I just thought I needed a vacation and well I wanted to see you well I want to see you Mary but of all the surprises I I don't get it you sure picked a crazy time to drop in on me honey I'm tied up with a meat all day and half the night I know what about tonight oh tonight's good I'll get a pass and come and pick you up right away I could come out there right now there's a cabin for the hotel well it would save time if you don't mind where do I meet you I'll be waiting at the gate hurry will you okay oh gosh it really is you kiss me like that with people who cares about people they're not bothering with us oh you're the prettiest I ever saw honey and the sweetest oh I love you I love you too Ted I still can't believe you're here well you've never been farther away from home than Albany and to come alone oh well when I look at you I stop trying to figure out anything Ted don't you think maybe we ought to go someplace where we can talk yeah sure we can go to the nco club or we can we can take a walk let's just walk you're sure you're not going to vanish if I shut my eyes I promise to stay till the meat's over that's not going to give us an awful lot of time together honey I'm busy all day I might have to work late at night if there's a big repair job on a plane you see the flyboys are putting these jets through some terrific tests up there and there's bound to be a lot of work to be done to keep them flying I understand that could I watch the meat oh well sure that could be arranged but that's another thing you'll have to watch it on a radar scope and that might not be very exciting why is that well you can't see it from the ground the competition takes place from three different altitude levels what actually happens to you well well let's say captain Morena is flying his F-80-60 that's a saber jet that's right well Captain Morena is flying at the 35 thousand foot level the ground controller directs him to the target so he's closing in at 300 miles an hour on the target towed some 5,000 feet behind a Martin B-57 well the target is a nylon rag nine by 45 feet roughly the dimensions of an enemy heavy bomber the jets carrying 24 rockets the mighty mouse a hit on the target on his first try means scoring 1,000 points on second try 800 points on the third try 600 points would you hear a radio squawking dialogue between the controller on the ground and Captain Morena the pilot high over the range and then suddenly the captain squawks Judy Judy now that means the interceptor is locked on the target and then 45 seconds and 20 seconds rockets away Captain Morena scores a probable I knew he would you're kidding no I'm not I'm serious then what happens well then a judge flying in a chase plane takes a picture of the target and he declares later whether or not the hit is official it'll be a hit if it's Captain Morena he's the high scorer of the meat well he sure is well how do you know I read all about it in the Yuma paper while I was waiting for you to decide to phone me well if I'd only known you were here I wouldn't have wasted a minute oh golly honey I missed you now I wish you could be with me all the time but in two more months yep two more months in two more months what I'll be out of the Air Force home again setting up a little garage won't it seem awfully quiet after all this maybe you won't like it well what makes you say that I was just thinking we're not going to change your mind about marrying me no that's one thing I'll never do all right don't you go thinking about anything just you remember I love you you hear I'll remember having Mary close by made everything complete I had my girl my team was doing all right what more could I ask I was out on the flight line earlier than usual the next morning only two more days to go nothing had better go wrong our crew was busy making last minute repairs and checks to ensure peak performance Lieutenant Harris flew the first sortie he had a probable hit on his third try good enough to keep even with the Far East Air Forces but we had a win Captain Morena was next everybody who could gathered around the scoreboard of the radio I feel as nervous as the guys on the bench at the Rose Bowl game Fred you're gonna be asked to go in the last quarter windy listen I tell you Ted it isn't funny this competition has got something so I wish I was up there anywhere but here it makes me so nervous not being able to shut up Wendy don't overdo it you are now directly in line with a total target Judy rockets away well is it a hit is it is it come on be it's gonna be what's that what do you say something wrong explosion I'm coming down going to land what happened he fired the rockets didn't coming down it must be something wrong with a plane was that about an explosion he'll make it all right he's got a he'll make it yeah here he comes now there goes the ambulance in the crash wagon planes not on fire he'll be all right he was down safe yes sir Captain Miranda landed as they without incident what had happened and defective fuse had exploded a rocket prematurely and pieces of the broken rocket had entered the engine damaging parts of the delicate mechanism but the important thing the captain was safe oh we sure are glad you're okay captain I kept thinking if we'd left anything undone I was one of those things that might have happened to anybody that looks pretty rough though over the team the plane that's right we've got no substitute aircraft it looks downright desperate what do you say Sergeant how long have we got to do a repair job captain till this time tomorrow maybe a little longer okay sir we'll have a ready for you but I believe you will Sergeant yes sir yeah I guess that's right if you can bring her down the way you just did captain we ought to be able to get her up for you this was probably the biggest job we'd ever had to do in a limited period of time it meant major repairs replacing the engine rebuilding the rocket pod I put two-thirds of the crew on it we worked straight through that day and all night I never did get word to marry I thought of her a few times but I wasn't sure just where she would be and I couldn't stop to find out when you're working on a jet engine and your team is tied for first place and the whole outcome of the meat depends on this one engine you keep your mind on your job till it's finished and we finished in time we were ready to hand over the jet to Captain Morena for a takeoff in 32 hours well if you fellas had any doubts before you know now who's flying these planes who's on this team you're a lot of tired-out guys I know but this means everything to eastern air defense what a job you've done and we're still crowding first place captain you go on up there and knock them cold that's just what I'm aiming at Sergeant and that's what he did Captain Morena had a perfect score that day it was high score for the meat I guess we found out what makes a pilot a fighter pilot it's wanting to win we found out a few other things too one that we were in a special league tough league and we were part of a pretty swell team well eastern air defense force won the rocketry championship and the cheers of her crew was still echoing over the desert when I went looking for Mary I found her waiting for me at the NCO Club I thought you'd be pretty tired and it'd be easier for you than coming into town and anyway I wanted to be out here where the air is so full of excitement I'm sorry I had to wait so long Mary look I've been waiting for you for two years now I expect to be doing it for a long long time and you're not sore at me for standing you up last night standing me up you were doing a terrific job I heard all about it who told you Captain Morena we found out I was here waiting for you and he took the time to look me up and explain about everything all that was done nice of him wasn't it I know they said he wasn't hurt when that rocket exploded yesterday but I was glad to find out for myself that he really was all right well what else did Captain Morena say to you well for one thing he said you were his friend he did he said you'd better be friends because his very life depends on you that was a pretty fine thing to hear you know Ted yeah I'm just beginning to understand a little about the Air Force and what it must mean to you you don't want to give it up do you well I couldn't ask you couldn't ask me to be a part of it please do you wouldn't mind being an Air Force wife traveling around the world meeting interesting people sharing your life while you did a job for your country and for us oh please ask me Ted say you former service men have you heard about the deal you can now get in the United States Air Force well if you're skilled in a needed job you're in clover choice assignments are available in the United States and overseas or if an aptitude test shows you could do a needed job the Air Force will guarantee you technical training and make this guarantee before you enlist also there's a paid 30-day delay in reporting if requested and listen to this today the Air Force will pay you more re-enlistment bonuses are also bigger than ever before you'll enjoy job security a guaranteed annual wage and 30 days paid vacation so don't miss these big benefits if you're a veteran of any service call or visit your local Air Force recruiter right away ask to see the new personalized prior service booklet yes today and tomorrow you are 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 or the United States Air Force this is Ralph Roland inviting you to tune in the same station next week for another interesting story on proudly we hail