 Proudly we hail from New York City where the American state begins here's another program about standing place public service time has been made available by this station for your Air Force to bring you this story as proudly we hail another airman of the United States Air Force our story today is entitled the transfer your Air Force provides its airmen with every opportunity to develop any ability they may have but in our story today a young airman discovers that much of it depends on one cell as proudly we hail the United States Air Force our first act curtain will rise in just one moment you know many times a man is killed in a particular job yet he's unable to find a useful as this happened to you are you a service veteran with a service game skill that's just going to waste well if you are the new lesson because you may be able to put that skill to work as a member of the United States Air Force right now 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 earn credit sort of valuable retirement income so protect that initial investment for full details you write or visit your nearest Air Force recruit as for the prior service man's folder this folder will show you 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 the transfer the kind of an occasion that doesn't require many words but as your commander speaking that's wrong members of the base a speech is a speech you might say but if you're airman first-class Bart Andrews radio repairman of the B-47 which is who and what I am this particular speech by the base commander he somehow recalls another speech given a few months ago at a base 1000 miles here by me it's um wasn't a speech exactly more of a farewell talk I was an instructor at course number 301 30 that's the aircraft radio repairman course given a key to Air Force base one hundred and sixty academic days long and that day was the hundred and sixty good speech but same part have you got any extra time yeah I'm back seems like I'm lost without a piece of chalk in my hand what's the matter but it looked like a thousand miles from here maybe I am I just said goodbye to my fourth class started me thinking what about you know it's peculiar thing I've been an instructor here ever since they retained me when I finished the course that's how they get the best present company not excluded I wasn't thinking of that I just trying to figure out how long it's been a year and a half yeah well I'd like to be a radio repairman in fact not only I get you but you gotta remember there's a big difference between working in the classroom and machines on the flight line well I better get back to work thanks a lot for the job just about then my next class came in and I soon forgot about my momentary yearning actually that's what they were momentary because in spite of what I told Jim I really was satisfied with what I was doing and I could have gone on a long time as I was if it hadn't been for somebody that happened that very day when I stopped by at the orderly room on my way to the barrack oh hello Andrews just the man I'm looking for well what's up Sergeant don't tell me I'm on cq already no you won't have to worry about cq anymore around here anyway I won't hey this sounds too good to be true I just got word today from headquarters transfer orders are on their way down for you transfer me yep to a sack base in South Carolina sack does that mean I'll be out of the classroom and onto the line I would think so well I'll be darned hey they must have a crystal ball up there at headquarters say sergeant of any particular reason that I'm being transferred oh none in particular except that radio repairmen are always needed and second air force rotation policy is set up to give every arm and every chance to broaden himself but wherever you're gone I'm sure you'll do a good job or I knew it I found myself on an air force transport plane flying toward my new station and for the first time since I got my orders I had time to reflect and for the first time I began to get some doubts sitting next to me was an airman first class by the name of Hank Taylor who was also being transferred to the same base and we uh sort of got into a conversation you've got doubt sure anybody that's going to a new outfit happens to me every time I don't mean that way look I've been an instructor ever since I've been in the air force practically this is what you might call my first field assignment oh I see something I've wanted but now well see how do I know I can make the transition from classroom to aircraft okay I know what you mean I've been through the mill myself I was an instructor on repairing the old northern bomb site and then later an actual repairman when they developed this case series system I had to go back to school and teach again and now once more to the line don't have to me did you have any trouble along the way well there's a difference all right whether you keep on your toes you won't have any trouble just follow the book that's what I always told my class now I have to start telling myself sure and before you know it you'll be wondering why you even thought about it Hank was an optimist and a fellow maybe too optimistic in the light of what happened later but his chatter kept me from being bothered too much about what was ahead of me and at the end of the day we landed at our new base and checked in at base headquarters my assignment to report to hangar number three to sergeant daily ground crew chief of aircraft 10732 all right just make yourself at home for a few minutes that was the AC captain wilson will be here shortly you say if you were right say is that 10732 that's her you're looking at the best kind of ship in the air force of B-47 looks like she's in pretty good shape she should be fresh out of the factory but that's what we're gonna do find out if she's as good as she looks you go on over make yourself acquainted with the ground crew until the captain gets okay charge what are you doing here well the same thing you are I guess waiting I got orders to report here so did I what's up do you think 10732 that is we got to see that she gets up and stays up oh yeah we got to make her ready for a shakedown flight hey this must be the captain all right man give me your attention this is captain wilson AC of 10732 I won't take up much of your time I just wanted to meet first hand the men who are going to be responsible for finding and removing any bugs my new baby here might have and I just want to tell you in advance that I'd appreciate it if you find as many as you can while she's still on the ground but now that I've had a look at here I know I won't have anything to worry about if there's anything I can do for you let me know through sergeant daily here now if all goes well we'll have the first flight at 1300 hours this Friday that's all take over sergeant daily in a few minutes I was standing inside the cabin we had worked with mockups of b-47 radio systems back at Keesler and I knew them backwards and forwards but to see all this brand new equipment not as a mock-up but it's the real thing well all I can say is that it was a threat after soaking it in I plunged right into going over the whf the hf the omnidirectional equipment radio compass and the interphone system checking out every last little connection and fuse and by the time friday afternoon arrived I knew the radio system was okay as far as I could determine that afternoon shortly before takeoff time Hank and I were having a coffee in the hangar as far as I'm concerned 10732 is as ready now as she'll ever be there me too and we'll know pretty soon now a five hour trial navigational and bombing run should uncovering the checking couldn't I don't know what that would be least with the radio system you know Hank that's that's really a fabulous radio setup to be 47 what do you think the case system series is why they've got things in that that haven't even been invented yet so it seems to me sometimes I know what you mean say Bart I haven't had a chance to ask you how are you feeling about your transfer by now well in a job like this how can you help feel what good when you do something here you can see the results better than teaching guys something and never knowing what happens after they leave you no no no I feel fine hey look look there she goes smooth man smooth now she's off all you gotta do now is wait yeah what's the matter something wrong bar I don't know it's a funny thing but just as the field left the ground I got an odd kind of feeling no something was warning me warning you yeah sounds crazy doesn't it no no I experienced something like that once myself but what could be wrong it seems to be a normal takeoff yes yes it did never mind come on let's go back to the line shop okay hey wait a minute by the ship circling the fields certainly wasn't supposed to do that what now sergeant daily calling the ground crew of 10732 report to the deep briefing room immediately Bart I don't think you were so far wrong at that oh I guess I wasn't we better get over there let's go we doubled up to the briefing room but when we got there with the rest of the crew we were still in the dark as to what was wrong because sergeant daily wasn't there for the next hour we waited while the ship circled around the field to lighten its fuel load as we found out later finally it landed and in a few minutes captain Wilson and sergeant daily entered the room and before they even said anything I knew they were looking for me you are listening to the proudly we held production of the transfer and we will return in just one moment for our second act here's important news for all like servicemen you may be qualified to enlist in the united states air force at a higher grade and at higher pay than you may realize the united states air force has instituted a new policy that offers big new benefits to veterans of all the armed forces the air force needs men who are experienced in critical skills skills required to keep america's air defense strong if you have training in these skills then the air force wants you and they'll put you right on the job so for full details you ride or visit your nearest air force recruiter right away ask them for the folder for prior servicemen you'll see how you can put your service gain skills to work to your best advantage remember you've earned credits for a fine retirement while in the service so protect your initial investment as an airman 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 the transfer if there's one thing i've learned since i've been here at this space it's that i have a good sense of intuition for turnout that i was right that day when captain wilson and sergeant daily came into the debriefing room andrew's captain wants to talk to you yes sir as you can see andrew's we had to abort this flight yes sir something wrong with the radio system yes our interphone conked out on it well did it go out completely sir no but my pilot and i couldn't understand each other and i don't have to tell you we couldn't get very far with a condition like that according to the checklist you checked it out okay well that's right sergeant i did and it was okay i'm sure it was but you'd better take a look at it i'd like to get this flight in today okay yes sir right away you can bet it didn't take me long to hustle down to the flight line with my tool kit the first thing i did was to check the interphone amplifier connections they were okay so i moved on to the tubes and that's where i found the trouble our tube was defective it must have gone bad on the takeoff i replaced it and reported job completed to sergeant daily shortly after that captain wilson took off once more well it looks like there's nothing wrong this time yeah you wonder sometimes how a piece of equipment can foul up so suddenly like that tube did brand new perfect condition one minute in the next powie i guess there's nothing in this world a hundred percent perfect you know hank i used to hammer home to my classes what a responsibility rests on technicians but i never knew sure there's a difference all right between teaching responsibility and actually bearing it especially this kind where you've got men's lives resting in your hands oh yeah i'm finding that out hank i am sure finding it out later that evening the ship returned and at the debriefing we found out that nothing had occurred that required repairing ship was okay during the next few weeks i lost contact with 10732 because i was called out to service other b-47s in the squad however one morning i got a work order from our control room to report what's more to sergeant daily at the debriefing room hank was there too hi bar wonder what's cooking with 10732 here comes captain wilson i guess we'll find out good morning man morning orders have come down for my ship and crew to report to barstale three weeks from today the annual sack marathon bombing and navigation competition meet will be held starting then and we have been chosen to represent the squadron on the basis of our past records with other units i don't have to tell you it's going to be rugged that's why you men are here we're going to need the best maintenance men to keep our ship in the air and according to sergeant daily you men are it from now on until the meet is finished we're all going to practice together day after day until we are a team that even though we're brand new we'll open their eyes down there at barstale the next three weeks as the captain told us 10732 did nothing but run trial bombing and navigation flight similar to those who would encounter at barstale until eventually the day came when 10732 took off for barstale with us the ground crew not far behind in a kc-97 tanker plate well it won't be long now no i think we'll make out nice now it's hard to say naturally i'm hoping we'll win it for more reasons than one how's that well if we come in on top we'll each get a spot promotion and there's nothing i'd like better than an armful of stripes haha it ain't that heavy yeah it's gonna be tough they got about three thousand mile course three times and with one actual bomb and three radar drops each flight brother and if they're five minutes late taking off we're automatically out of the running short stuff we're competing with the sharpest crews in the air force too and when you look at it realistically we don't have much of a chance no no these other outfits have been doing nothing but training not for this meet but for the real thing if and when it comes they've been doing it for years now and we're more or less newcomers yeah i guess we don't have much of a chance and unless we're luckless wait it looks that way so i can tell you well let me tell you we do have a chance and it doesn't depend only on luck depends on something else too but that on how much you we put out we've got the best equipment and machines in the world the best men to fly them but if we don't have the right kind of crew spirit well we might as well go back now how do you know we haven't got it i don't know we haven't been together long enough to find out except to you to prove it one way or another what sergeant daily said about crew spirit struck home with me for that's what i'd been looking for why i'd wanted to get out on the line to become a part of a group all pitching in together to accomplish something above and beyond oneself but in the final analysis it all boiled down to what kind of stuff was inside each man and about one of those men myself i still wasn't sure after we arrived at barksdale we ready to shift for her first flight and in no time at all it seems she had taken off and returned hey hey fellas fellas sergeant daily will be down in a minute with the results he said to stand by any advance don't hang nope except i know they didn't have any boom doctor oh good hey here comes daily now all right man here it is i don't have the exact figures but the Omaha and Denver bombs were very good you were a little off on the roseville reservoir but not too much but we've still got two more to make now next td is 2400 thursday night make sure she's okay by then that's all pressure attention work we all learned the meaning for those words but i had to learn the hard way by 2330 thursday i was checking the hf wire antenna while captain Wilson completed his outside pre-flight check the power cart was plugged in and as i started down the ladder it happened for a moment i couldn't believe my eyes but at the bottom of the power card i saw the flicker of flames i knew it was loaded with 20 gallons of 100 octane gas and right above it was a jet fuel tank hey card man the course on fire disconnect disconnect okay here i'll take the front steering bar let's get it away from the ship quick go on go on go on now where's the fire bottom captain wilson's coming with it now all right stand by man that doesn't now what happened i don't know sir it's been a short circuit probably you'd better dig up another cart pronto right sir but it won't be easy most of my new you've got to etd is only 20 minutes away sir oh andrew i want to see you right after we return right now you run along and help that man find a cart he found a car to arrive but barely in time enough for the ship to make his etd i put that close shave uh you've said it right but i think it was a little more than that for me not that captain wilson wants to talk to me after the flight what about i don't know but i have a hunch he thinks what i think that i i should have grabbed the fire bottle first instead of pulling the cart away fly well i i should have put the fire off before doing anything else that's what those fire bottles there for you couldn't have done either first you're imagining things no no no no there's a lot more to the field than just repairing a radio boy maybe i better ask for a transfer back to keeter maybe i won't have to captain wilson might do it for me well that's the story man we didn't do too badly the second flight considering everything at least we're still in the running now we'd all better get to sleep our third and final flight is for tomorrow at 2400 and you know what that means good night oh andrew come here a moment will you yes sir captain wilson about that fire in the power cart before we took off yes sir i've been thinking about it and so have i you know if it hadn't been for what you did we might never have made our etd we'd be completely out of the contest by now what sir you mean i did the right thing of course it was quick thinking combined with action i couldn't ask anymore from any man in my crew whether flying or ground now get yourself some sleep you'll need it sir sir you can imagine i felt pretty good after that but the next morning after listening to sergeant daily i felt even better we we were gathered in the line shop waiting for captain wilson to return from his third and final bombing run yes sir man things don't look bad there's only one b-47 now that's ahead of us and if all goes well you don't have to worry sergeant not with captain wilson up there he's quite a man i found that out last night he's quite a man and takes a man to go through what he and his crew go through when they fly a b-47 on a mission you ever stop to think what it's like to sit in one position for 16 hours oh i remember once i drove a car that long and when i got out oh brother that's right those guys up there got about 45 pounds of stuff on their back while the helmet weighs 67 pounds the parachute straps cut right into the bones three guys pushing along 200 000 pounds of plane on sheer brains nerve and guts say how much does the air force say a b-47 pilot is worth 500 000 bucks well when you put it that way all i can say is he's worth it and a lot more can't be measured in dollars and cents as our ship coming back you mean you can tell by the sound by the sound oh maybe maybe something else someday you'll know what i mean i knew it and i'm sure the rest of the crew did too we didn't know yet whether our ship had come out first or not but we did know this that we had gone through a pretty big thing together and we'd be ready to go through a lot more together on the last day yesterday all the final scores were posted on the big board and at the top of the list one oh seven three two i'm sure if there had been time marxdale air force base would have been the scene of a celebration it would have long remembered but there wasn't we had to get ready to return to our base the next morning this morning we were once more airborne in our kc 97 on our way back each of us one striped richer and it was just about 20 minutes ago that our plane arrived over the field here well we're here fellas yes sir and am i glad to get back how you said it hey look you all see what i see what i see our ship good old one oh seven three two i love you yeah but look there by the control tower where there's the band and a bunch of people and get a load of that a red carpet you mean that's all for little old us gosh and i i don't even have a speech ready my ladies and gentlemen it gives me great pleasure now here we are sitting rather uncomfortably on the platform but maybe embarrassed to be a better word i don't think hank will get a chance to make the speech he started to rehearse a few moments ago upstairs but somebody else will and now the man you're all waiting to hear captain wilson thank you sir i'm not much making speeches but i just want to say this whatever we've been able to do down there at foxdale would never have been done without our ground crew who kept our ship in the air by sweating it out 20 hours a day and they were able to do it only because each man knew how to and did his job well thank you they're applauding and the band is beginning to play but if there's anything i'll always remember it's the way the captain looked at me when he said those words about each man doing his job well sort of sort of silent salute son and you can bet it was one salute that i returned right from the heart you know what's often been said that to speak in terms of a man's interest is to win that man as your friend well that's what the friendly people at your united states air force recruiting stations all over the country are doing every day they're telling hundreds of career minded young men about the outstanding opportunities available in the united states air force they're describing career opportunities that suit every young man's interests and aptitudes for example well if you're an amateur photographer you can turn your basic knowledge into a colorful and highly interesting career by taking advantage of the free training available in the air force photography school you know it's the world's final then again on the other hand well maybe you're interested in the new field of guided missiles and rocket propulsion here too you can get free training that qualifies you as one of the best military technicians in the world whatever your interests your air force has a job for so you'll visit your nearest air force recruiting station at your earliest opportunity find out how you can become an airman in the united states air force it's the career opportunity of a lifetime i also want to talk to all you young fellows out there that have served a tour of duty if you're a service veteran then you think about this for just one moment are you making the most 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 grave it'll be a real pleasant surprise you see right now the air force needs men with training and experience gained in all the armed forces if you're skilled in one of the critical jobs needed to keep america's air defense strong then the air force offers you an opportunity to put those skills to work your best advantage remember fellas you've already earned credits toward a valuable retirement policy so why not protect your initial investment your air force recruiter has a prior service man's fold that will give you full details so you go down and see him right away okay remember serve yourself serve your country by becoming an airman 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 in new york for the united states air force and this is dick herbert speaking inviting you to tune in the same station next week for another interesting story on proudly we hail