 Proud lay we hail. Brown New York City where the American stage begins. Here is another program with a cast of outstanding players. Public service time has been made available by this station to bring you this story. As proudly we hail the United States Air Force. Our story is entitled, Mission Successful. This is a story about the life and training of the eyes of long-range fighting forces in the air. As proudly we hail the United States Air Force's strategic reconnaissance photographers. Our first act curtain will rise in just a moment. But first, Say, high school seniors, what are your plans now that the school term is ending? A smart man looks ahead, investigates his opportunities before making any important decision. There's a wealth of opportunity waiting for you in your United States Air Force. As an airman, you can learn a technical specialty that will prepare you for a promising future and catch this. If you want to continue your education, you can actually take accredited college correspondence courses from some of the country's leading universities while in the service. Now these are just a few of the many advantages of an Air Force enlistment. For a comprehensive preview of your Air Force career, pick up your free copy of Pocket Guide to Air Force opportunities. Get it at your nearest Air Force recruiting office or your nearest Air Force base. Remember that title, Pocket Guide to Air Force Opportunities. Get one today. And now your United States Air Force presents the proudly we hail production, Mission Successful. Whenever I come to a service club dance, I always make it a point to come up here to the balcony so that I can look down and enjoy the way the colored spotlights play over the dancers below. But sooner or later, when I do, I always get the thinking. What was right here on this very balcony that a man's life was changed within the space of ten minutes? When he lost something valuable, but found something just as precious. Yes, it sets me thinking and remembering. Back to that day several months ago in our barracks shower room. I'm assigned to an RB 36H photo recon plane and in my position as senior photographer, I'm in charge of everything connected with photography that goes on in the plane, and that's a lot. However, that evening I intended to put all thoughts of work out of my mind, but I hadn't reckoned with my assistant Airman Shorty Hawkins. You sure know you discriminate a control circuit, Sergeant Riley? Yeah? Yeah. Well, you demonstrated the application of the control transformer through to the follow-up system and a firetron server was pretty good. I'd like to suggest something. Well, it's all the training manual Shorty. I'm not open to suggestions right now. Hand me the sofa. Yeah, here you are. I got it. No, I want to forget all about synchro circuits tonight. Got something on? Yes, sir. Got a date to see Marilyn Monroe. She here? You kidding? She's playing in a picture at the base theater. Throwing my towel there, will you? Yeah, catch. Hey Shorty, how about coming along, huh? I don't think I will, Sergeant. What's the matter, seen it already? No, I don't go much to movies. Yeah, I know. You don't go anywhere very much. I guess I don't, but I've always got something else to do. Yeah, you sure do. Every time I turn around, get your nose in a manual, you're in the dark room. Well, there's a lot I've got to learn about aerial photography, Sergeant. Yeah, but there's a limit. You got to relax and be a human being once in a while. I hope she released some of the tension we work on her. Now, you take tonight. There's no real reason why you couldn't take one night off a week to see a movie, is there? I'm afraid there is. I've been working on something important in the last couple of weeks. I think I've just about got it finished. Well, what could be more important on a night off than Marilyn Monroe? Well, one day I'll tell you about it, Sarge, and you'll see. He told me about it, all right, but that wasn't until a couple of days later. I finally decided that I'd have to do something about it, but I didn't know exactly what. The next day, while we were in the cruise shack taking a break, our aircraft commander made your stride, came here. Turn, shut! At ease, men. Everybody here? Yes, sir. Good. I'll just come back from the planning and briefing board of Squadron Headquarters. Another mission, sir? That's right, Sergeant Riley. I don't have all the details yet, but it'll probably take place on Thursday. It'll be a long one, but we ought to be used to that by now. Alaska Major? No, you're wrong this time, Sergeant. Manhattan. Wow! Broadway, here we come. The closest you'll get to Broadway, Jennings, is to take a picture of it. On Thursday morning, I'll hold the final briefing, and you'll be complete in your preparations by that time. As you know, seventy-five percent of the success of the mission will depend on how thoroughly we prepare for it. Major Stroud was right. Preparation is important, but the preparation of an RB-36 for a recon flight is something you've got to see to believe. When you've got a ship with a wingspan almost as long as a football field, carrying up gasoline to drive an auto 17 times around the world, it has 27 miles of electric wiring, 72 electric motors, 2,000 electronic tubes, and is powered by six propeller-driven engines and four jets. To get it ready requires something more than just a monkey wrench and a flashlight. It takes hours of work by a highly specialized crew of 20 airmen to ready this fantastic product of man and his imagination for its trip to its goal. But when you get right down to it, how well Shorty and I did our jobs would determine the success of this big effort. Oh, come on, Riley. Get off it, will you? You talk as if your photographers are the only important guys in recon. What about us wing and tail scanners, huh? If we weren't around to protect you with our guns, you wouldn't be able to get the first base, let alone accomplish your mission. Pass the sugar. Well, you're not getting an argument from me on that, but your job is only to get me and Shorty to the spot where we can take pictures. And if we don't have the chance to then all our preparation is in vain. Preparation what preparation? All you got to do is put some film in a camera and press a button. You can tell you haven't been in sack very long. Let me ask you something. Yeah, how many cameras do you think we got on an RB 36? I don't know, guess about six. Six? You hear that, Shorty? Tell him how many we got, huh? Sure. Fourteen. Fourteen. Oh, who you kidding? That's right. Fourteen. Some are worth a quarter of a million dollars a piece. Now before our mission Shorty and I have to select the filters, viewfinder magazines and film for these cameras. You got to inspect them, clean them, install them on the ship. Plus the viewfinders and inter-kilometers, we've got... All right, all right. That's enough, you've convinced me. A quarter of a million bucks. I only paid three bucks for my own brownie. Hey, Sergeant Riley. Yeah, Shorty, what is it for? I want to ask you something. Shoot. Sergeant Riley, Major Stroud wants the whole crew to report at the briefing room right after Chow. Oh, sounds like the mission briefing. Okay, we'll be there. Now what was it you wanted, Shorty? I think I better tell you tonight. I got to get back to my room. Something I have to do. Hey, we got apple pie and ice cream for dessert. Aren't you going to wait for that? Well, you can have my share. Gee, you know, Riley, there's a guy I can't figure. Never goes anywhere. Spends all his spare time working on some kind of contraption in his room. And now he even passes up apple pie and ice cream. What gives with him? I don't know. But I aim to find out. I'll tell you something, Jennings. He's one sharp photographer. As it turned out, I didn't have to wait until the finish of the mission to tackle Shorty's problem. But I didn't find that out until the mission briefing was over. Now, men, the mission your crew will engage in, taking off tomorrow at 1,900 hours is a simulated combat mission. Station time will be 1530 hours. This is the beginning of the briefing. When Major Stroud is finished, the Assistant Intelligence Officer takes over to give us our intelligence briefing. You'll be interrogated one hour after landing. Numerous targets have been established for your aerial and radar runs. Fighter Interception in New York, Washington and Ohio areas. We will enter enemy territory at about 0752 hours EST Friday morning. We'll be subject to possible enemy action for four and one-half hours. The enemy being fighter pilots with experience in Korea will have to be on our toes. The rest of the afternoon we spent making final preparations. And by the time evening rolled around everything was set. Since there was nothing for us to do until the next day when the mission was scheduled to begin, I decided to relax a little by going to the service club weekly dance. All right, come on. Let's go Riley. You look pretty enough. Just a second, Jennings. I've got to get my tie in focus. Hey Shorty, how's it look to you? Straight? All right? Hey, wait a minute. Oh, I forgot. You want to ask me something a challenge? That's all right. I guess you don't have time, Sarge. Oh, sure I have. You go ahead, Jennings. I'll see you there. Okay. Now, what's up, huh? Well, it's like this, Sarge. I've been working on an experiment, a different kind of a camera. Different? Then we'll wait. Well, if I were to tell you, you wouldn't be able to make the dance tonight. It's pretty complicated. Maybe I can give you an idea. You see, Einstein has figured out a mathematical formula, which, if proved, may mean that the whole controlling force behind the universe is electromagnetism. You're not going to tell me you understand the Einstein theories, are you? No, I'm not. But his basic thesis has given me a starting point for figuring out how to build my camera. Generally speaking, here's how it works. Most cameras work on the principle of the action of light on sensitized film, right? Well, my camera works on the principle of the action of electromagnetic waves on electrically sensitized plates. How's that again? Well, all bodies give off electric waves. That's because the molecule is constructed of electrically charged particles. Well, take colors, for instance. When you see red, you're not seeing red. When I'm mad, I am. When you're mad? That's a joke, go on. What you're seeing are the electrical waves given off by the object. Each color has different wavelengths. Oh, yes, I remember reading something like that. And when the shutter on my camera exposes an area, an electromagnetic charge is sent through the specially prepared plate that I've developed, and the photograph is instantly set. In other words, there's no time lost in developing. Right. And in reconnaissance photography, you can see what that means. You'll be able to take a color photo, and by electronic means, have it reproduced immediately back in sac headquarters. That sounds very interesting. Does it work? I don't know. I just got it finished an hour ago. I hope to find out tomorrow. Well, we're going on a mission tomorrow. Or have you forgotten? No. That's what I'm going to test it. Major Stroud has given me permission to bring it along. And we'll have some spare time while going to our target areas. That's what I wanted to ask you, Sarge, if you'd help me with it. Well, I don't know if I can. I'm not too sharp on electromagnetism. Well, I'll explain the rest of it to you tomorrow after we take off. There won't be much for you to do. Hey, yeah, well, wait a minute, wait a minute. I have an idea. You say you're all finished with it? Yeah. Look, I'll tell you what we'll do. You come along with me tonight to the service club. In between dances, you can fill me in on what I have to do, okay? Well, I don't know, Sarge. Come on, come on. Put on your tie. Let's get going. Yeah, all right. Oh, wait till I get my camera. You're not going to take that apparatus with you? No, not that one. Just my Leica. I want to take a few color shots. Something to keep myself occupied. Well, if I have anything to do with it, I'll see that you're occupied. Well, occupied. Come on, let's go. I intended to see that Shorty was occupied all right, but not with photography. This was a chance I had been waiting for. I thought that by taking him to the service club, he might meet someone who would be able to take his mind off his work and sort of broaden his social interests, preferably someone in the five feet, two eyes of blue category. But it turned out slightly different than I expected. When we got to the club, the first thing he did was to park himself right here in the balcony, and there he stayed for the whole evening, taking snapshots of the dance. Well, I tried everything to get him to go down and dance, but it was no soap. He wouldn't budge. I finally got disgusted and gave up. Well, that was the best thing I could have done as I found out later. Soon time to fall in. Yeah. Say, Jennings, have you seen Shorty? Yeah, about 15 minutes ago. Headed toward the lab. Hey, here he comes now. Where you been, boy? Soon time to take off. I'm sorry, Sarge. I'll make it okay. Just been over the dark room. What for? We got everything we need. I know, but I wanted to pick up the negatives of the shots I made last night at the club. And Sarge, you got to help me. Here, look at this. Mmm, pretty good. It's a shot of the whole floor. Yeah, that's right. But, look, you see this girl here? Yeah, what about her? You know her? No. I got to find her. Will you help me? Find her? You mean you want to meet this girl? Yes, Sarge. It's very important. Shorty, that's one reconnaissance mission. I'll be happy to take off. I'm very happy. You are listening to the proudly-we-hail production, Mission Successful. We'll return in just a moment for the second act. High school seniors, are you interested in a career with a promising future? There are hundreds of jobs ranging from administration and accounting to electronics and construction open to you in the United States Air Force. A handy new 84-page booklet entitled, Pocket Guide to Air Force Opportunities, gives you the complete story. Everything pertinent to an Air Force enlistment is covered, from basic training to promotion and travel information, and there's a special section where more than 100 technical training courses are described and illustrated. For these and many other interesting facts on what the Air Force can mean to you, pick up your absolutely free copy of Pocket Guide to Air Force Opportunities from your nearest Air Force recruiting station. You're listening to Proudly-We-Hail, and now we present the second act of Mission Successful. To say I was pleased when Shorty told me he wanted to meet the girl whose picture he had accidentally taken at the service club would be putting it mildly. This was the kind of thing I had hoped would happen, but I hadn't expected it so soon. However, I didn't have too much time to think about it then, because in a short time we were to be boarding the plane to take off on our training missions, and there were still things for us to do. Hundreds of feet of aerial film to be loaded aboard, loading list to be checked, rations to be drawn. Well, finally, we were ready to take off. Then precisely at 1900 hours, the mission has officially begun. 12 hours from then we'll enter enemy territory, but during most of that time, Shorty and I have a few things to do. All our cameras are ready to take off, and we're ready to take off. We're ready to take off, and we're ready to take off, and we're ready to take off, and we're ready to take off, and we're ready to take off, and we're ready to take off, and we're ready to take off. All our cameras have to be loaded with magazines of film, and when that's finished, I get my log ready while Shorty sets up the dark room. Then we check once more to see that the cameras are in functioning order. All my cameras are OK, Sarge. Is the heater working all right on that K-38 camera? Yeah, and I replaced the shutter spring on the K-17C, another one we thought was kind of weak. Good. Well, I guess we're all set. I don't want to interrupt, but I think I better explain a little more about how my camera works. Oh, yeah, sure. Yeah, go right ahead. Well, where do I take the cover off? It doesn't look much different than an ordinary aerial camera. How'd you put it together? A professor of mine from MIT helped me with it. He had the lens ground for me, and then between both of us we were able to dig up the other parts. Now, you know something, Sarge? I bet you'd think this whole thing is a crackpot idea. Well, I don't know about that, but works, it'll be a great thing. A recon plane could take color photos instantly developed and transmit them back to headquarters by means of television. By the time we return from a mission, bombers could be halfway there to bomb the targets we located for them. That's it, exactly. I can understand that, but how it's done, that's another story. That sounds kind of fantastic, but then who would have thought 15 years ago that you could take aerial photographs through fog and clouds as we do today by radar? No, I got an open mind on things like that. Now, what do you want me to do? What's not much. I'll shoot the pictures through the side aperture we use for our regular oblique photos on our way back. All you have to do is hold the camera while I make the adjustments and operate the shutter. Well, that shouldn't be too hard. Let's dry run it a couple of times. Okay, we'll set it up here. It wasn't difficult. After I got the hang of it, I decided we could hit the set. There'd be a few hours yet until we would go into action, and a little rest before it would help us do our job better. Well, Shorty slept first for a few hours, and then I followed. At daybreak... Wake up, Sarge. Where are we? Over Portsmouth, Ohio. We're starting to climb. 40,000 feet is the altitude in which we'll photograph. And when we reach it, the plane is leveled off. Jets are cut. Power is reduced. Directly ahead is Fredericksburg, the IP initial point for our first target, in Washington, D.C. Then on the interphone, Jennings Boyd. Airplane commander from left scanner. Fighters coming in from high at 9 o'clock. Seen to be F-94s. Roger, scanner, have them in sight. The fighter planes swoop in. The scanners train the remote gun sights of their 20-millimeter cannons on them. If the gun cameras are working right, photos will determine how accurate the gunners are. And one part of Shorty's and my job will be a success. From the IP to the target, the course is now steady and straight. Standby photographer. While I stand by my photo control panel, Captain Henry, the photo navigator, lines up his photo run with the bomb sight. When the target comes in view... Star! This is a tense moment. Everything must be timed to the exact second. As soon as I hear Captain Henry's command, my fingers press the buttons that'll start the cameras rolling, recording every detail. A few minutes later... Stop cameras! Bowling Air Force Base is now photographed. Next target, Baltimore. More pictures. And then Shorty takes over on the oblique cameras that are used for targets of opportunity. Then more photo runs over Wilmington, Camden, Newark. Constant work for Shorty and me. At most, concentration or else this mission will fail. Before we realize it, our primary target, Manhattan, comes in view. It's a beautiful sight with its skyscrapers below us, but we don't have time to appreciate the scenery. On over the city, we fly and then a 180-degree turn and back over it again. In the space of a few minutes, Manhattan has become a city on film. Our course to the west is through Allentown, Pittsburgh and the Cincinnati. In all these cities, we make photos. When we leave Cincinnati, we start to descend to 20,000 feet. The major part of our mission is over. Oh, they sure had a score in there for a while, didn't they? They sure did. You want to take a break? We got time. I would, Sarge, but I wonder if we could take a couple of shots with my camera while we still have the light. Okay. Now you want me to hold it, huh? Yeah, here. It's not too heavy. All right. I got it. Now, just aim it as you would an ordinary camera. Right. Is this okay? Hold it steady. Sounds good, anyway. I hope it works as good as it sounds. We'll see that later. We made about 10 shots and then Shorty went into the dark room and began processing some of the film we had shot for the mission. Well, I checked my log. Well, finally, 30 hours after we took off, we hear the welcome word. This is Air Force 1110 landing instructions over. In a few minutes, we have landed. Our film is rushed over to the lab and we receive our debriefing. Following this, we turn in our gear and after cleaning our equipment, we head for our ferries. For that time, it's 5 a.m. and I don't have to tell you that our cots look mighty good to us. When I opened my eyes again, it was just about time for evening chow. Hey, Riley, I hope those gun cameras were working okay. I must have got about four fighters. You got them, Jennings. The cameras got them. Well, you don't look very happy. The guy was just completed a successful recon mission. Oh, I got worried, Jennings. Oh, who hasn't? Hey, what's that you got there? A photo. Shorty made it to the dance the other night. Oh, yeah, let me see. What do you know? That's about the best picture in my back I've ever seen. Are you on that work? Right here. Well, you mean that's you? Dancing with that girl? Oh, sure. Something wrong? No, just tell me something. Who is she? Do you know where she's from? Uh, yeah, yeah, Texas. She came here for a week to visit a brother who's in a 61st Squadron. Oh, then she should still be here. I think so. She said she's staying at the guest house. Hey, how come all this is dragnet? I'll tell you later. Will you do something for me? Sure. Take this picture, go over to the guest house and see if they know where she is. She's probably there. If she is, bring her back here right away. Shorty, hey, this is Riley. Right away. Right away. What for? That girl. She's here. Oh, bring them along. You can go over later. Well, I don't know. What's on your way, isn't it? Come on. Do you want to meet this girl or don't you? Yeah, sure. Okay, Sarge. I'll be there. Well, hurry it up. I'll be on the balcony. Keep it an eye on her. Over here, Shorty. Where is she? In the library. You go on in. I'll hold your new camera in place. Okay. Here you are. I hoisted the big camera box under the balcony railing where I was standing and waited while Shorty went into the library. I didn't have to wait long. In a few minutes he came back out. How'd you make out? Okay. Did you make a date with her? Yeah, for next week. Next week? I thought she was only here for the week. She was, but she got a job as a secretary at basehead courts. Well, good. So she'll be around for a while. Where are you going to take her? To the movie? Movie. No, of course not. I'm going to the photo studio in town. Photo studio? What for? To model for me. Model? Sure. With that auburn hair, green eyes, milk white complexion. She's a perfect color shot for me to work out some color experiments I have in mind. Perfect. I suppose what Shorty said must have stunned me. All this time I thought he was interested in the girl for her own sake. And now to find out that he only wanted her to model. Boy, it threw me. I heard something that you only see in corny beam movies. I clapped my hand to my forehead, closed my eyes and groaned. But an instant later, I heard something that made me realize that I clapped the wrong hand to my head. The hand that was holding Shorty's camera. I didn't have to look to know what happened. The camera and plates were lying in a thousand pieces on the dance floor below the balcony. All of Shorty's hours of work, every day before, destroyed. Well, you can imagine how I felt. There'd been a hole around, I'd have crawled into it. I stood there waiting, expecting him to blow his top at me, but nothing happened. Well, finally I turned around, and what I saw amazed me for it. He was just leaning back in his chair, staring at the ceiling with a smile and a dreamy expression on his face. Shorty, I'm sorry. Don't worry about it. I can fix up another one. You know, Sarge, on second thought, you're right. She is a knockout. She's a dream, Sarge. Yeah, she sure is a dream. Shorty Hawkins lost a camera, but he found himself a wife. For they fell in love and later got married. He's now working on a hush-hush project for the Air Force Experimental Laboratory. I've got a new assistant photographer. And you know something? I think I'm going to have to straighten him out, too. Since his is a different problem, I haven't got to work out yet, but I'll thank you something. Yes, sir. I'll thank you something. Thank you, sir. The Air Force is looking at your future as a leader in Air Force Blue, doing your job throughout the world wherever the Air Force is stationed. Using your know-how as a specialist to keep America's planes in the air. Make your country's future your future. See your local Air Force recruiter today. This has been another program on Proudly We Hail, presented transcribed in cooperation with this station. Proudly We Hail is produced Center in New York for the United States Air Force Recruiting Service. This is Mark Hamilton speaking, inviting you to tune in this same station next week for another interesting story on proudly we hail.