Freeman Field, Seymour, Indiana
April 1943
31 Men Pass College Entrance Exams -
Thirty-one men who took the tests for Army Specialized Training
Programs, passed, it was announced by Lt. Robert Camaish,
classification officer.
|
SUSTINEO
ALAS
(I Sustain the Wings)
Those two
Latin words beneath a golden urn in which reposes three plumes
are the literal motto of the Air Force Technical Training
Command. Many an Air Force enlisted man cannot translate
Latin, but his heart translates the meaning:
"I sustain
the wings."
I am the Air
Corps technician who makes it possible for flyers to be heroes
and heroes to be flyers. I drill, and work, and fight.
I work that others might fly and fight. I fight that I
might work to keep them flying. I am the mechanic, the
machinist, the radio man, the armorer, the weather observer,
the gunner, the instrument man. I'm a technician, but I
fight like a commando.
I am one of
those three plumes signifying an unbeatable trio. The
plane, the air crew, the ground crew, each indispensable to
the other two. Without me the plane would be a
motionless machine, the pilot a helpless gladiator.
When I
trained, I chafed at the constant repetition, at routine, but
now I realize I was learning to act on instinct. O
griped at scrubbing and shining and cleaning, but now I
realize neatness means a clean job of every task. An
unbuttoned pocket seemed trivial, but now I know a forgotten
button might be a forgotten cotter key and that forgotten key
might mean a plane destroyed and a crew killed. Because
of strict training I am good, and I know I'm good.
The folks at
home may know how important I am, the public may never see my
name in print. I am the plodding lineman of modern
football that makes long runs possible for All-Americans.
I am the blocker that never caries the ball.
But that
pilot there knows me. He knows when he climbs aboard she
is ready. He knows those motors are perfect, the radio
his ears, the instruments his eyes. And when they come
back there is something in their handshakes no newspaper could
ever describe, no medal could equal. It is the grip of
men whose lives depend on me.
"I sustain
the wings" |
1087's Officers
develop A-1 Guards. 13 week training school for guards and MPs
is in operation.
Cubs, White Sox
will tangle in exhibition game at local park. All receipts go
to recreation fund; states at 2:30 pm, at Seymour's Redland Ball Park.
Post Theater Opens;
to show tops in first run pictures. New feature on alternate nites; shows at 6:30 and 8:30.
A/C H. M. Bryant
first cadet to be married in Freeman's Chapel.
When Better "Hot
Pilots" Are Made - The Link Will Make 'Em
 The Link Trainer simulates
actual flying under all conditions. When a cadet masters the
intricacies of a Link trainer he then can boast of being a "hot
pilot".
The Link trainer is a miniature airplane which contains all the
instruments and controls common to a bomber or pursuit plane. The
Link trainer will do all maneuvers such as spins, rolls, stalls and
level flying, but it will never get you anywhere. It can do
any-thing a P-38 can do in the air, in fact, it will do more, for
you often find yourself a couple of hundred feet underground in a
Link. When this happens in a Link you can get out and walk away,
which is, something you wouldn't be able to do if a P-38 tried
flying 200 feet underground.
Lt. Guild In Charge
Lt. Francis Gullo of White Plains, N. Y., is in charge of the Link
trainer department. Lt. Gullo received his law degree from the law
school of Columbia university in 1938. He practiced law in New York
City up until the time he was inducted into the service. Lt. Gullo
is up from the ranks, having served about a year as an enlisted man.
He received his commission Jan. 20, 1943 at Miami Beach, Fla.
Lt. Gullo is assisted by a highly trained staff of enlisted men.
Because of the importance of their work, Link trainer instructors
are chosen only from the highest caliber of enlisted men. Sgt.
J. J. Callahan is the non-commissioned officer in charge and Sgt.
Robert C. Mouls is head of the maintenance department.
Have Responsibilities
These two men are charged with the duties of keeping all of the Link
Trainers in flying condition. The Link trainer instructors are
S/Sgt. J. F. Bernet, Sgt. G. W. Dodge, Cpls. Alfred Clark,. J. L.
Wolfson, D. C. Niggel, Pfc's W. G. Upperman, Reuben Herzig, H. D.
Greens, Lothrop Hedge, and Pvt. Jan Thomas. Pvt. A. F. Meyer is the
clerk and dispatcher.
Cadets are required to have passed at least 10 to 50 hours of Link
Trainer instruction before they receive their wings. Pilots
have been very emphatic insisting that Link training instruction is
the best life insurance for a flier in the world. The
importance of this instruction fixes a grave responsibility on Link
trainer personnel for an exercise missed or erroneously taught might
mean a pilot's life.
Flight Is Plotted.
The entire operations center around the trainer desk where the
instructor is stationed. He delivers instruction to the
student in the Link trainer. On the plotting table is a flight
log which trails upon a chart all movements of the Link trainer.
Cadets are given a course to fly, then enclosed inside the trainer,
they start blind flying, try ing to reach their destination by
instruments only. This is called "blind flying." This
procedure saves gasoline ,and wear and tear on airplanes and also
gives the instructor definite knowledge of what the student can do
When on his own.
The cadets take this "blind flying" in stretches up to one and one
half hours or longer and gel so they can hit a point on the chart
hundreds of miles away and, brother, take it from me; that's good.
|
A valiant stand
against nearly fifty to one odds on the frozen battle-ground of
Korea was described today by Private First Class Earl Turner; 22, of
Houston, Ky., who suffered severe wounds in the desperate encounter.
Turner, wounded twice in a savage battle around the Chosin Reservoir
last November, is now undergoing treatment at the U. S. Army
Hospital here at Camp Atterbury.
Soldier's Medal To
Be Awarded at 112th Review -
Capt. Robert Cook given decoration for heroic rescue. Frees
civilian lineman from live power line atop Atterbury pole.
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is published independently by the Indiana Military
Org.anization and is in no way connected with the
Department of the Army, the Indiana National Guard, or any other
military or civilian organization. Unless otherwise noted, all
content has been previously published during WW2 and the Korean
War.