When talking to one of my Aunts this past week, she asked, “Am I missing your weekend emails? I haven’t seen them for a few weeks.” I explained the reasons to her about why I’ve been absent, and I will share them with you as well. The first was the news of the 13 service men and women who were killed in Afghanistan. The Navy Corpsman, Max Soviak, was a young man from Berlin Heights, Ohio, literally minutes from my house. Frankly, I was not in a good place to write. Then I was working at the Cleveland Airshow for the entire Labor Day weekend. Finally, I was at the airbase all last weekend, again with no time to sit and write. My Aunt then asked whether I planned to write this weekend and about what if I did. I told her, “Yes, I’m writing about the Air Force birthday”. She simply replied, “Oh, that makes sense.”
The Air Force officially became its own, independent, military branch on September 18, 1947. As it celebrates its 74th birthday it occurred to me that I have been a member of the Air Force (either Active or Reserve) for 24 of those 74 years. I remember as a kid hearing the lyrics from Pink Floyd’s Learning to Fly: “…can’t keep my mind from the circling skies...” and wondering if that is how Wilbur and Orville Wright felt too. Only one of the brothers, Orville, lived long enough to see the “birthday” of the US Air Force.
Here is a good overview of the Air Force and its history: https://militaryconnection.
I’m also including a clip of the Air Force song. What I especially like about this video is it includes all four verses of the song that are seldom heard. Yes, there are four verses just like there are four verses of the Star-Spangled Banner. (My brief attendance at a small school in Colorado Springs introduced me to all four verses of both the Air Force song as well as the Star-Spangled Banner.)
Finally, if you’re like me and once you see a lyric you get the song stuck in your head, here is the original video of Pink Floyd’s Learning to Fly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Please remember that we are “here” and available for you as well. If you have any questions or concerns, financial or otherwise, please do not hesitate to call or email. If you have friends, family, or neighbors you feel would benefit from a conversation with me, I’m more than happy to have a call or jump on a Zoom meeting with them.
As always, I hope that you are doing well, and staying safe & healthy!