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USAF PILOT CLASS 61-F
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WHERE WERE YOU 50 YEARS AGO? (March 17, 1961) |
Hint: These three pieces of machinery were in your recent history
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I usually try to use pictures of aircraft in flight, but since time has grounded us all by now (Correction: Most of us, although I’m pretty sure that none of us earn our living in the air nowadays.), I thought these museum pieces in the same habitat in which we reside would be appropriate. Congratulations to all of us who are still around to celebrate this auspicious anniversary, and in honor of our classmates who have preceded us into that westernmost region a rereading of this poem by our classmate Mikey may be appropriate.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, CLASSMATES! |
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You Tube Videos There were various incentives that the Air Force used (and still does) to recruit pilots. One, of course, was the television commercial. For one from the 1950’s promoting the Aviation Cadet Program, of which this class was one of the last, see this You Tube Video. 61-F Pilot Training Videos (July 6th, 2011) After the commercial above had done its work and enticed us into the program, the videos below, converted from the original 8 mm film and posted on You Tube by our classmate Don Dugas, give a good summation of our progress through the course. This video, converted from an 8mm movie, was shot during Cadet Pre-Flight at Lackland. This one was shot during Primary. This one was shot shortly before graduation during formation flying. It’s worth remembering that about 75% of our classmates shown in the first video had been eliminated by the last one. Many thanks to Don for posting these videos for our enjoyment! |
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On December 7, 1959 (A Day Which Will Live In Air Infamy) a group of 400-odd
19-21 year old kids (along with a few grizzled old prior service veterans of
about 25-26) reported for Aviation Cadet Pre-Flight Training at Lackland AFB,
Texas. After three months of training conducted by disciples of the Marquis
de Sade approximately 75% of them managed to complete that initial portion of
the course. They were joined at their Primary Pilot Training bases by a
number of commissioned officers fresh out of ROTC, the various service
academies, and navigators who had convinced the military authorities that
they should be pilots after all. After another year of training approximately
25% of the students who had enrolled received their silver wings and, in the
cases of the Cadets, their commissions as Second Lieutenants. March 17, 2011
marked the 50th anniversary of that graduation ceremony, an event that
will never be forgotten by any of the graduates. |
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Your visit to this site will be incomplete without reading these four poems. The first was written by a young American serving with the Royal Air Force during WWII shortly before he lost his life, the second by a young WWII era pilot who I’m pleased to say is still with us, the third one was penned by our own inimitable Mike Larkin and the fourth by 61-E graduate and proprietor of the Aviation Cadet Museum, Errol Severe. |