Читать книгу Our Father's Generation - F. M. Worden - Страница 7

Chapter 1

He’s the Oldest Son –

Tells His Story First

Tom’s story is dedicated to all the men and women

who flew aircraft in wartime protecting this nation.

He can be a fighter, bomber, transport, fernier,

test pilot or civilian flight instructor.

I was the first born to my Mom and Dad on a cattle ranch that my grandfather owned in the Southwest USA. The year was 1918. My Dad had just come home after the First World War was over. He had been a rifle instructor at Camp Poke, Louisiana. That’s where he met my mother, a French-American girl of nineteen and a beautiful woman she was. She was a joy and wonderful person to know in every way. Dad, so he said, swept her off her feet and she fell in love with him. They got married as soon as he was mustered out of the Army. He brought her home to the ranch. My father had been grandfather’s ranch foreman ever since, I loved them all as much as a boy can love his parents and Grandparents.

I called Grandfather Popie. He was a big man - six feet tall, two hundred thirty pounds. He always stood ramrod straight, a shy but honest and dependable man, and as tough as nails. He homesteaded this ranch in the late 1800’s. He had come from Germany in his teen years. His Papa had always been a saloon keeper. Popie always wanted to be a cowboy and raise cattle, he said he fell in love with the West watching the cowboy silent movies and reading books about the West, he always had a big laugh saying that.

When he heard homesteading was possible, he made his mind up to come west. He had fallen in love with his childhood sweetheart and married her just before coming west. She was a young German-Jewish girl of sixteen, who could hardly speak any English. Her family had come over to this country when she was just a baby. She had lived in a German community in Illinois all her life; she is a beauty even in her advanced age.

My father was born on the ranch. He had never been more than a few miles away from the ranch until he joined the Army in 1916. I’ve always called Grandmother, Michelle, and my mother, Mom.

My brother Frank was born a year after me and Al a few years later. Al was the baby of our family, he was just a little spoiled. Mothers, you know, tend to spoil the last born.

I first became fascinated with air-o-planes when I was 10 or 11 years old. I was sitting on my cow horse during a roundup; I could see the airport down in the valley below. I watched one plane take off and circle above me in a lazy fashion in the cloudless blue sky. It was a two-winged plane and as I watched, it made all kinds of spins, loops and turns that looked to be fun to a kid of my age. I made my mind up right then and there to be an airplane pilot; I said to myself, “If a man can fly, so can I.”

I knew my Uncle Bob was a flyer during the war. I also knew that he kept an airplane at that airport. Uncle Bob was my Mother’s brother. He was a pilot in the war; he married an English girl, my Aunt Helen. He was an architect in the city near our ranch. The man made lots on money and he liked us kids. He and Aunt Helen never had any of their own, he always called me “Tommy Boy.”

I was enchanted just seeing airplanes, I started watching them every chance I got. On Saturdays and Sundays I’d take a horseback ride down to the airport to watch the planes come and go, I loved every minute of it, I was hooked.

On one of these rides to the airport a few years later, a man came over to me and asked, “You like airplanes, boy? I see you here all the time. I bet you want to take a ride in one, huh?”

“Yes, sir, I sure do.”

He told me to tie my horse and come with him. I followed him around and he took me to see all the airplanes that were parked that day. He asked me the big question, “Would you like to go up?”

“Yeah, I sure would!”

He looked me in the eyes and asked, “You won’t be scared, will ya? I don’t want ya throwing up all over the plane.”

“No, sir, “I said. “I can’t wait to see how it feels to be up there.”

He told me his name was Jake Summers, he owned the airport and taught people to fly. He told me. “Come on. I’ll take ya up in my old Jenny.”

I’ll never forget that day as long as I live. It was the most wonderful thing I had ever done. Jake looked back at me and saw I was really enjoying flying, he did a loop and I screamed my approval. I had both arms in the air yelling for more. Jake watched me, smiled and turned that old plane loose, I loved every minute of it.

Back on the ground, as we climbed out of the Cockpits, he said smiling, “Boy, you’re going to make one hell-of-a pilot, when can we start your lessons?”

“I’ve got no money.”

“Well, boy, what do you own of any value?”

“The only thing I own all myself is a steer I raised.”

“Bring him down; I’ll trade for some flying time. I’ll bet you’ll be flying yourself in no time at all.”

I thanked Jake and rode home, I was a happy young fifteen year old kid. It took several weeks to convince my folks to let me fly. I told them. “Uncle Bob has flown for years and no one said it was a bad thing to do.” Thank God for my Uncle Bob.

Mother took the truck and went to town to see her brother. When she returned, she gave me permission to fly. That was a great day for me.

On the next Saturday, I took my prize steer down to the airport and gave it to Jake. Guess what? My Uncle Bob was there that day. He told me if I could learn to fly, his Jenny was at my disposal any time I could afford to buy the gas. What a great deal that would be for me. He also told me I could work in his office all summer if I wanted to, I did.

It was a good summer although I didn’t like the work. I had to work in his office, but I got to fly every weekend. On my sixteenth birthday I soloed, it was the greatest day in my life. I took that old Jenny as high as I figured it was safe. Above the clouds, all by myself, with only the hum of the engine to hear. I was in a world all my own. How peaceful it is to have complete control of an airplane and to be that near heaven. It must be a feeling man has had ever since he began to fly. That day, I did not ever want to come down.

Getting low on gas, I had to. I put her in a bank to the left and down we went. We buzzed the airport forty feet off the ground. I pulled her up and rolled her over on her back, flew past the airport and rolled her over again. I set her down on the ground as easy as a bird landing on a wire.

Uncle Bob, Aunt Helen and my folks with my brothers were there to greet me. All the men at the airport came to congratulate me, too. They all made out as if I had done something a young boy had never done before. I was a big hero for one day. It was a great day for me, I want-a tell ya.

My Uncle Bob was the first to congratulate me. He said, “Tommy boy that was as good as any old timer could do. You’re going to make one hell-of an airman.” No one could have been happier than me that day. To have Uncle Bob praise me made me proud as a peacock. The folks and my brothers all had good things to say to me. I was never more pleased with myself in my whole life, It was a great day for me. I hate repeating myself, but it was a great day in my life. Little did I know flying would be my whole life and everything I got was from my flying including my beautiful wife Allie?

That winter, I worked my rear off to get myself out of high school. In May, I graduated, now I was on my own. The summer of 1935 I spent in Uncle Bob’s office, I was bored to tears, I hated office work. Uncle Bob was one smart guy, he could see I wasn’t cut out for his kind of work. He told me, “I have just purchased a four place new airplane. Tommy boy, I want you to be its pilot. I plan to start a charter business with it as soon as you have a few hours flying it.”

Wow, was I a happy guy of eighteen. Me, a charter pilot? “When do I start?”

“Just as soon as the plane gets here, it should be delivered anytime now.”

Yep, the plane came. On a Sunday afternoon, I took Uncle Bob and Aunt Helen for a two hour ride. Uncle Bob had to take the controls and see what his new plane could do. He looked back at Aunt Helen, told her to hang on and put the plane thru a few paces. That man could fly the pants off a brass monkey. I loved every minute of it. Aunt Helen, before he was finished, looked a little pale and threw up all over the both of us, I think he overdid it a little.

This new plane was a Stinson Reliant. The company had only been making this plane for one year, it could carry four passengers and the pilot, it will fly around one hundred and forty miles an hour. Also, it had a range of four hundred miles. I couldn’t have been more pleased with the whole operation Uncle Bob had planned.

On the ground, we got Aunt Helen sitting in the car, She needed a drink of water. She really looked pale around the gills. I thought to myself, Uncle Bob was going to catch heck when she came around.

I spent the rest of that afternoon cleaning the spit up out-a the plane. The smell was hard to get out, but I finally did with a lot of elbow grease, soap and water.

The whole crew at the airport had to look the plane over. All the guys were impressed with her looks, it made me feel good to be a part of the operation.

Before Uncle Bob left that day, he gave me some advice about flying in general. “Tommy boy,” he said, “Always keep her nose up on the horizon, watch the altimeter and pay attention to the fuel gauge. Never fly when you’re tired, it isn’t worth having an accident. Take some time to get rested.” Several times his advice saved my neck, he also told me to take a hop over to El Paso to get a little cross country experience. I had never been more than twenty or thirty miles from the airport.

I got my brother Frank to go. We flew over the next Saturday and came home Sunday. I followed Highway US 80 all the way, I loved flying this airplane. I even let Frank take the controls a time or two, I thought he might have gotten hooked, he didn’t. He told me he preferred to stay on the ground.

The next week I got my first charter. Doc Hanson, his wife and their two little girls booked to go to San Diego for a two week vacation. The Doc sat next to me, his wife and girls in the back. The plane handled alright, I just had a little trouble getting the feel of all the weight. It took a few hours and I set that bird down like it was a baby buggy at the airport in San Diego. The Doc’s wife had never flown before. When she got out, she leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. She told me, “Tommy, I’ll never be afraid to fly again. You are a great pilot.” She made me feel like I was somebody. The Doc told me to pick them up in two weeks.

I asked a man standing on a stepladder working on a plane’s engine, near the hanger, “Can I tie down my plane for the night?”

“Sure.” He showed me where. I finished tie-n down and returned to where the fellow was working on a plane. I started to ask him questions about the airport. He said he was an airplane mechanic and worked for the owner, a man called {Smiling Jack}.

I was asking questions about the hangar buildings and some of the aircraft, when I saw this gorgeous female dressed in a white shirt, tan boot pants and brown riding boots come thru the big open door. This redheaded beauty stood looking our way. I asked the mechanic who she was. “She’s the boss’s daughter, Allie. You want-a meet her?” I didn’t know what to say. He did for me. He called, “Allie, this boy here wants ta meet ya.”

Even at that distance, I could see she was smiling. As she strolled toward us, I could see this beauty was blue eyed with big dimples in her rosy red cheeks. She had wonderful full kissable lips, I fell head over heels in love with this walking goddess.

As she approached us, she said in a musical voice, “I’m Allie.” She presented her right hand for me to shake.

I took her hand in my right, pulled her close to me. With my left hand on her upper arm, I said, “Am I ever glad to meet you, you’re one good looking young lady.”

I thought that mechanic was gonna fall off his ladder. We both heard him say softly, “This kid is smooth.” Then he said in a loud voice, “This boy is the charter pilot who just flew in, in the Red Stinson over there.” He was pointing at my plane.

She looked at me and said with question in her musical voice, “You’re kind-a young to be a charter pilot.”

I told her, “I been flying for two years and I’m good at it.” I never bragged before in my life, somehow I just had to impress this beautiful girl.

She told me very curtly, “I’m a pilot, too, and I’ve been flying a couple of years.” She grabbed me by the arm and said, “Come on, I want you to meet my daddy.” I told her I was hungry and had to find a place to sleep. She pulled me right along and said, “I’ll see to your needs.” How lucky could a guy be to meet this girl?

We entered the hangar and walked over to an office inside the building. There standing in the door way talking with a couple of men was a handsome man who looked to be forty years old. He had graying temples, reddish brown hair, a firm ruddy face and a big friendly smile. He stood six feet tall maybe two hundred pounds.

Allie broke right into their conversation and said, “Daddy, I want you to meet….” She stopped and asked, “What did you say your name was?”

“Tom.”

“Daddy, I want you to meet Tom, he’s a charter pilot.”

I put out my hand to him. He took it and said, “I’m Smiling Jack. How ya do-n?”

I looked at him, then at Allie and said, “I’m do-n great.”

He got my drift right away. He said, “Easy boy, this is one fine girl.”

“Yes, sir. I can sure see that.”

All this time, Allie was giving me a big beautiful smile. My heart was gone. She told her Daddy, “He’s hungry and needs a place to sleep tonight.”

“Take him to the diner. It’s on me. He can have the cot in the office for tonight.”

“Thank you, sir.”

He said, “Call me Jack, Tom, everybody calls me Jack.”

Allie grabbed me by the arm and said, “Come on, Tom, my cars outside.” She led me outside to a 1934 Ford Roadster; it was yellow with black fenders, what a beauty. She slipped into the driver’s seat. I ran around, opened the door and climbed in beside her. Off we went in a cloud of dust. How could I be so lucky to meet this beautiful girl? And a pilot, too!

With the top down, the wind made her hair swirl around her face, reminding me of pictures of the females I had seen in history books of the Roman Empire. Her looks were outstanding. I couldn’t take my eyes off her, she is one beautiful woman.

In about a mile, we turned into a diner’s parking lot. The diner was an old train car. Inside, everyone gave Allie a big hello. She must have known all the people who were eating there. She had all the men’s attention in that diner, I’ll tell ya. She told me that she, her daddy and all his work men ate here all the time.

We sat at a two-place table by the front window. Facing this beauty, I was captured completely. I hung on her every word. She had the sexiest voice I had ever heard. I was gone, I had fall-n in love with this girl. In high school, I never had time for girls and really didn’t care for them at all. Most were a pain, if you get my drift.

A shapely young blonde came to take our order. This girl had a big friendly smile and I could see she had an interest in me. How could I be so lucky? I could see Allie didn’t take kindly of this blonde’s attention. Allie told her to take our order, “Quit make-n eyes at my boyfriend.” That made my day. The little gal took our orders and took off in a huff, I watched her go and I was smiling at her as she went. She stopped and smiled back at me and I gave her a wave.

Allie made a noise, cleared her throat and said, “I’m still here.”

“Yes, you are,” I said.

She put out both her hands to me across the table and I put mine in hers. She pulled me to her a little and said, “Tom, I hope you and I become an item around here.” Wow! She liked me. She told me as soon as she became a pilot the boys quit asking for dates. “I intimidate them doing something that they don’t.”

I told her I could see how that could be. “All boys like to be manly, if you know what I mean?”

She nodded her head yes. I pulled her as close as I could and proceeded to kiss her lightly on her red lips. Boy-O-boy, she kissed back and we got a big hand from the people in the diner.

I got a big juicy hamburger to eat and a Nehi orange soda to drink. She had some kind of seafood. When we left, I didn’t see the little blonde girl again.

In the car, she asked if I would like to go see a movie. I, of course, said, “Yes.” I wanted to prolong my time with her as long as possible. We went to a movie house and saw the Marx Brothers in {A Day at the Races.} At least I think I saw the movie. We sat in the last row and I want-a tell ya I couldn’t take my eyes off her. How many times I kissed and hugged her I couldn’t tell ya, but it was very much, she was very receptive to my advances.

She drove me back to the airport and showed me where the cot was in the office. Then she left. I want-a tell ya, I didn’t get much sleep that night; Allie was on my mind all night. I finally fell asleep around four a.m.

At 6 a.m., she shook me awake, sat on the edge of the cot and said, “Tom, will you marry me?”

Holy Cow! I blurted out, “I sure will.”

About that time, her daddy came in and she told him she wanted to marry me. He didn’t take that very well. He told both of us, “NO!” Then he said, “If you two are still in a marrying mood a year from now, you got my blessing.” That seemed fair to me.

As I flew back home that day, I vowed to never say a word about Allie to anyone at home. I was the guy who never dated girls; I was truly in love with Allie. Frank and Al would make all kinds of fun about me being in love.

I considered myself the luckiest guy in the world. I could fly and I had just met my dream girl.