Go Devil Dogs!!!
Delta 21
Posted on 05/08/2002 3:01:00 AM PDT by Snow Bunny
Your wonderful post brings to mind my visit to the USAF Museum at Wright Patterson in Dayton. I took my nieces & nephews who, of course, enjoyed the aircraft and all of the displays but explaining the nose art to the curious 8 and 9 year olds was the most challenging part of the trip.
Thanks for your interesting posts, Snow Bunny !
Semper Fi!
Go Devil Dogs!!!
Delta 21
I hope it shows up here!
Excellent Thread!
SB, thanks for the eye candy...reminds us red-blooded Americans what we're fightin' for...
You lovely ladies have a great day now....
You bet!
And you sure look especially dazzling this morning too! :O)
If I'm not mistaken, I thought that nose art had been banned for quite some time. I'm not sure whan that policy was created, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were at the time that we had a gutless wonder draft dodging SOB staining the carpets in the Oval Office.
Thanks for keeping up your great spirit, Snow Bunny!
SEMPER FI!
Aircraft nose art with the words "Let's roll!" -- America's two-word marching order in the fight against terrorism will be displayed on various aircraft throughout the Air Force as a way of recognizing the heroes and victims of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.
The words were made famous by Todd Beamer, a passenger on Flight 93. Beamer, a 32-year-old businessman, Sunday school teacher, husband, father and hero, led other passengers in fighting terrorists for control of Flight 93 before it crashed into a field in western Pennsylvania. He was overheard on a cellular phone reciting the Lord's Prayer and saying "Let's roll!" as passengers charged the terrorists.
'Let's roll!' has served as a rallying cry for this nation as we go forward in our war on terrorism," said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen.John P. Jumper. "We are proud to display this new nose art on our aircraft."
The passengers of Flight 93 won one of the first victories in the fight against terrorism. There has been much speculation about the terrorists' intentions for Flight 93, but it is widely believed that either the White House or the U.S. Capitol building was the intended target.
The nose art design depicts an eagle soaring in front of the U.S. flag, with the words "Spirit of 9-11" on the top and "Let's roll!" on the bottom. The design was created by Senior Airman Duane White, a journeyman from Air Combat Command's multimedia center at Langley Air Force Base, Va.
The Thunderbirds and other Air Force demonstration teams will apply this nose art on all aircraft, while major commands and wings will be authorized to apply the nose art to one aircraft of their choice.
For thousands of years, warriors, such as the Vikings, Zulus, Native Americans, samurai and many others, have followed a tradition of decorating their instruments of war. These instruments could include the warriors or their weapons. The Air Force has used nose art throughout much of its history, and for a variety of reasons.
The "Let's roll!" nose art is being used to continue the remembrance of the events of Sept. 11, spur on the nation's current patriotic spirit and pay tribute to the heroes and victims in the war against terrorism.
The art started to appear on Air Force aircraft around Jan. 15.
Have a GREAT day!!!!!
GENE TOWNSEND joined the 32nd Bomb Squadron at Geiger Field in Spokane, Washington, shortly after the 301st Bomb Group was formed in February 1942. He had just completed training in engineering at the Boeing B-17 plant in Seattle prior to his assignment.
GENE HAD DONE art work before entering the service; so once we were all at our base in Chelveston, England, in September of '42, it fell to him to decorate the 32nd's planes. The first plane painted was "The Bad Penny." When asked why such a name, the whole crew replied "A bad penny always returns." (Sadly, this was not to be, however.) This was the beginning of nose art for the 32nd, and by the war's end, Sgt. Townsend had painted over 40 planes, with such names as "Hun Pecker," "Sleepy Time Gal," "Lead Foot," and "The Goon." The squadron moved to North Africa with the 12th Air Corps, and eventually to Italy with the 15th. During these campaigns there were many times that he did his work under adverse conditions and with very limited materials.
AIRCRAFT NOSE ART provided a way for both the air crews and ground personnel to personalize their "baby"; to make it different from other planes in the squadron, or anywhere else. It was all up to the talent and imagination of the men who flew and maintained the planes. Few 32nd Bomb Squadron crew members or ground personnel would know a plane as "42-1398" or "44-6180," but they all knew and talked about "Amazin' Mazie" and "Slick Chick." And nose-art inspiration came from almost everywhere: wives, girl friends, cartoons, movie stars, and even some from crew chiefs. It was a time when almost anything was allowed to be painted on a plane, and this kind of expression was seen as a way to boost morale and the squadron's efficiency.
FROM ANDY ROONEY, of today's "60 Minutes," there's a wonderful quote in an August 1943 issue of Stars and Stripes about this very special art form: "Grim-faced Luftwaffe pilots, proud of the guts that take them within the suicide circle of a fortress formation, determined to do or die for the Fatherland, must wonder what the hell kind of air force they are up against. They come diving in, teeth clenched, hell bent for Hitler and along with a hail of lead are greeted by the stupid grin of some absurd comic-book character, or the nude form of a pretty girl painted on the nose of the bomber they are attacking...." The art was "something else," and Andy Rooney was Andy Rooney even then.
TODAY GENE TOWNSEND and his wife, Pat, make their home on the St. Croix River, across from Canada, in Calais, Maine, and spend their winters in Saint Augustine, Florida. Although retired, Gene still enjoys painting and also looking back these fifty years and more and reminiscing with his buddies about their experiences and travels in WWII.
Courtesy of www.i81virginia.com/32nd/32ndart.html
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
