THE GIANT STEP

[Music] listen there was a time not long ago one flight was new when pilots wore were their breeches boots silk scarves and leather hats an aura that reached out to touch and grasp and ultimately shape and mould an age there was a time not long ago when men women children perceived the pilot in his plane and through them saw the wonder of a new dimension opening to man flight the freedom of the air the freedom to leave Earth and looking down to see all things as never seen before time motion distance space all changed never again to be the same changed by a handful of young men whose giant shadows still reach out to touch us all [Music] we call at the age of flight of Technology of space indomitable spirits were these early birds truly magnificent hat [Music] HAP Arnold the only Air Force five-star general 1945 there will no longer be any spot on earth and certainly not in America that is safe from attacked by air for our protection we must have an air force second to none for this we need a great aviation industry a great air transport system and a great body of trained personnel but we'll need more than planes and pilots mechanics will need scientists and mathematicians and we'll need to fall inventive genius of the American people with these we can protect the future ourselves and our allies with the weapons of the beauty you know it's five his old kid about ten and the old man was stationed at Patterson field there was a hanger that was distance from the flight line all by itself and I sneaked in that hangar one day and by golly was loaded with World War one airplane just like this Colonel Bruce Arnold a panel son remembers him the man who perceived and helped to shape the future that became today what in your opinion was your dad's greatest contribution to American airpower I think probably yeah well no I think probably vision in a mere 40 years from the first powered flight to the first jet another museum piece now as the 1940s closed Americans facing a whole new age born of the last forty years look back with longing on the past the weapons of today have Arnall said of amusing pieces of tomorrow the weapons of Arnold's time are the museum pieces of today Washington DC July 26 1947 a separate air force created by act of Congress the war was over and the nation smiled again all that had gone before led to something new they called it the fabulous 40s [Music] [Applause] [Music] I think back to everyone on the in aviation felt the need for a separate Air Force general call tui spots I think it's completely changed American life transportation across the continent is a matter of hours instead of days moving people moving Goods and then the militia military side of it no nation can be a first-rate nation since aviation was born without having airpower at a background of the military strength I think the most important is if your contact with fellow fire they were all remarkable man - he spots old now first Air Force chief of staff a separate air arm its first test operation vittles the Berlin Airlift June 1948 the train stopped running to Berlin the new Air Force was one year old our biggest problem was getting enough men maintenance men to do the job General William H Stella commander of the Berlin Airlift task force because everyone was on 12 hours a day and that was seven days a week and this included not only the crews but more the men and many men were on much longer than 12 hours a day I flew the Berlin Airlift it was undoubtedly one of the great demonstrations of the use of air power for peace the men who flew it were indeed a gallant band of men that people who conceived it certainly had great imaginations and soft times those who flew who thought their imaginations were do good flying into Tempelhof winter foggy smoggy day coming right over those buildings and dropping in to Tempelhof with a maximum Plus load of coal for instances and rather hair-raising experience on one day alone April 16th 1949 1398 flights delivered 12,942 of supplies to Berlin in today's Air Force 17 c5 could have replaced the entire fleet of aircraft used in the Berlin area [Music] in the 15 months before operation vittles ended in September 1949 two hundred and seventy five thousand flights brought more than two million tons of food cold clothing and medical supplies into Berlin it was inspiring because it was a use of air power to augment to a diplomacy in a peaceful way we weren't weren't killing anybody you were saving lives and saving them for democracy thinking back I've often felt that we would never have gotten away with it if those 36 b-29s hadn't been sitting on the ground with their nuclear capability and I believe this was the first time that the newly created air force responded to a potential act of war those b-29s represented a new Air Force philosophy deterrence preventing war by being prepared to fight the philosophy put into action by the creation of the Strategic Air Command general Curtis e LeMay peace was his profession should be perfectly apparent to anyone that you can't wait in this modern day and age to where you're attacked and then build to also defend yourself we felt that if you build an adequate defense and kept it well practice and well-oiled that you probably would never have to use it that's the premise if we operated on so when I had the opportunity to rebuild the Strategic Air Command after the war I gathered into the Strategic Air commands and people who knew something about strategic warfare the airplane that made sac an effective force for peace in those days was the b-36 with its intercontinental range Stuart Symington the first secretary of the air force see the b-36 had the range a lot of people don't realize it but the b-36 was laid down about 1941 and it was a plane that could have hit Germany from the United States b-36 were at us at that time too because we used to have a hard time getting them off the ground turned out to be a mighty fine airplane and I think it did a great here look preserve the peace didn't it was like taking a big office building off you know you had no idea at flying speed except you could see it on the gauges and you first took the nose off and it seemed like an interminable time and then the main gear came off your ankle the client was like that and he said just keep flying those instruments which I did but after a while he said okay look out your left wing that looked out there because she could see the wing it was about a block behind you but they're in a line were about 14 of these things it seemed strange now by the end of the forties the b-36 was still new in the Air Force but it was already headed for the museum the x1 many many scientists and we will never go through the sound barrier general Frank Everest remembers how it happened obviously that was immediately Christ by jäger first guy to fly it to the speed of sound well Yeager Court checked me out in the x1 and he had face taking it up to Mach 1 and I was gonna go Fowler to primarily experimental research aircraft like the x1 the first jet fighters evolved the f80 f-84 and f-86s just in time to give us the air superiority we needed in Korea [Music] the x2 was a larger program which advanced the speed regions up to Mach 3 and altitudes up above 100,000 feet the x3 was a very thin wing jet and it later on played a very important role in and f-104 and following airplanes the x3 x4 and x5 gave the Air Force operational effectiveness with new specialized weapon systems the century series f100 f11 f-104 f-105 the versatile f4 and the f-111 the f-15 the oncoming aircraft of the future the XS 92 had been a wind tunnel model which is the forerunner of our f-102 and f-106 airplane people keep saying that it will not fly and it made certain people a little bit upset that they put an engine in it and we flew it many times to prove that the theory of the dáil airplane is it was a good one but I think most the test pilots and even the astronauts today probably approached testing or their space flights with an adventuresome spirit maybe you can liken it to Christopher Columbus or any Explorer or any hunter that's going out to look for a dangerous game a new age of 50s it began in a conventional way with the development of new weapon systems the kc-97 tanker was replaced by the jet kc-135 [Music] the 50s ascared 20 years before in 1929 five aircore pioneers including acre and spots Saturn Farsi - / Los Angeles Airport for over 150 hours 40 minutes and 14 seconds setting a World Endurance record to prove that one plane could refuel another in midair the 1950s the first medium-range jet bomber the b-47 was operational the russians had already set off their first nuclear blast President Truman ordered the Air Force to aid South Korea which had been invaded by communist North Korean forces the dew line was born to defend the North American continent against an air attack the first rocket was launched from Cape Canaveral later called Cape Kennedy the Arnold engineering Development Center was ready to test and evaluate supersonic aircraft and missiles monkeys and mice were launched into space and recovered for the first time the United States exploded the first hydrogen bomb in the Marshall Islands the prototype Y b-52 made its first flight and the intermediate range b-47 soon joined the b-36 in the museum the b-52s still remains now 20 years later still a first line aircraft the b-52 rfb 111 along with sea based missiles in the Navy's nuclear submarine fleet and sacs long-range ICBM a major element in the triad of weapons making up our strategic defense force the b-52 played another role it was used as a launching pad for the x-15 shot into space space beckoned man a new age was about to be born I think most knowing people accept the philosophy of the triad in other words the necessity for having our ICBMs having a sea-based deterrent force and our bombers now every wargaming exercise I've ever seen comes out with the answer that this is our best deterrent posture general Bernie Schriever Air Force retired missile builder former commander Air research and development command there was no question that the ICBM would be coming along once you had the v2 as a matter of fact the Germans had on it on the drawing boards an intercontinental ballistic missile I can recall a speech I made in San Diego California in 19 1957 and which I stated that we had the wherewithal to go into space and a real man in a real way it was strange that I received a wire the next day from the Pentagon which said don't use the word space in any of your speeches in the future well you can imagine what happened after Sputnik [Music] Thor begot Atlas which begat Titan one and two last of the liquid-fueled missiles titan begat minute mare one first of the solid fuel missiles which begat Minuteman two and three [Music] then Minutemen and Titan technologies merged in Titan three liquid and solid fuel Rockets together a million pounds of a media thrust the most powerful air force space booster Apollo 15 an entire Air Force crew takes off for the moon weirdin Erin Scott's why I had mixed emotions I the idea frightened me a little bit although my husband was a test pilot mrs. lerton Scott wife of Air Force astronaut Colonel David Scott and I think their most reassuring thing is everybody's on your side and the only buddy is working for this tremendous success you live with this sort of the sense that yeah there's something extra going on and this is very true a children feeling marry Owen wife of Air Force astronaut Lieutenant Colonel James Irwin it's still hard for him to believe he was there in fact when he was on the surface being so busy in training so long it was almost like another training session and he said he'd have to stop and say Jimmy are really on the moon he says now when he looks at the moon it's no longer an object that's beautiful but he thinks personally about what it what the son must look like over the Headlee amp and I know it's almost a homesickness you can hear his voice and people from the beginning flight imposed a unique relationship on those who share the risk and freedom of the air the small fraternity of men with whom flight began has grown to meet the ever-increasing demands of military flight the thousands of men and women in the Air Force today represent every academic discipline each trade each skill in which the hand the eye the ear the brain of man can be engaged all drawn into the still expanding world of flight together they have helped to make a revolution in American life as broad as deep as significant as the various technological changes flight has brought into our world general Lucius Theus comments on the changes he seen since he enlisted in the Air Corps as an airman in 1941 those days I knew as with every black person in the armed forces that we had segregated units and we had to look forward to assignment within these units only now since that time since we have completely integrated the airforce I know what no longer have to think just in terms of being associated with one unit the Air Force is committed committed to bringing about changes as rapidly as possible and I mean as rapidly as possible the Equal Opportunity is really a standard by which we we live and work in the Air Force the opportunities in the Air Force are virtually unlimited without regard to their race and and I should say also without regard to their sex at one time they thought we thought in order for the black to be accepted in in our culture he had to be treated like white jean home the first airforce woman General of course that's ridiculous they're part of this culture just like the white man is the same conflict is taking place in Confucianism with women today the concern that women in order to be accepted must somehow adopt the mannerisms and techniques of men and I think that's totally wrong there are probably some things that they may do better well I think that what's happening to women in the Air Force is a reflection of what's happening in our culture I think men and women are both changing women are becoming more self-confident less insecure they're finding their way better and finding how that they can do jobs in the Air Force men are finding that they can do it too today we recognize that women are looking for opportunities so that the training they're looking for responsible jobs and they're looking for promotion and they're looking for equal pay and they're finding it in the services but everybody ought to learn to serve this country of ours it's not too much to ask great chance to teach skills a great time in life to take people on up and think out their future and get a chance to see something in the rest of the world and the rest of the people that they've taken out of their own environment understand what the country's about it always startles you you think well they aren't old enough general Nathan twining Air Force chief of staff retired they haven't had the training yet that but I learned through the years that the young fellows come along and do their job better and quicker and hold it longer than the older general a co remembers a couple of weeks ago I was out at Vandenberg Air Force Base saw a missile to launch and I had an opportunity to see a number of the crew and I was very surprised and pleased see what high morale they had I'm sure it flowed from their recognition of the importance of their mission people daring young men and women from every state affluent from the suburbs from the ghetto no matter what race or religion the blue suit has only one meaning you're an airman you belong Air Force men and women all over the world have recognized the importance of mercy missions helping to feed the hungry to care for the ill and injured to clothe and house the homeless and never failing to fulfill their primary mission in one mobile strike exercise after another we plead to all the air force's capability to rapidly move and support our troops [Music] then came Vietnam no more exercise we were operational in a combat environment [Music] [Music] he was fine n rf-4c which is an unarmed reconnaissance plane out of Sudan Thailand Eldora Ford wife of captain David Ford a prisoner in North Vietnam since November 1967 and I first learned of it the typical way to Air Forces men come out to the house so was on a Sunday we just got home to church and I looked out the window saw them coming in and I knew then that he was either dead or missing shot down on his 30th mission over Hanoi remember 1967 s plane shot down just and then on December 23 1969 a peace group came out of Hanoi and he had a letter from David and about two months after that the pilot got a letter out so both men were alive all that time yeah even if we didn't know it I'm sure he's wondering if he's ever going to get out of there you know it's been almost five years now I wrote him a letter two weeks before he was captured and if he did if you did did capture and do please not try to try not to be a hero because he had a family pride a past rich in history rich in accomplishment rich in its contribution to American life [Music] we play the same band there's enough guitars for you when you need throughout the 25 years of its history innovation and advancing technology has achieved a new specialization the major air commands each with their own responsive role Mac strategic airlift sac strategic deterrence TAC tactical air power ATC training a FLC logistics ADC defense a FSC research and development and others specializing in security medical communications higher education Reserve and Air National forces Europe Pacific Alaska and the Canal Zone each in its own collective role has evolved out of this past 25 years and has kept the nuclear peace preventing an all-out war with an effective deterrent [Music] you and me [Music] you and me [Music] the air force has been on the leading edge of technology and it's played a very important innovative role in this country the space of course was a major spinoff the the ICBM program provided the platform to get into space and we're still using a lot of ICBM systems in our space work the future of aeronautics is as promising and important as the future in space new aircraft AWACS airborne warning and control system at fifteen air superiority fighter ax it will offer close air support to our frontline combat troops the b-1 bomber it offers advanced technology greater payload and greatest speed than the larger b-52 these aircraft with the others on the drawing board must meet the challenge of the years ahead the b1 is capable of such performance that the b-52 no matter how you modify it could not do a number to its radar image is very small about the same as a missile it would be very difficult for the enemy to detect by his radar which was which the b-52 on the other hand presents an enormous radar target it can fly at low altitudes but not as low as the b1 can do this is what we need to have in the program now so that come 1981 or 2 we shall have that there the future will be whatever man wants it to be we have the power to make our world the way we want it pretty well and this is true of the future of the Air Force pride in the past faith in the future men and women are still alive who can remember the Wright brothers fist like more can recall the inevitable maturity of military flights in World War two a mere generation ago the United States Air Force was born already a decade of space travel and exploration has passed into history it is no longer a time for only pilots in their planes mechanics commanders comrades waiting on the ground it is a time for men and women trained in disciplines undreamed when flight was born who they are what they do what they can accomplish from this moment on is worth the celebration as the Air Force looks back to the past with pride and forward with faith in the future on this 25th anniversary of discovery where did it begin where will it ever end life isn't measured in moments of breath [Music] in space so vast it ends where no one knows our giant bird seemed that's as distance grows we measure flight in miles and speed and men and quality of craft but mostly men [Applause] [Applause] [Music] there was a time and it will be a time where there are young men and women serving now whose giant shadows will one day reach out to touch all of mankind there will be a time and it will be theirs to take another giant step [Music] [Applause]