Happy 70th(ish) birthday to the United States Air Force!
By USAF tradition, and in fact recognized federal regulation, all veterans of these services are considered veterans of the United States Air Force (the Army sometimes disputes this, sometimes does not... there are days, and men they like to claim... the sexy stuff... the rest we "zoomies" can take).
As such, we are much shorter on tradition than the other services... and we have by far the worst uniforms, and the worst songs...
Most people are at least loosely familiar with the first verse of the Air Force Song...
"Off we go, into the wild blue yonder,... and I'll be honest, I... like, I think most Air Force vets... don't like that first verse. It plays into all the worst stereotypes about the Air Force... Nothing but zoomies, glory hounds etc...
Climbing high, into the sun
Here they come, zooming to meet our thunder,
At'em boys, giv'em the gun!
Down we dive, spouting our flame from under
Off with one helluva roar!
We live in fame or go down in flame. Hey!
Nothing can stop the U.S. Air Force!"
... And sadly, the third verse... sort of... isn't much better either. (though it is often left out of most performances, reserved for internal Air Force functions, where the "toast to the host", is an official acknowledgement to the hosting unit commander), and the final verse is just generic closing platitudes...
Certainly the Air Force Song doesn't have the majesty or grace of the Marine Corps song... Which is even officially titled a bloody HYMN, and speaks of Marines guarding heaven itself...
... because of course it is... and does... because... Marines...
But the second verse is different... Most people have probably never even heard it, or noticed it if they did...
..."Minds of men fashioned a crate of thunder,...which is a damn shame, because honestly... though simple.. it's actually quite profound.
Sent it high into the blue!
Hands of men blasted the world a-sunder
How they lived God only knew!
Souls of men dreaming of skies to conquer
Gave us wings, ever to soar!
With scouts before And bombers galore,
Nothing can stop the U.S. Air Force!"...
It speaks to the history and traditions of the Air Force all the way back to the pre WW1, Airborne Scouts, Aeronautical section, United States Army Signal Corps...Founded in 1907, just 4 years after the first successful controlled powered flight of an airplane, period.
... "Minds of men, fashioned a crate of thunder... Sent it high, into the blue"...
Further, It acknowledges the incredible danger, and shocking casualties the men of early aviation and air combat experienced...
... "Hands of men blasted the world a-sunder... How they lived God only knew!"...
And to the nobility of man, and his endeavours into the air, and beyond, even into space...
... "Souls of men dreaming of skies to conquer...Gave us wings, ever to soar!"...
The second verse speaks to the entire history of the Air Force, from those first scout flights in what were little more than box kites with motors on them...
...all the way through to the massed bomber raids of 1943 and '44... and those few days in August of 1945 when everything... everything in the entire world... changed, forever...
... and to what appeared to be the main future of the Air Force, on the day of its official creation as a separate service September 18th, 1947 (the original lyrics were written in 1938, but were updated in '47)...
...and it makes me proud to hear it, and to sing it.
