Looking for "High Flight?"

[AlecWest]

Long ago, before we had a 24-hour smorgasbord of informercials and programming, regular TV stations (in the US) "signed on" in the morning and "signed off" at night. Sign-ons varied but many stations opened with a film rendering of the Star Spangled Banner. Some signed off with the Star Spangled Banner, too. But a lot of stations signed off with an Air Force film rendering of "High Flight," a WWII poem by John Gillespie McGee, Jr.

The Air Force actually made 3 versions of the ephemeral film - one using an F104 Starfighter, one using a T38 Talon, and one using an F15 Eagle. And, they must have made a lot of money selling them to TV stations back them. But, now that we have 24-hour TV, these ephemeral films have been lost to posterity ...

... or have they (grin)?

http://otrcorner.net/hf1.ram (352x240 RealVideo, featuring the F104)

http://otrcorner.net/hf2.ram (352x240 RealVideo, featuring the T38)

http://otrcorner.net/hf3.ram (352x240 RealVideo, featuring the F15)

The first one is the one I remember best ... and I can't actually recall ever seeing the other two until recently. When I watched the 2nd video, I had to do a double-take. If you watch it, note the name of the pilot (shown on his helmet). The pilot has an eerie resemblance to another person with the same name (Scott Peterson) who was involved in the gruesome murder of his wife, Laci, and their unborn child. Doubt if it's the same person, though (hmm). The first 2 films follow the same theme. But the 3rd version looks more like an Air Force recruiting video - though narration of the poem is done by the veteran actor, William Conrad.

P.S. For old farts like me who would like collectable copies of this in MPEG2 format, and since they're so short, I've put files up in a special directory - along with an MP3 rendering of Orson Welles reading the poem during a snippet from a 1946 "Radio Reader's Digest" show:

http://otrcorner.net/HighFlight

[thecoalman]

Doubt if it's the same person, though (hmm).

Maybe his Dad, he would have been a kid when that was made if he was even born yet.

[AlecWest]

Doubt if it's the same person, though (hmm).

Maybe his Dad, he would have been a kid when that was made if he was even born yet.

I changed the topic title so it might be more descriptive than "for old farts only". Amazing story behind that little poem.

Back in the 1960s/70s, a lot of young US males fled to Canada because they were unwilling to fight in the Vietnam war. But 25-30 years earlier, a lot of young US males fled to Canada because the US government was unwilling to enter WWII and help the British (until 12/7/1941). When they got to Canada, these US citizens joined the Canadian Air Force to help in the war effort. John Gillespie McGee, Jr., the person who wrote the poem "High Flight" was one of them. The poem was written in the Fall of 1941 ... and McGee died in aerial combat on 12/11/1941, 4 days after the US entered the war.

[dnix71]

Thanks, I'm getting to be old, too.

That poem is quoted every time NASA f**ks up and loses a shuttle.

The pilots name may be a composite (and inside joke).
Scott AFB is home to the USAF Air Mobility Command. and Peterson AFB is home of the Air Force Space Command.