One of the first things that caught my eye about Jen Martinez's A Collection of Thoughts was a piece she wrote on the Douglas AC-47. Any gal who wrote about those sorts of things is readily worth reading.

At any rate, Miss Martinez has posted something on my favorite strategic bomber:

Ode to the Old B-52

O'Great Bird that flys so high,
And looks so graceful in the sky,
Who did its mission great or small,
Who made SAC's men look so very tall.

She came to this land so far away,
And for eight years she would stay,
For most of these years she would fight,
While Charlie cringed in desperate fright.

The men would call her a hulk of rust,
And look at her in great disgust,
She would set there with no fear,
For she knew she had no peer.

To many she was known as the Old Black BUFF,
All her life she was treated rough,
The men who worked on this bird of prey.
Would never know an eight hour day.

Although they called her many names,
Old B-52 remained the same,
Although not a plane of beauty,
She knew how to do her duty.

For many years, TAC had their show,
Now it was time for SAC to have a go,
So it was in 72,
That we launched the B-52.

She was equal to the task,
And North Vietnam felt her vengeful blast,
Their streets in ruins, their buildings alight,
To the peace tables they went, to make things right.

Now it was in 75,
That Old B-52 would homeward fly,
Her work well done, she had no shame,
The decisions were not her's to blame.

Charlie rose and gave a cheer,
For the Old B-52 was leaving here.
But as you know and I do too,
This is not the end of Old B-52.

For she's always there, just one flight away,
To come again and save the day.

---

Miss Martinez notes that this was written by a guy who was at U Tapao in Thailand, doing maintenance on these monsters. The events he references are, of course, Operation LINEBACKER II, authorized by none other than President Richard Nixon. Me, I've only seen a B-52 in flight once, and it was during the Cold War. I was at a school which is more or less on a USAF low-level training run, and the building I was in started rumbling. I thought I heard engines, so I ran outside and looked up. Suspended in the sky, low and slow, was this thing, instantly recognizable as a Stratofortress. It was shaking the ground and thundering its way under a radar site reportedly up on a mountain in the area. Hear that, Mr. Anderson? It is the sound of the Stratofortress; it is the sound of your freedom. Goodbye, Soviet Union. Yes, By Dawn's Early Light is one of my favorite movies. Too bad it's not on DVD.

Jen's fondness for the Buff (headed for 50 years of service, baby!) is one reason I enjoy reading her site. Go and read this patriotic Patton-loving, fire-breathing, veteran-backing gal's website.

Posted by: Country Pundit at 10:22 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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