For me, December 7 is a day to reflect.
For me, December 7 is a day to reflect.
All my life, I've believed airplanes are beautiful. Airplanes represent ingenuity, possibility, and the beauty of humans trying to emulate the magnificence of nature. I love them.
But I also know that airplanes are often designed to kill.
I believe that pilots are people of extraordinary optimism, openness, discipline, and honor.
But I also know that pilots are often called on to kill.
I find it useful, if challenging, to keep these conflicting truths in mind.
A couple years ago, I got to spend a long time sitting alone in the cockpit of one of only two Japanese Mitsubshi A6M Zeros still flying.
(If you're not familiar with this aircraft, the 'Zero' is the airplane that, on this day 81 years ago, became the most famous and infamous airplane in the world. About 11,000 were built, of which two flying examples remain today.)
Sitting in that tiny cockpit, surrounded by metal so thin you could bend it with a finger, was thrilling, terrifying, and humbling all at the same time.
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I sat in the cockpit and, as all pilots do, I identified the instruments and got a sense of where everything was. I said to myself, "Yes, I understand all this."
But then I thought, "Wait. You're nineteen yours old. In the dark of early morning, you climb into this machine from the deck of an ship in the middle of the ocean. You fly off the ship and navigate across 500 miles of open water with no navigation aids. You find a spec of an island. And then you attack it."
I simple cannot conceive of how to reconcile all that in my mind and in my heart.
Courage and horror and everything in between.
All in this tiny metal machine.
As I say, a day to reflect.
Trusted Creative & Senior Design Leader | High-Impact Visual Storyteller & Cross-Functional Collaborator
1 年My father flew A-4's for the Navy, and I was raised with a love and respect for planes and aviation. (I can't tell you how many times I read The Flying Tigers as a teenager!) I've never considered how the Japanese pilots felt in an airplane you could dent the metal with your finger flying out to attack Pearl Harbor. That's what historical artifacts can do - make you think about feelings and consider viewpoints you may not have thought about. I also hold dissonance between admiring the aircraft and abhorring everything else the corporation builds and sells. I used to follow many defense contractors for the planes, but I just can't do it anymore.
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1 年My grandfather was both a WWII veteran and an American Airlines Captain with over 45,000 hours - which legally can’t even be achieved today (and he retired at 60). As he approached retirement, had dozens of oil paintings commissioned of WWII aircraft from both sides by the artist Raymond Waddy. He then spent over 10 years traveling around the world having the surviving aces of these aircraft SIGN the paintings. They are now owned by the Addison Airport north of Dallas. It was a pivotal time in history in that the ability of human beings to destroy each other had exceeded our ability to understand each other for the first time. These planes were used to defend as well as attack and seemed a necessary advantage in the protection of freedom for the Allies. Thanks for a great post, Dan!