THEY ALSO FLEW: The Enlisted Pilot Legacy 1912-1942 [Paperback]

Lee Arbon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 17, 1998

In 1912, when the United States opened an aviation school at the newly established Fort William McKinley in the Philippines, only one officer volunteered for pilot training. A corporal, recognizing his opportunity, stepped forward, becoming the first enlisted man in the history of United States military aviation to train as a pilot. Over the next thirty years, three thousand enlisted men would follow his lead. These men--mess cooks, mechanics, and civilian pilots among them--enabled the military to bring the number of pilots in its ranks up to combat strength.

They Also Flew traces the history and achievements of enlisted pilots from their earliest days in flight through 1942. Regarded by the military as lacking the education or intelligence to fly, these "sergeant pilots" struggled to earn their wings in a military organization that traditionally reserved this position for commissioned officers. Lee Arbon details the contributions of these men to United States military aviation, recognizing the 17 "aces", the more than 155 men killed in action, and the 11 who were promoted to the rank of general. Presenting the recollections of fellow sergeant pilots as well as the author's own experiences in the cockpit, They Also Flew records the personal sagas of men determined to serve their country in the air.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Military pilots' wings were not always an officers' monopoly. Enlisted men flew before and during WW I. A congressional act of 1926 established a theoretical peacetime quota of enlisted pilots. With national mobilization in 1940, men whose formal educational qualifications fell below those required for commissioning were trained as sergeant pilots. In peace or war, however, enlisted pilots were seen as lacking command authority in too many crucial situations. In 1942 the program was abolished; most of its graduates were commissioned. First-time author Arbon substitutes anecdotes for analysis, describing individual experiences instead of addressing the relationship between technical proficiency and command. He also ignores the contemporary Navy and Marine Corps experience. Despite its shortcomings, this groundbreaking account may spark a comprehensive treatment of its hitherto-forgotten subject. Illustrated.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

A collection of anecdotes in the "I remember when . . . " vein tells the story of enlisted pilots in the Army Air Service, itself searching for a place in the nation's military system. The first pilots were certified in 1912, the last in 1942, when all pilots became commissioned officers. Bound together by a common love for flying, enlisted pilots served also as mechanics, crew chiefs, and line chiefs. World War II combat veteran Arbon includes a bibliography and makes generous use of appendixes, but he assumes readers have some acquaintance with early aircraft and aviation history. Recommended for those who served, plus academic libraries developing comprehensive collections on the subject.
-Charles Abshire, Mt. Hood Community Coll. Lib., Gresham, Ore.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press (February 17, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560988371
• ISBN-13: 978-1560988373
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #525,163 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enlisted pilots' history, May 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: THEY ALSO FLEW: The Enlisted Pilot Legacy 1912-1942 (Paperback)

If you want to know about the history of the "flying sergeants", this is the book you are looking for. This book is "the reference" and as stated in the comments section, it is very popular with the U.S. Air Force, and is currently being given to attendees of the NCO Academy. The book is considered by the USAF as essential to Non-commisioned officer (NCO) Profession-of-Arms(POA) training. Certainly, if you are looking for in-depth history of the Army Air Corps, or the roots of the USAF, this book is a must. Besides all of that, it was fun to read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars U.S.A.F. Enlisted Pilots, September 9, 2009

By 

Harvey A. Lewis "Harvey" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: THEY ALSO FLEW: The Enlisted Pilot Legacy 1912-1942 (Paperback)

I purchased this book because, as a former Air Force pilot (Major, Retired), I know one of the officer pilots who is in the book. He is the Air Force General(Retired) who was my former commander in the Reserves, the only General Officer who was "busted" when he was an enlisted man, for "intemperance". Excellent reading.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Missing history of Air Force pioneers, May 10, 2008

By 

J. Rudy "Major, USAF" (Fairfax, VA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: THEY ALSO FLEW: The Enlisted Pilot Legacy 1912-1942 (Paperback)

Many of us assume that every Air Force pilot has been an officer. "They Also Flew" by Lee Arbon, breaks that misconception by keeping alive the personal histories of the 3007 Sergeant Pilots who served between 1912 and 1942. Lee Arbon is well qualified to write the book, as he was one of the Sergeant Pilots trained in 1942. He was later commissioned during World War II and retired as a Major.

The book begins in 1911, with Corporal Vernon Lee Burge who learned to fly alongside Lt Frank Lahm at the Phillipine Aviation School at Fort McKinley outside Manila. Being pilot and mechanic, the two men naturally spent a lot of time together. Eventually, Lahm offered to teach Burge how to fly. With this simple act of friendship, a new class of aviator was born.

Drawing from original source documents, Arbon created a comprehensive history of the Sergeant Pilot from Vernon Lee Burge in 1912, through George Holmes' retirement in 1957, signifying the end of the United States Air Force enlisted pilot legacy. From France, through the interwar years, and ending with World War II in the southwest Pacific, the personal histories trace the successes and challenges of the Army Air Corps in historical context.

The Appendices range from the Public laws creating the Enlisted Pilot program, to the list of every Sergeant Pilot who served on active duty. These comprehensive documents offer a historical context for the personal histories offered in the book.

This book needs to be in every Airman's library. This book was on the Air Force Chief of Staff reading list in the 1990s.