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This past weekend, my oldest grandson and I were home alone – it was never clear who was “babysitting” who, but we both fared well. Anyway
For dinner on Saturday night, I slaved over takeout fries and hamburgers so we could watch a movie together. Because my grandson, a rising junior at Texas A&M, will be commissioned into the Air Force when he graduates, I suggested we watch “Strategic Air Command,” a 1955 movie made as the U.S. was establishing SAC bases across the country. It was made in peace time between the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
I had seen the movie, which starred Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson, as a kid and remembered the impact it had made at the time on my 9-year-old mind.
As I watched, it was obvious the movie was made, clearly, to gin up feelings of patriotism as well as security, knowing the Air Force, still a relatively new branch of the military was on alert 24/7, as were all SAC bases. Just knowing they stood ready to protect us was reassuring, at least to a nine-year-old, sitting in the darkened theater, watching a Vista Vision movie on a Saturday afternoon.
In the movie, James Stewart plays professional baseball pitcher Dutch Holland, who’s been recalled by the Air Force to help “grow” SAC as a Cold War deterrence.
In real life, Stewart joined the Army Air Corps during WWII, flying B-24 Liberators (heavy bombers). He retired as a Brigadier General in the Air Force Reserve in 1968 and in 1985, he was promoted on the retired list, making him the highest ranking member of the military of anyone ever in the acting profession.
According to military history books, Strategic Air Command was originally established in the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) on 21 March 1946, acquiring part of the personnel and facilities of the Continental Air Forces (CAF), the World War II command providing air defense for the continental United States (CONUS).
At the time, SAC assumed CAF headquarters, located at Bolling Field (later Bolling AFB) in the District of Columbia. After SAC headquarters
(HQ SAC) relocated to nearby Andrews Field (later Andrews AFB), Maryland, as a tenant until assuming control of Andrews Field in October 1946.
SAC initially totaled 37,000 USAAF personnel. In addition to Bolling Field and, seven months later, Andrews Field, SAC also assumed responsibility for Roswell AAF, New Mexico (later renamed Walker AFB), then home of the USAAF's sole nuclear-capable bomb wing, and Smoky Hill AAF, Kansas (later renamed Schilling AFB).
SAC also had seven additional CAF bases transferred on 21 March 1946, which remained in SAC through the 1947, when the U.S. Air Force was established as an independent service.
Those installations included: California’s Castle Air Base, New Mexico’s Cannon Air Force Base, Fort Worth Texas Carswell Air Force Base), Arizona later Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Rapid City AAF, South Dakota (later Ellsworth Air Force Base, MacDill Field, Florida later MacDill Air Force Base and Idaho’s Mountain Home Air Force Base.
On 31 March 1946, Kirtland Field, New Mexico (later Kirtland Air Force Base) was also assigned to SAC.
To quote a few reviews of “Strategic Air Command: “This movie captures a time in America when the military...SAC with its aircraft...ADC (Air Defense Command) with its hundreds of radar sites nationwide...civilians in The Ground Observer Corps...was involved in ‘watching the sky’ in order to help protect and defend from possible attack by our cold war enemies.”
“It (the movie) captures some of the dedication required from the military during the Cold War and celebrates that, a half-century ago, many served and did their duty as the times required. That is the real message of this movie.”
While there are some parts of the movie that are dated – the automobiles, telephones, hand-plotted mission maps and total lack of security of Carswell and other Air Force installations, the cinematography of the individual aircraft and air-borne squadrons is amazing for that time, not to mention breath-taking…and while the overall plot and side story could only be described as over-boiled oatmeal, the propaganda and patriotic value of the film was exciting to see.
We need some of these same heroics today to erase the cynicism and take away the skepticism that came from the past, ridiculous incursions
