- Narrator: Thirty years ago, the men of Pensacola started training American pilots. Today, Pensacola is growing faster than a tropical weed, and offers the most comprehensive U.S. basic air course. The swarm of activity on the ground, the swarm of planes in the air, are visible assurance that the feathers on the wings of the American Navy and the Marine Corps are growing brighter each day.
- John Smith, Farmer's Son: [looking up at 9 planes, in a formation of 3 sets of 3 planes each, flying overhead] One of these days, I'm gonna be up there, Pa.
- Farmer: Takes more than just wishin', don't it, son?
- John Smith, Farmer's Son: Ah, sure - you gotta go after it. The navy's got training bases all over the country.
- Farmer: Yeah, but you're a farmer, not a flyer. You've got no experience.
- John Smith, Farmer's Son: Don't need any. Just need two years of college, and a knack for flying.
- Farmer: Huh; it's easy as all that?
- John Smith, Farmer's Son: Well, no; they put you through a pretty tough exam.
- Farmer: Then what?
- John Smith, Farmer's Son: Then you get a course in basic training. If you've got the stuff and finish the course, you get active duty with the fleet.
- Farmer: That sounds pretty good. You're stuck on it, eh?
- John Smith, Farmer's Son: That's right, Pa.
- Farmer: Then you go right ahead and put in your application.
- John Smith, Farmer's Son: I already have.
- [last lines]
- Narrator: Yes, they get around, these lads - to the far-off Philippines, the mystic Orient, the Hawaiian Islands, to the man-made canal of Panama, and the whispering isles of the South Seas. To the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Caribbean - a mighty defensive arm, on a 24-hour, 365-day watch... That's the United States Navy, and its ships and planes are not manned by automatons, but by the sons of people like you, and the neighbor sitting next to you - and we thought you'd like to know how they're doing, and what they're doing. They're doing alright - so here's to them, every Tom, Dick and Harry of them... their gilt-edged assurance that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness will continue for all time, to do business wherever the free sons of free men rustle their wings to mastery of the space.
- [first lines]
- Narrator: Young America - proud, vigorous, undaunted - is hard at work, and at play. Going forward, in every field of endeavor, in the face of changing world conditions which, a short decade ago, the youth of that generation did not have to face. Uncle Sam must be pretty fond of these nephews of his, that vast army of youngsters who by their respect for the past of America, and their love for the present of America, are ensuring the future of America.