Men of the Sky

Lt. General H.H. Arnold: We are at war. The brutality... the deceit, the savagery, the ruthlessness of our enemies have been made manifest to us from time to time for several months. Your course is clear. We must find them, fight them, destroy them in their paths of destruction. The wings I am about to pin on you will designate you from this day henceforth as men of the sky. Behind you are the best traditions of the Army Air Forces. The finest airplanes that this great industrial nation of ours can produce are available to you for this purpose. Leading you on, like compelling beacons, with their own glorious achievements are heroes of the Army Air Forces who have flown before you. Such men as Lieutenant Frank Luke, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, Major Raoul Lufbery, Colonel Jimmy Doolittle, General Bert Dargue, and many others. We of the Air Forces know - your fellow countrymen know - that many of you will also become heroes of the air. But first, let me give you the cardinal principle that all great airmen have had: Drive onward, regardless of the odds against you. Carry out your mission, in spite of hell and high water.