A real-life story better than the movies: Happy Birthday, U.S. Air Force

The recent successes of movies and TV shows like “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Devotion,” and “Masters of the Air” prove that Americans love high-octane flicks about red-blooded men who don sleek Ray-Ban aviators and perform mind-boggling aerial maneuvers. The U.S. Air Force (to be clear, movies such as “Top Gun” are often set in the Navy), the world’s unrivaled force in aviation, stands out as a popular cultural iconic — arguably the flashiest, most rip-roaring branch in the military.

Or so it seems.

Contrary to the blockbuster rendering of what it means to hop in a cockpit and take to the skies, true aerial service isn’t about putting on a show. The real-life men and women who bravely serve in the Air Force are heroes, but not in the same sense as superstars like Tom Cruise. They aren’t all cocky flyboys with impossibly good looks. They certainly aren’t actors. Tom Cruise earned a staggering $100 million to pose in front of cameras for “Maverick,” far less than the average airman will make over his entire career. But that’s not what it’s about for the real heroes. It’s not about the fame or the glory or the money. It’s about serving their country. It’s about protecting America. 

It’s a sad reality that here in America, we honor our entertainers — movie stars, athletes, singers — more than we repay the heroes who risk their lives for our safety. For example, an estimated 78,000 U.S. airmen were killed in World War II, both in combat losses and accidents. Name one of them. Name one of the 78,000 Americans who died to defend our liberty and flag. Most Americans can’t. It seems we know more about fictional Marvel comic characters than we do about our hero-ancestors.

Beginning today, the U.S. Air Force’s 77th birthday, that must change.

I encourage you to study the lives of men like George Everette “Bud” Day, a legendary pilot who defiantly sang the Star-Spangled Banner in the faces of his cruel Viet Cong captors.

“[T]o have known [Bud] in prison,” his cellmate, future senator and presidential candidate John McCain, recounted, “confronting our enemies day-in and day-out; never, ever yielding - defying men who had the power of life and death over us; to witness him sing the national anthem in response to having a rifle pointed at his face — well, that was something to behold. Unforgettable. No one had more guts than Bud or greater determination to do his duty and then some — to keep faith with his country and his comrades whatever the cost.”

Study William L. “Billy” Mitchell, the man who relentlessly advocated for the creation of a U.S. aerial fighting force before the Second World War and later commanded 1,481 American and Allied airplanes at the Battle of St. Mihiel.

“The American fliers made themselves very disagreeable,” gawked German Commander Max von Gallwitz at Mitchell’s dazzling assemblage. “I have experienced a good many things in the five years of war and have not been poor in successes, but I must count the [Battle of St. Mihiel] among my few black days.”

The list goes on and on. Acquaint yourself with Robin Olds, Daniel “Chappie” James Jr., and Charles McGee — all real-life men who paid real-life prices to keep this country free. Familiarize yourself with their faces and names, and next time someone introduces a fictional movie about the Air Force starring deep-pocketed Hollywood actors, you can reply, “Have you heard the true story about….?”

Their stories remind us that real American history is still so much better, so much more inspiring than anything the entertainment industry can conjure up. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. airmen have taken to the skies, not because they received movie deals or wanted to stand in the spotlight, but because their country needed them.

Now, that’s worth celebrating.