MARCIA LANE
marcia.lane@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 11/12/09
To hear former Sen. George McGovern tell it, a junior high school gym coach was responsible for him becoming a bomber pilot during World War II.
His story, told at the only Veterans Day ceremony in St. Johns County on Wednesday, drew knowing chuckles from veterans in the audience who seemed to enjoy a guy who knows how random life's choices can be.
McGovern explained that as a young teen, part of his hym class drill was to run as fast as possible across the gym floor and then dive over the leather gymnastics pommel horse at the other end and land on a mat.
McGovern could run but couldn't bring himself to go over the horse because he knew "I would break my neck."
His coach finally asked, "What the hell's the matter with you?" and didn't accept McGovern's excuse.
"You're a physical coward," the coach told McGovern, who told Wednesday's audience he "wanted to die" when the coach said that in front of his 60-member class.
"That's why I became a bomber pilot. To show (the coach) he didn't know what he was talking about," McGovern explained.
McGovern, the longtime Democratic senator from South Dakota, is now a self-described "snow bird" in St. Augustine. He flew back Tuesday to be here in time for the ceremonies at St. Augustine Beach.
McGovern got laughs at the ceremonies as he explained why he became an Army flyer rather than a Navy flyer. McGovern was one of 10 young pilots from Dakota Wesleyan University who headed together to Omaha, Neb., to enlist shortly after Pearl Harbor was bombed. There was no Air Force in those days, so the young men were debating which recruiter to go see.
One said he understood the Army recruiter gave out a meal ticket to those who signed with him. It was worth about a dollar. All 10 signed with the Army, especially after one talked of what it must be like to try and land on a flight deck in a driving rain.
"That's the cheapest I ever sold out," McGovern told the crowd.
During WW II, while stationed in Italy, McGovern flew 35 missions over Europe and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross in the Dakota Queen, a bomber named after his wife, Eleanor.
McGovern turned more serious as he saluted, first, veterans and, then, Americans in general.
"We all contribute to this country," McGovern reminded them.
He took the opportunity to address something that has "upset" him - the "rash of condemnations of the federal government."
McGovern listed some of the "great things" the federal government has done, including the Veterans Administration and the millions of veterans helped by them. He spoke of the help they had given a friend of his - retired Sen. Robert Dole, a Republican.
Dole, he noted, was wounded in fighting during World War II, and his injuries required surgery for several years. He often carries a pen in his right hand, to keep people from trying to shake that still-damaged hand, McGovern said.
When another speaker mentioned Dole and McGovern's work to set up an international school food program, the crowd applauded and shouted.
McGovern pointed out other contributions by the federal government, including the Defense Department, the Food and Drug Act, the national forests and the interstate highway system.
"I wanted to take an opportunity to say a word on behalf of Uncle Sam and the U.S. government," McGovern said, drawing heavy applause from the crowd of more than 250.
Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/111209/news_2171089.shtml
© The St. Augustine Record
No comments:
Post a Comment