Chapter One - "Dear Mr. McCawley..."
October 29 1937
The Tennessee autumn was a thing of beauty, especially out in the countryside where Danny and Rafe lived. The fields were strewn with red-gold leaves, the scent of the wind lingered in the air, and the sky was the blue of a robin's egg. If they looked, they could sometimes spot flocks of migratory birds, heading out to warmer lands. But for these two boys - now men - home was Tennessee, and Tennessee was where they belonged.
Danny had been idling about. Rafe had promised to take his younger siblings out to town, and had asked Danny along, but Danny had declined the invitation. He preferred to stay home alone on quiet, breezy days like this, sit in the field, and watch the leaves fall. It was approaching sunset. He had planned to watch the sky as it slowly shifted from blue, to shades of orange, red and pink.
But his daydreaming was halted by a shout from the direction of Rafe's house. "Danny!"
Danny knew that voice only too well. He had after all grown up with its owner. He smiled to himself. Without turning, he shouted back. "Rafe, I'm here at the field!"
He waited. Before long, footsteps came up from behind him, and a man sat down next to him. He was tall, lean, and muscular. His ruggedly handsome face had already caught the attention of many young girls in their neighbourhood.
Rafe's eyes were glowing with a joy Danny had only seen once before, when he had first flown by himself. But now the same spark had returned. So had an infectiously wide grin. There was something in his hand.
Danny nodded towards it. "What's that?"
Rafe didn't say a thing. He just smiled even wider and held up two envelopes, so that Danny could clearly see the insignia on them.
The unmistakeable logo of the United States Army Air Corps winked at Danny through the waning light.
"Oh God," Danny whispered. He breathed deeply. For a long time he had dreamed of this moment, when he would finally be informed of his application results. But they had taken such a long time to reply that Danny had practically given up hope. And now...here was Rafe, showing him two letters from the Army Air Corps, addressed to himself and Danny. It was too good to be true. He reached out quickly and took them from Rafe, as if afraid that they would disintegrate into dreams if he left them too long.
Rafe looked excited. It was to be expected, after all. "Read mine first, Danny!" he said, with all the spirit of a restless child.
Danny smiled. Even though he was dying to know his own results, he couldn't refuse Rafe when he was like this. "Okay, Rafe...hang on..." His fingers trembled slightly as he broke the seal on the envelope. Breathlessly, he took out a folded piece of paper from inside, and started reading out loud.
"Dear Mr. McCawley,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted as a cadet into the United States Army Air Corps.
Please report on November 30 1937 for boardinghouse room allocation. Cadet training begins on December 5 1937. Enclosed please find a list of items you should bring.
Once again, congratulations on your admission to the USAAC. We hope you find being in the Air Corps an enriching and enjoyable experience.
Yours truly,
Jake Hargrove
Secretary
Board of Directors
United States Army Air Corps"
Danny looked up. "Do you know what this means, Rafe?"
Rafe smiled solemnly. "It means I got in."
He jumped up suddenly, hugged Danny, and started running madly across the field, whooping for joy. "I got in! I'm gonna be a pilot!" he cried.
"Atta boy, Rafe!" Danny shouted out. He looked down, smiling from the excitement. There was still one unopened envelope sitting in his lap - the one addressed to Mr. Daniel James Walker. He'd almost forgotten about it.
This time he ripped the envelope open hastily. There was no time for getting keyed up again. He scanned it quickly. Then he let the letter drop from his hand as he jumped up to meet Rafe, who was running back to him.
"Did you get in, Danny?" he asked, still glowing with happiness.
Danny tried to keep calm, but he couldn't hold it in. "I got in, Rafe!" he cried. "I'm gonna be a pilot too!"
All RIGHT!" Rafe shouted. He reached out for a high-five, and Danny returned it. "Land of the Free...
"...Home of the Brave!" said Danny, his eyes twinkling.
***
November 25 1937
They were leaving tomorrow.
Rafe sat on his bed cross-legged, and rummaged around in his duffel bag one last time, murmuring to himself as he did so. "Shirts...check...pants...check...underwear...check...toothbrush..."
He reached out and tossed it in. "Check..."
He zipped up his bag and pushed it to one side so that he could stretch out on the bed. He stared at the ceiling. It was dotted with little painted pictures of planes. When he was young he had stolen some paint from his shed, climbed on some chairs, and painstakingly decorated his ceiling, which was fortunately quite low. When his father had found out he'd been mad at first, but later calmed down and just laughed at him. Now that Rafe was older, he could see the humour in it too.
We're leaving, he thought. We're gonna be pilots. We're really going.
Dreams and aspirations filled his mind. Rafe was not one for "what ifs". All he could think about was how he and Danny would be together in the Army Air Corps...be the best at everything...top the class, make friends, and most importantly, get to fly all day long.
The door opened, and a small blonde head peeked in. It was Rafe's younger sister, Ella. She was only ten years old. Rafe hated leaving his family, but flying was the most important thing in his life. He lived for it. The choice was clear, but it didn't make the parting any easier to take.
He sighed. "Come in, Ellie."
Ella came in, dressed in her nightgown, and sat on the floor. "Are you comin' back?" she asked tentatively.
Rafe shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe. But it'll be a long time. I'll write you, I promise."
Ella's worried look disappeared momentarily, to be replaced with a look of disbelief. "You? Write?"
Rafe laughed. "Okay, I'll get Danny to write. Whatever. You'll hear from me."
"Are you scared?"
"Me, your big brother, scared?" Rafe shook his head firmly. "No way."
"What if you flunk out?" Ella asked bluntly.
"No. As long as I've got Danny, nothing will happen to us. I'm not going there to read, Ellie, I'm going there to do my thing. And that's fly. I'm gonna go there and fly my heart out."
Ella nodded in understanding. She got up to leave. "Good luck," she said softly.
Rafe just smiled.
***
Author's Note: First of all I must thank Jean Griffin for the idea to write about Rafe and Danny's early years in the Army Air Corps. It was a marvellous idea. Thank you! There will be more chapters to this, but I'm waiting for your responses. As always, many thanks for reading, and please review. Sorry for any inaccuracies - if there are, please report them!