www.centercomp.com
www.army.mil
www.brooksart.com
www.stenbergaa.com
history.acusd.edu
www.celebratefreedomfoundation.org
www.burmastar.org.uk
www.wpafb.af.mil
www.mtsu.edu
OH! Historys page through every age Tells of men who accomplish things, But few there are shine a brighter star Than those of whom this bard sings. Ive flown up and down the airways From Hartford to Cooch-Behar And have flown on instruments hours on end With a line on a single star. Up where the oxygens needed; Down where its gusty and rough; When the radio compass is bouncin around And the going is really tough; Ive flown from Natal to Ascension When the scum wasnt drained from the sumps, But its nothin compared to the thrills ya get In a ship flying Over the Hump. Half round the world from home and Nell Living in Bamboo Huts (Bashas they call em), the heat and bugs And the damp almost drive you nuts. To the boys in the 13th Squadron Its like saying your ABCs, Cross the Hump to the Lake and Mt. Tali, Then over to Yunnanyi. We take off from down by Doom Doom, At a place called Sookerating, With twenty-five drums of gasoline To go over the Hump to Kunming. First theres the Fort Hertz Valley And before the Taung Pit, which is green, We cross the Yellow Mali, Then the third, the dark brown Salween. Were getting to eighteen thousand, And the engines are singin a song As the fourth, a red river, slips by below; The Lantsang Kiang, or Mekong. Across the grim Himalayas Theres a million rock peaks, And youre sweatin at twenty thousand If the engine as much as squeaks; For theres no landin up in the mountains, And those Japs are at Sumpra Bum, And those widow-makers crowd on ya Like tenenment homes in a slum. In the best of weather the hazards Twould take a year to tell, But on instruments up in the Soup and ice The going is really hell! Rocky and evil and awful, So youre scared if you have to jump: Crossing the ocean is easy Alongside of flying the Hump!. And what if youre downed in the mountains With thousands of rocky defiles? If the tigers and Cobras dont get you A days work will net you three miles; And what if you get to a river? A raft gets you down to the Japs! And you know that Home or for flying again For the duration (At Least) it is Taps! Did you say that you had met Bushey? Well, in case you didnt know, He went down on his first trip over, A week and a half ago; Looking? Hell, No! Theyre not looking! Combing those rocky shelves? A Hundred Years wouldnt be enough time! Theyll have to Walk Out by themselves. Over the PanShan were still going great; To the South lies the town of Yangpi, And we hit the South end of Lake Tali, And then on to Yunnanyi. Now theres many a cumulonimbus Thats turned a hair gray in my head, And too many times have I trembled When I thought the right Engine went Dead; Cross the Veldt up in Tanganyika Each foot brings A Rockier Bump, But its nothing compared to the Ride you get With the boys flying Over The Hump! Its great to hold the controls On that Giant Man-Made Bird --- Pratt and Whitneys singing the sweetest Concerto youve ever heard ---- For your Heart must be in your flying, And you swell with Instrinsic Pride; (You see, Im a Navigator And I just go along for the ride!). Most of the danger is over, And we feel pretty safe with our load When we Spot that old Ribbon of Freedom Thats know as the Burma Road. Oil for the Lamps of China Was it the Poet said? Oil and gas for American Boys! They need it like Butter needs Bread! We follow the road Cross the Mountains, And our Airspeed jumps as we Wing Through the Valley that leads for the last hundred miles To our destination ---- Kunming! Yes! Ive flown from Natal to Ascension When the scum wasnt drained from the sump, But its nothing compared to the thrill you get In a ship flying Over the Hump! Oh! Historys page through every age Tells of men who accomplished things, But few there are shine a Brighter star Than the boys with the Silver Wings! --2nd Lt. J. D. Broughel |
Good thread and graphics, Sam.