Page 10 - Aerotech News and Review, Sept. 21 2018

High Desert Hangar Stories
Tailwheel: The mascot of War Eagle Field
by Bob Alvis
special to Aerotech News
As the saying goes, if you’re per- forming, never follow a child or ani- mal act for you will surely fail!
My apologies to anyone who has ever fallen victim to that, because this issue’s story is a yarn of a beloved pet that sure goes a long way in bringing a smile to one’s face.
Lancaster’s War Eagle Field had its fair share of colorful characters during its World War II heyday. In the very dangerous business of train- ing young men to fight a war, those colorful characters helped to keep the serious a bit less stressful, even just for small moments, and helped our warriors make it through the days and nights of training. So here’s the special story of one small mascot.
Tailwheel was infinitely more than a mascot. Most any canine could have held down the job of mascot among a lot of dog-loving boys, such as the ca- dets at War Eagle Field. But a mascot who really loves the Army Air Force uniform and has absolutely no time or use for civilians — well, that’s some- thing else entirely!
No doubt about it, Tailwheel was a pedigreed pup. Anyone with half an eye could have seen that. At first
Courtesy photograph
this description that Tailwheel was no ordinary hound and that hundreds of flyboys could find a little bit of the family dog to embrace with his pres- ence.
Where or when Tailwheel acquired his deep affection for airplanes, and particularly those who flew them, we were told was a military secret. He merely showed up one fine day in Lancaster and, without much ado, adopted the Cadet Corps and the Army Air Forces Detachments. This Army Pup insisted on drilling with the cadets and it was said that you never told those Cadets that Tail- wheel doesn’t understand or obey commands. Another thing you never asked was whether or not Tailwheel eats with the Cadets or flies with them. You know darn well those type of things were addressed by Army regulations. But of course there were those rumors but no outsiders had any business prying into the comings and goings of an Army Mascot!
One thing though was certain and a fact of life. At mess call, Tailwheel took off post-haste for the dining room. Those with sharp eyes might have noticed a well-behaved and mili- tarily correct mascot, unobtrusively strolling about from friend to friend
See TAILWHEEL, Page 11
Tailwheel
glance, you recognize the characteris- tics of a patrician Chow. But on closer scrutiny you know he’s at least part German Shepherd. Then too, one in- stinctively feels there is somewhere a trace of the beloved Scottie, with possibly a touch of Fox Terrier. The ears are a dead giveaway, betraying the Russian Wolf Hound in his ances- try, while the eyes speak eloquently of the English Bull. The hindquarters are mostly plain dog, but the front legs could come only from a long line of aristocratic Pomeranians. From all that, you can deduce from
Courtesy photograph A cartoon featuring Tailwheel, from a War Eagle Field class book from Class 44-E.
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