Page 12 - Aerotech News and Review, December 18, 2020

Tailwheel: The mascot of War Eagle Field

by Bob Alvis Forces Detachments. This Army Pup cadet or Army officer, but woe betide sweet memories of many faces and
special to Aerotech News insisted on drilling with the cadets and the civilian who ventured to get fresh adventures crossed his mind. It’s said
it was said that you never told those with him. that he was laid to rest somewhere
As the saying goes, if you’re per- Cadets that Tailwheel doesn’t under- To his way of thinking, War Eagle around the old parade grounds at War
forming, never follow a child or ani- stand or obey commands. Another Field was a place for men in uniform Eagle Field, so his spirit could harken
mal act for you will surely fail! thing you never asked was whether or and he growled his disapproval every back to the days when an Army base
My apologies to anyone who has not Tailwheel eats with the Cadets or time a civilian walked across the field. was his personal playground and he
ever fallen victim to that, because this flies with them. You know darn well A friendly whistle or call from a cadet could connect with the spirits of all
issue’s story is a yarn of a beloved pet those type of things were addressed by would bring him scampering at once, those that loved this Army Air Field
that sure goes a long way in bringing Army regulations. But of course there but no amount of coaxing could lure Mascot. I bet, if in the still of the night
a smile to one’s face. were those rumors but no outsiders had him to the side of a civilian. For all a civilian walked by his final resting
Lancaster’s War Eagle Field had its any business prying into the comings the years Tailwheel saw those cadets place, we might just hear the growl of
fair share of colorful characters during and goings of an Army Mascot! come and go, he always remained true disapproval whispered from the dark-
its World War II heyday. In the very One thing though was certain and to the uniform. ness, and we would hasten our steps
dangerous business of training young a fact of life. At mess call, Tailwheel Some dogs really do have a charmed so as not to tread on the legacy of one
men to fight a war, those colorful char- took off post-haste for the dining
acters helped to keep the serious a bit instinctively feels there is somewhere room. Those with sharp eyes might life and Tailwheel was certainly one special pooch who saw young men go
less stressful, even just for small mo- a trace of the beloved Scottie, with have noticed a well-behaved and mili- of those dogs. I feel a bit sad to think off to war with his special glow in their
ments, and helped our warriors make possibly a touch of Fox Terrier. The tarily correct mascot, unobtrusively that when the training days at War hearts.
it through the days and nights of train- ears are a dead giveaway, betraying strolling about from friend to friend Eagle Field came to a close, his rock- Until next time, Bob out …
ing. So here’s the special story of one the Russian Wolf Hound in his ances- accepting with dignity such gratuities star status came to an end and he lived
small mascot. try, while the eyes speak eloquently as might be offered. After all, a dog out the rest of his life in Lancaster as Editor’s note: This article was first
Tailwheel was infinitely more than of the English Bull. The hindquarters can’t keep up his regular duties on an a porch dog. I’m sure as he napped, published Sept. 21, 2018.
a mascot. Most any canine could have are mostly plain dog, but the front legs empty stomach! And as for flying, the
held down the job of mascot among a could come only from a long line of sound of an airplane motor was mu-
lot of dog-loving boys, such as the ca- aristocratic Pomeranians. From all sic to Tailwheel’s ears. Moreover, he
dets at War Eagle Field. But a mascot that, you can deduce from this descrip- always he always managed to show
who really loves the Army Air Force tion that Tailwheel was no ordinary up on the job whether the boys were
uniform and has absolutely no time or hound and that hundreds of flyboys flying off the home field, or one of
use for civilians — well, that’s some- could find a little bit of the family dog the two auxiliary fields elsewhere in
thing else entirely! to embrace with his presence. the Valley. How he got there and back
No doubt about it, Tailwheel was Where or when Tailwheel acquired was, again, something rarely discussed
a pedigreed pup. Anyone with half his deep affection for airplanes, and and was pretty much another military
an eye could have seen that. At first particularly those who flew them, we secret.
glance, you recognize the charac- were told was a military secret. He Tailwheel was no panty-waist, they
teristics of a patrician Chow. But on merely showed up one fine day in Lan- said. He could and did take the rough-
closer scrutiny you know he’s at least caster and, without much ado, adopted est sort of treatment and came back for
part German Shepherd. Then too, one the Cadet Corps and the Army Air more. He would take anything from a

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