To the Editor:

The first Boeing B-17 flew in August 1935. Bristling with machine guns for its defense, a reporter at the rollout excitedly dubbed it a Flying Fortress, and the name stuck. This being its 75th anniversary year, Boeing will gather all the B-17s still flying for a celebration at Seattle.

My love for this airplane was kindled in 1939 when I was nine years old and it was only four, but already the pride of our Army Air Corps. Someone gave me a model B-17 and I liked to hold it out the window of the car and see the four propellers spin in the wind.

When I was 13 I wanted to fly a real B-17 and help destroy Hitlers war machine. At 16 I made my first solo flight as pilot, and realized I might prefer to fly a fighter plane. But as my relatives returned from the war and I learned more about combat, I became thankful that I was too young to participate in that war when it came.

I am also thankful that we were able to build enough B-17s and other weapons to end Hitlers attempt to rule the world. The B-17 and its big brother, the B-29, were two reasons we did not have to learn to speak German or Japanese unless we wanted to. Would you join me in a salute to a great airplane and the crews who flew them to preserve our liberty?

Garland Goodwin