Poem from the Mechanics Website

[Guest Gadgeteer]

THE FORGOTTEN MAN

Author Unknown

Through the history of world aviation

Many names have come to the fore,

Great deeds of the past in our memory will last

As they're joined by more and more.

When the first man started his labor

in his quest to conquer the sky

He was a designer, mechanic and pilot,

and he built a machine that would fly.

The pilot was everyone's hero

He was bold, he was brave, he was grand,

As he stood by his battered old biplane

With his goggles in his hand.

But for each of our flying heroes

There were thousands little renown,

And these were the men who worked on the planes

But kept their feet on the ground.

We all know the name of Lindbergh,

And we've read of his flight into fame,

But think, if you can, of his maintenance man,

Can you remember his name?

Now, pilots are highly trained people

And wings are not easily won.

But without the work of the maintenance man

Our pilots would march with a gun.

So when you see the mighty jet aircraft

As they mark their path through the air,

The grease-stained man with the wrench in his hand

Is the man who put them there.