O Canada (Part 2)

- Continued from O Canada (Part 1) -

Driving from Toronto to Trenton, I got a few tantalizing glimpses of Lake Ontario.  Arriving in Trenton, I drove around the area, spotting several WWII vintage buildings.  However, it seems entirely too busy and modern here to do much in the way of filming.

John Magee attended his ITS (Initial Training School) at Trenton.  Much like boot camp in the U.S., Magee had to learn how to be a part of the military.  So much to learn: how to dress, walk, salute, etc.  There is some air training here, but just ground school… no flying, not yet. 

The Canadian Forces 8 Wing is located here, and were certainly very busy while I was visiting.  Lots of flying activity going on.  The National Air Force Museum of Canada (http://airforcemuseum.ca/en/) is here, and that was my next stop.

When I entered the Museum, I was warmly greeted (they did not know who I was).  I was asked if I would like to be shown around.  Certainly I would, thank you!  The very first thing that I was shown was a memorial area.  A granite slab was there, with familiar words on it.  Within two minutes, the guide was pointing to a picture of John Magee getting his Wings, and telling me all about this American who had joined the RCAF!  I let the guide go on for awhile… he was very good, with no factual errors that I could ascertain.  I gave him my High Flight Productions business card, and told him what I was doing there.  I complimented him and the Museum for doing such a great job of keeping the memory of John Magee alive.

National Air Force Museum of Canada, Trenton, Ontario

As you enter the main museum area, a huge Handley Page Halifax bomber dominates the room.  This particular Halifax had been pulled out of a lake in Norway, shipped to Trenton, and has been lovingly restored.  It is absolutely fantastic! 

Outside, there are several aircraft on display.  Bordering the walkways are hundreds of blocks with the names of RCAF pilots on them; some of the blocks had Canadian and RCAF flags planted next to them.  I managed to locate John Magee’s, noting that he was right next to the marker for George “Buzz” Beurling, Canada’s most successful fighter pilot.  I thought that John’s marker was missing something, so I corrected it:

John Magee's marker at the National Air Force Museum of Canada, Trenton, Ontario.

 I was reluctant to leave such a place, but I had to.  Lots of places left to visit.

 

On the way to Ottawa, I visited BCATP airfields at Mountain View, Picton, Kingston, and Gananoque.  The BCATP hangers at Mountain View have been torn down, Kingston has quite a few modifications, and Gananoque has just one hanger (although the hanger there does have a control tower, the only one that I saw on my trip).

 

Picton, though…. my goodness, talk about an embarrassment of riches!  Picton has 43 intact BCATP buildings.  The great people there gave me a tour which included the Officer’s Mess (complete with original dishwashing machine and coffee urn!), gym, movie theater, and a hanger.  The runways are also there, in the original triangle pattern.  Picton is at the top of my list for location filming!

 

I got a whirlwind tour of Picton, so I just took video, no still photos.  I will do screen captures of them one of these days. 

 

So… on to Ottawa, capital of Canada, and the final Canadian stop on this trip.

 

First things first: I visited the Library and Archives Canada.  All told, I must’ve spent close on to eight hours there over three days.  So much information!  It appears that the RCAF keeps everything related to a pilot.  It’s quite amazing.  The results of that research will appear in the book and movie, so stay tuned.

 

Second Ottawa stop: Rockcliffe.  I took a flight in a Cessna 172 to the BCATP airfield at Pendleton… now THIS is the way to do reconnaisance!  By air!  Again, all I took was video, no stills. 

 

It was very nice to have an aerial perspective, and was quite exciting to fly into a genuine WWII BCATP airfield! 

 

Last stop before heading home: Canadian Aviation & Space Museum (http://www.aviation.technomuses.ca/) in Ottawa.  Last but not least!  I loved the way that the aircraft were displayed… not just sitting there, but often displayed in dioramas.   There’s a de Havilland Beaver and a Stinson floatplane sitting at a dock, being loaded for trips to the wilderness, and several other very nice displays.

 

 

 Of course, this museum (like all the rest) had Yales, Harvards, Spitfires and assorted other WWII aircraft.  Plus several other aircraft I had not seen anywhere else, such as a Fairey Swordfish with retractable wings (for carrier operations… who knew that Canada had an aircraft carrier?).

After bidding goodbye to this museum, I pointed the car south and headed home.  A mere 14 hours later, I arrived. 

What an amazing trip.  I met many wonderful people, and all seemed interested in the story of John Gillespie Magee, Jr.  Maybe one of these I’ll be back with a film crew, and we’ll make a movie!  Stay tuned…

 

O Canada (Part 1)

Last week I returned from spending a week in Canada.  This trip was a continuation of my journey in telling the story of John Magee.  I was also going to do a bit of scouting, finding locations where 1940-1941 Canada might be recreated.   With the exception of a short visit to the province of Quebec, the entire trip was in Ontario.

I drove from North Carolina to Buffalo, New York, where I crossed into Canada, the land of liters and kilometers.  Having never visited Niagara Falls, I took the opportunity to see one of the Seven Wonders of the World.  I have to say, it was pretty impressive!  I’m sure that John visited the Falls more than once during his stay in Canada.

Ray visits Niagara Falls

Magee’s first flight in a training aircraft was at #9 EFTS (Elementary Flying Training School), located at St. Catharines, a stone’s throw from Niagara.  Now known as Niagara District Airport, there is little left of the BCATP (British Commonwealth Air Training Program, which trained pilots during WWII) airfield.  I was able to see some of the old photographs of the courses which attended #9 EFTS, but couldn’t spot Magee anywhere. 

One of the classes at #9 EFTSSt. Catharines Flying Club has existed since May 1928.

From St. Catharines I drove to Dunnville, home of #6 SFTS (Service Flying Training School).  There is a museum (http://www.dunnvilleairport.com/museum.php) located there, and though it was not officially opened, the President of the Museum Don Oatman kindly showed me around.  If you are ever in the area, do not skip this Museum!

No. 6 RCAF DunnVille Museum, Dunnville, Ontario

 Not only did they have a great museum, but there were several BCATP hangers present in great shape.  Apparently parts of the movie Amelia was filmed here (http://youtu.be/8xtWrjamrhM), as well as parts of the PBS series Bomber Boys.  This would do very nicely to recreate a BCATP airfield.

Next on my list was to visit the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton (http://www.warplane.com/).  I was very impressed by the collection of aircraft here.  They also offer flights in a number of aircraft including a Harvard, Stearman and Chipmunk.  Sorry to say that my budget did not allow me to indulge… maybe next time!

Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, Hamilton, Ontario

 

A short hop from Hamilton found me in Toronto.  I have to admit that I had no idea just how large Toronto is!  And has traffic to match. 

In the Toronto area, I visited an author who had written an article on Magee.  I had a great visit, and we traded flying stories as well as notes about John.  Beautiful country north of Toronto, I could’ve stayed considerably longer. 

But no dilly-dallying allowed… I had to head to downtown Toronto to the site of the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition), aka the “Ex.”  In the early days of the BCATP, this site was one of two Manning Depots, where raw recruits reported for their initial duty.  In rooms that used to house horses and cows, hundreds of pilot-hopefuls were initiated into the Canadian Air Force.  John Magee apparently did not enjoy the experience…

Many of the buildings that were there in 1940 are still there, and still being used.  The buildings are a sight to behold; the architecture was amazing.  I took quite a few pictures, and it is a possibility that this site could be used for filming.

Still in Toronto, I had to visit another combination BCATP airfield and Museum.  Located at Downsview, this is the location of the Canadian Air & Space Museum (http://www.casmuseum.org/), not to be confused with the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa.  There is much history to this location… de Havilland built many of its WWII aircraft here, including the Mosquito.  They have a full-size replica of the ill-fated Avro CF-105 Arrow (I didn’t know the airplane was quite so large!).  If you visit, be sure to get the tour, or talk to one of the museum guides. 

Canadian Air & Space Museum

 

So much to see, so little time… so on I went… next stop, Trenton!

 

- continued in “O Canada (Part 2) -

 

New Movie about John Magee, Senior

I have found out that the movie described below is NOT about the senior John Magee.  I was going to wait until I’ve actually seen the movie, but I have seen previews, enough to know that the movie (named “Flowers of War”) is in no way about John Magee.  It’s the right time, the right place, the right name, etc., but cannot be about Magee.

I will put in another blog post about the movie after I watch it.  I am going to keep the post below because what I said about Magee, Sr., is true and worth saying. 

Stay tuned!

It’s about time!  As interesting as the story of John Gillespie Magee, Jr. is, the story of his father is equally amazing.  Jr.’s father, in a sort of family tradition, named his first son after himself.  Life is going to get interesting in the google-sphere, with people searching for John Magee and coming up with a Episcopal minister, a poet/pilot, as well as an economist.  There are a few other John Magee’s out there that will turn up, but people are going to have to be pretty specific about which Magee they’re looking for!

Well, the new movie is by Hero director Zhang Yimou.  There are various names being bandied about, but the predominant one is Nanjing Heroes.  The movie is about an American missionary named John who is serving in China when the Japanese invade in 1937.  This could only be John Magee.  The reason for all the recent press is that Yimou selected Christian Bale (Batman, Terminator 4) to play John Magee.

I am hoping that the filmmakers maintain historical accuracy in this movie.  What John Magee did in China is worthy of worldwide attention, even 70+ years after the events.  Magee, along with others (such as John Rabe, the “good” Nazi), helped save the lives of countless Chinese when the Japanese Army arrived, raping and killing along the way.  Estimates vary; 300,000 killed has been mentioned more than once. 

Along with protecting the lives of innocent Chinese, Magee risked his life by taking 16mm movies of some of the attrocities.  When Magee returned to the U.S., he toured the country, showing the films in order to show complacent Americans the horrors of war.

I am eagerly awaiting the movie, and hope to have a follow-on movie about John Magee’s son.

What I did on my summer vacation, or, Meeting a Genuine Hero

My son and I went on a little cross-country summer excursion a few weeks ago.  We had two objectives: visit Barry Needham in Wynyard, Saskatchewan, Canada, and attend the Canada Remembers Airshow in Saskatoon, SK.  And although the airshow was rained out, we did manage to meet Barry, who made the trip well worthwhile.

Departing the Portland, Oregon area, we drove northeast through Washington, and crossed into Canada at Kingsgate, northern Idaho.  Soon we traded the beautiful mountains of British Columbia for the plains of Alberta.  A couple of days found us in Saskatchewan province, making a left turn at Regina and winding up in the charming town of Wynyard. 

Flight Lieutenant Barry Needham, RCAF (retired), joined 412 Squadron the same day as did John Magee.  At the time, Barry was a Flight Sergeant.  Turns out that Barry did not know John very well, as officers and enlisted men did not socialize too much.  But certainly they flew together; in the air, ranks seemed to mostly disappear.

Barry was able to give me a considerable amount of detail concerning Digby and Wellingore.  He was gave me a great gift: his entire file on John Magee.  Barry, being a member of 412 Squadron at the same time as Magee, had quite a bit of correspondance regarding Magee from various researchers.  What a treasure trove!  Thank you, Barry!

412 Squadron had quite a history after Magee died.  I understand the squadron moved something like 17 times during the war.  Barry’s actually served with 412 Squadron twice, at the beginning and end of the war. 

Barry’s flying came to a halt after he was shot down by anti-aircraft fire over France.  Fortunately, he was not severely injured, and wound up in a POW camp.  Barry was liberated by Patton after just over a month.

I am deeply indebted to Barry for allowing me to spend a day with him and his lovely wife Martha (who very kindly took care of my son and also makes a wonderful lemon meringue pie!).  I hope I am as sharp as Barry is when I am 89!

It’s not every day that you get to meet a genuine hero.  Although Barry would not agree at all that he’s any kind of hero…. he was “just doing my job.”  I would have to disagree; anybody who has put themselves in harm’s way and have people trying to kill them are absolutely heroes.

Thanks, Flight Lieutenant Needham.

Barry and I in his office.

Barry with a Tiger Moth at primary flight training.

Barry's wartime picture, medals and Wings.

12/11/1941 – The Day the Poet Died

Curiously enough, December 11th, 1941 was a Thursday, just like 2008.  It was cloudy in England on that day, but not cloudy enough to prevent 412 Squadron from flying. 

The squadron practiced formation flying above the clouds for about an hour.  On returning, Magee was part of a flight of four "letting down" through the cloud cover.  (No Air Traffic Control in those days.)  Sergeant Pilot Dwayne Linton saw the entire horrific event unfold right in front of him; Magee was #3, and Linton was #4.

At 1,500 feet above the ground, the air was very hazy.  The flight was going about 350 mph.  Linton caught site of an Airspeed Oxford bomber trainer coming at right-angles to the 412 flight.  Linton warned his flight; #1 and #2 were able to get out of the way, but apparently it was impossible for Magee to avoid a collision. 

Linton had also turned to avoid, but saw the explosion when the Oxford and Magee’s Spitfire collided.  By the time Linton recovered from his evasive manuevers, he was only about 100 feet off the ground.  He saw Magee’s parachute "stringing" … meaning that it did not deploy enough to be effective.  A farmer on the ground saw the collision as well; both accounts stated that Magee had been able to get out of the cockpit and jump, but he was too low for his parachute to open.

John Magee was killed instantly upon impact with the ground.

The pilot of the Airspeed Oxford was also killed.  He was Leading Aircraftsman (LAC) Earnest Aubrey.  Aubrey was a student pilot flying out of RAF Cranwell, which was a very short distance away from the 412 Squadron’s base at Wellingore.

John Magee had foreseen his death, but he rather imagined it to be a somewhat more glorious death, being shot down in heated aerial combat. 

And so it was that the world lost a most promising young man.  But not before that poet-pilot had given us something enduring, an amazing poem that still, 67 years after being written, charms us.

Thanks, John, and rest assured that we will not forget you.

Inspiration

While I’ve been working on High Flight – The Movie, I’ve sought inspriration from many sources.  Sometimes it’s music, sometimes it’s movies, sometimes a wonderful letter.  I’d like to share some of what has inspired me.

Websites.  There is one website in particular which is wonderful.  When you go to it, turn up your speakers.  Brian is an enormously talented guy, somebody who knows all about taking your passion and flying with it!  I cannot recommend his "One Six Right" DVD enough…  it is amazing.  Get the soundtrack CD and companion volume "One Six Left" while you’re at it:    www.onesixright.com

Harrison Ford is Just Another Pilot, according to this wonderfully moving short video:  http://www.studiowings.com/video/hfjap.html

The Experimental Aircraft Association’s (EAA) annual meeting is known the world over as, simply, Oshkosh.   I’ve had the honor of speaking there a couple of years ago and am going to apply to speak there again this year.  This video neatly sums up Oshkosh (and, yes, it’s narrated by Harrison Ford): http://www.airventure.org/about/spirit_video.html

I won’t list my entire Zune (similar to an iPod) playlist here, but I will list some of my favorites. 

• Classical Gas by Mason Williams is my all-time favorite piece of music
• the entire soundtrack to One Six Right
• Overture from Tommy (Assembled Multitude)
• Theme from Harry’s Game (Clannad)
• Dream On (Aerosmith);
• High Flight and We Will Remember Them (sung by Dwayne O’Brien)
• Introduction to The Rocketeer
• Spirit, The Wings That Fly Us Home, and many others by John Denver
• Until The Last Moment and many others by Yanni
• 10,000 Miles (from the movie "Fly Away Home" sung my Mary Chapin Carpenter)

I’m sure there are others, but those are some of the highlights.

Resurrection!

Long ago I started this Blog, and then it languished for over a year.  Well, I decided it was high time to get it going again! 

I have transferred several years worth of News entries from the High Flight Productions website.  Don’t know why… but it does kind of give one an idea of what’s been happening.

What happened to the Blog is indicative of the entire project.  I have been swamped with work from my “day” job, and have neglected the script, the website, and everything else.  I cannot continue to let this be the case… and if what it takes is staying up late at night, so be it (for the record, it’s 20 minutes past midnight right now… and I’ve got an early wake-up… oh well!).

I don’t even know if anybody is going to read this, but what the heck.

Stay tuned… because I’m kick-starting the entire project!  It’s going to be a heck of a ride.

Past Entries – 2007

November:  If I thought May came quickly, then November really got here fast! 

I have re-written the script several times and am narrowing in on what I think is a great end result.  So stay tuned!

I continue to do research on Magee, his life and times.

May:  Can it be nearly the end of May already?  How time flies…  I have been working on the screenplay quite a bit, while continuing doing research on Magee.  I have acquired a complete copy of Magee’s RCAF logbook, and have discovered the exact date that he made a flight up to 33,000 feet (the letter to his parents which contained High Flight mentions that he was inspired to write the poem during a flight to 30,000 feet… an uncommon occurrence while at an Operational Training Unit).  The date?  August 18th, 1941.

I have also discovered a bit of trivia that I will share in the Interesting Facts area (above).  All I can say is: it’s a small world, and the Six Degrees of Seperation thing is really true! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_degrees_of_separation)

I will be speaking on John Magee and High Flight at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Fly-In, Arlington, Washington on Wednesday, July 11th and Thursday July 12th at noon, plus on Sunday July 15th at 10:30.  (www.nweaa.org)

I am very excited to have been selected to speak at the EAA AirVenture event at Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  My talk will take place on Saturday, July 28th at 11:30, at the Museum.  For those of you who don’t know, “Oshkosh” (as the event is generally known) is the largest aviation event in the world.  Where else in the world can you get a ride in one of *THREE* tri-motored aircraft?  Where else can you see flying aircraft that run the range from the F-22 Raptor to a Curtis Jenny?  Where else do they park 15,000 aircraft on the field?  During the aircraft arrival period, Wittman Field becomes the busiest airport in the world.  It’s all pretty amazing.  I have been there several times, and now I have the honor of speaking there!  I’m jazzed! ( www.airventure.org )

Hopefully I will see you at one (or both) of the events.  If you do attend, please come up and introduce yourself!

Past Entries – 2006

December: December 11th of 2006 – exactly 65 years after John Magee perished in 1941.  There was a memorial service at Digby, England – stay tuned, I hope to be getting some pictures as well as some video of the occasion.

November: I have released a new version of the High Flight Compilation DVD, and am calling it Volume 1+2.  It combines Volume I and Volume II onto one DVD. 

Last summer I had a major change of direction on this project.  The more I learned about John Magee and his life, the more I came to feel that his story rated being made into a feature film instead of an A&E-style biography.  On August 1st, I started on a feature film screenplay, and as of today (November 15th), I have 167 pages done!  I do need to trim it down a bit, as the maximum length should be around 120-130 pages.  I am really very happy with the story, and I think that it will make a grand movie!  I already have interest from an agent at a major Hollywood agency… so stay tuned!

Since deciding to make “High Flight – The Movie” instead of the straight biography, I have gotten tremendous feedback from many people.  Some are already casting the film, with Leonardo DiCaprio leading the votes for playing John Magee.  My response is that it is WAY too early to start casting the movie … but it is kinda fun … DiCaprio is too old, since I am portraying John from aged 16 to 19.  One person I thought might be good is Skandar Keynes, the actor who played Edmund Pevensie in “The Chronicles of Narnia.”  Please stay tuned – I will try and keep this website updated as to the progress!

April: Time flies, as usual.  I am polishing the script to the High Flight movie, and will be hopefully attracting some attention to it within the next few months.

I will be speaking at the May meeting of the Beaverton Chapter of the Oregon Pilots Association, on Friday, May 5th, 7:30 p.m., at the Twin Oaks Airport near Beaverton.

I have added a new section about interesting facts concerning JGM, to which I will be adding things once in awhile.

Past Entries – 2005

January: Well, 2004 just zipped by.  There were quite a few ups and downs in my personal and professional lives.  Lots of opportunities for growth!  The JGM/High Flight biography/documentary project had to go on the back burner for awhile, but I am still intent on completing it!

For those of you waiting for the T-38 version of the USAF High Flight Television Sign-Off, your wait is nearly over.  I will hopefully have it in hand within by April.

I have acquired a video of William Conrad reciting the poem.  I understand that this film was shown in some areas as a sign-off film.

I have gotten a PAL version of the movie, “High Flight” starring Ray Milland.  Need to get it converted to NTSC before I can watch it — don’t know if it has any references at all to the poem.

April: Amazing, but true: the long wait is over!  I have obtained the T-38 version of the USAF High Flight Television Sign-Off and am in the process of adding it to the HF Compilation DVD Volume II.  In addition to the T-38 piece, Volume II will contain the William Conrad version of the Sign-Off film and John Denver singing his “Flight (The Higher We Fly)” song on the Bob Hope Show.

Stay tuned… I will be sending out a mailing to all those who have ordered the HF Compilation DVD as well as those who have requested to be notified when the T-38 version was available.