MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/03 May) – Erwin Mascarinas’ article on retired Air Force general William Hotchkiss was rather too short for the long vision of this rare breed of an officer and gentleman. I’d like to think that Hotchkiss holds a wisdom that has enabled him to break free from the mental straitjacket that strangles people in the profession of arms.
His sister Emma and brother Charles, the first Air Force pilot to defect to the rebel soldiers’ side during the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolt, are also active in the anti-mining cause. An encounter with these wonderful siblings would be great. Someday.
But what have they got to do with Charles Lindbergh? Interestingly, brothers William and Charles and the latter’s American namesake are all aviators, although it should be in the past tense for Lindbergh – he died on August 26, 1974.
Although a civilian, Lindbergh saw action as a combat pilot in the Pacific War and was appointed as an Air Force brigadier general by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954. And like the Hotchkiss brothers, Lindbergh became a conservationist after he felt he had had enough of flying.
Maybe it’s the privilege of frequently seeing the world from above that made these three aviators love the beauty of creation. They must have rued those days that duty to fatherland forced them to drop bombs that laid to waste the gifts of Nature below them.
It wasn’t the combat missions however that made Lindbergh famous but his 33½-hour flight from New York to Paris, on May 20-21, 1927. Being the first to accomplish a solo, non-stop flight across the Atlantic – many before him had tried but failed (read died) – the feat made him an international sensation and revolutionized the aviation industry.
In 1953, Lindbergh wrote The Spirit of St. Louis, after the name of the plane that brought him fame – and a small fortune. He received $25,000 promised by a New York hotel owner named Raymond Orteig to the first pilot to conquer the ocean’s breadth. The book brought him more fame, as it won the Pulitzer Prize the year after it was published.
In the twilight of his years, Lindbergh traveled to Africa and the Philippines and became deeply involved in conservation issues. The sight of a Philippine Eagle in flight so amazed him that he called it “the air’s noblest flier.” A fitting tribute to the world’s largest yet endangered raptor from the “Lone Eagle” himself.
It’s refreshing to know that Lindbergh wasn’t the last of his kind. The Hotchkiss siblings may not be celebrities like “Lucky Lindy.” What counts though is not the stature but the spirit to pursue what one has set out to do. After all, true greatness lies in sincerity and humility even if one is able to soar above the rest. If eagles can talk, they would call it grace in flight. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno writes mainly on the environment, human rights and politics. He can be reached at hmcmordeno@gmail.com)