World
War II
When
the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941, four Clippers were in
the Pacific. The Hong Kong Clipper was set afire by Japanese and
was destroyed.
Pan
Am flew more than 90 million miles for the US government carrying
military personnel, cargo, ferried bombers and aircraft.
Pan
Am trained thousands of British military pilots, navigators and
mechanics.
Boeing
314s were the world?s only aircraft that could carry payloads
across an ocean. So the government promptly took over all of Pan
Am’s over-ocean aircraft, crews and operations. Boeing 314s served
by transporting military personnel and supplies to the war zone as
well as carry most of the leaders of the Allied Nations to
important strategic missions in all continents. Boeing 314s played
a role in the development of the atomic bomb. They flew uranium
for the bomb to Leopoldville.
Vietnam
Boeing
727s flew the Vietnam rest and relaxation airlift, carrying
thousands of American servicemen for rest and relaxation leaves in
Hong Kong, Tokyo, and other Asian destinations.
Pan
Am?s 727s departing Saigon took off at maximum climb to avoid
small arm fire. But bullet holes were found in multiple aircraft.
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Written By
GW Robertson
a Vietnam Veteran:
"Y’know -with all the memorials and awards and all – I want
to speak up for a group you never hear praised. The stewardesses that
volunteered for the charter flights back and forth to Viet Nam.
They’d fly us over, 11 to 15 hours in the air with 180 Marines in a 707,
knowing that some of us were definitely not coming back.
Then, they’d fly us back, some of us in joy, some of us of us shattered or
merely obscenely boorish at not seeing an American girl for a year or more.
They were some of the sweetest, caring women I’ve ever known and need to be
recognized for their contribution. Nurse, psychiatrist, mother, sister,
daughter, girlfriend, confessor, sex object – they wore all the hats.
Thank you, ladies, thank you very much."
Persian
Gulf War
Just
before Pan Am’s demise. The airline helped with transporting
soldiers and equipment to aid America’s war efforts.
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