ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It is always difficult for an author to acknowledge his indebtedness to those who have helped him, largely because limitation of space means he must omit many names. In an oral history such as this, those who submitted to tape recorded interviews can see in the pages of the book the fruit of their patience, but many others who sat for equally lengthy interviews will see no trace of their participation. These omissions do not mean, however, that the many dozens of sources for this hook whose specific recollections do not appear herein have wasted their time. I have been helped greatly by all of them and were it not for their kindness, my understanding of the history of ALPA would be poorer, as would the story which follows.
That said, I must begin by paying tribute to Colonel Carroll V. Glines (USAF, Ret.), ALPA’s director of communications, who first suggested in 1979 that I might like to undertake a commemorative history to mark the fiftieth anniversary of ALPA’s founding. I was initially skeptical about the project, largely because I didn’t want to jeopardize my scholarly independence by writing a captive history subject to narrow censorship. C. V. Glines put those fears to rest, and I can honestly say that in the three years I worked on Flying the Line not once did an ALPA officer or staff member interfere in any way with my interpretation of ALPA’s history.
More fundamental to my skepticism about undertaking a history of ALPA was my doubt about completing the project in a mere three years. My first book on ALPA, The Airline Pilots: A Study in Elite Unionization (Harvard University Press, 1971), took four years to write, and it covered only the formative years through 1938! How, I wondered, could anyone do justice to the long sweep of years since then and still have a manuscript ready by 1981, the half-centennial of ALPA’s founding?
After much discussion with C. V. Glines and a review of ALPA’s
archival material at Walter P. Reuther Library at
The
heart and soul of this history, however, lay not in the archives, but in the
more than 100 hours of tape-recorded oral histories I collected. A special
thanks to the ALPA Washington office secretaries who labored many long hours to
transcribe the tapes. I must also thank the staff of Air Line Pilot magazine,
especially editors Anne Kelleher and Joseph Younger. Flying the Line was
originally published as a series in Air Line Pilot. Editing, design, and
production of the book were also the work of the magazine
staff.
Esperison “Marty”
One other ALPA staff member deserves special mention, even though he is also part of the story. Wally Anderson, who retired last year after 40 years at the center of ALPA affairs, provided invaluable assistance in reviewing the manuscript and setting the record of events straight.
Closer to home, I must acknowledge the help of my wife, Elaine; the hard work of my daughter Ginger, who toiled at several tasks connected with the book; and my son Paul, who had to postpone many events crucial to a 10 year old so that Daddy could write. Tom and Ginny Helm, faculty colleagues here at Western Illinois University, offered unending support as I worked on the project, and Spencer Brown, my department chairman, good naturedly arranged my teaching schedule to further progress on Flying the Line.
I must also say something about a few of the many professional airline pilots who helped out. Almost from the moment my first book on ALPA was published, pilots have written to me, each with a story or a point of view, often suggesting that I carry the history forward from 1938 into the years they personally remembered. Capt. Bill Himmelreich of Republic was only one of many who wrote during the 1970s, offering his files on an area of particular interest to him, the Southern Airways strike of 1960. Jim Damron of United, Dick Russell of Braniff, and Dave Ekleberry of TWA are also among those on the long list of active airline pilots who assisted in this history in one way or another.
But finally I must say something about the old-timers, many long retired who contributed to the foot-thick stack of letters I collected during the 1970s. Many of these letters are quite moving, often running to several single-spaced typed pages filled with intricate accounts of events long past. There was such a rich and varied history in these stories that I was always mindful of the human face behind this story as I wrote it. I cannot possibly acknowledge all the old-timers who helped me so much, but perhaps one of them will serve as surrogate for all the others. He is former Capt. Joe E. Miller, a man I never met, but who in his mid-70s wrote to recount his own experience as a Century Airlines pilot in 1932. “I was a good friend of Behncke’s,” Miller wrote, “and it was fun to read and remember those times. I only wish I could write. I have so much I would like to say, but I have tried and do not seem able to get it down on paper.”
So for Joe Miller, who also flew for United when it was still called Boeing Air Transport, and all the others, here is my thanks, and here is your story.
George E. Hopkins
Western Illinois University
Macomb, Ill.
Aug. 4, 1982