Letter: Where has our patriotism gone?

My dad, Air Corp. Officer Edward Wolkenhauer, was the happiest when he was flying his own plane up in the blue.

During World War II, he was a flying instructor out of Graham Field in Sioux City. The war effort needed as many pilots as could be produced, this being the first war of a major air campaign. He was known for his strict conduct code and would eliminate any green recruits whose attitude did not conform to the risks of flying, especially in combat.

At this time in history, he trained these so-called green recruits in the trainer variety of aircraft, complete with all the gymnastics required of evading the enemy, with stalls, rolls, spins, etc. From here the pilots went to the fighter prop aircraft.

After the war, my dad returned to farming. Northwest Airlines wanted to recruit him, but farming was his life also.

I use to fly with him to survey his crops from above. The landscape looked like a patchwork of artistic design, with all the colors of green in summer and rustic hues in fall.

Times have changed and sometimes I wonder where the patriotism has gone of the past. A time when people came together for a just cause, without all the politics as a distraction.

Sandra Eccles

Cedar Rapids