The Power of Testimony

RAY AND BETTY WHIPPS
cockpit, alone in the sky, I was free. If it weren’t for the
limited fuel, I could have spent all day up there.
Back on land, there were congratulations to receive from
the officers and the ritual dunking in an old bathtub that
had been abandoned outside by some previous cadets.
“Every time someone makes their first flight alone,
they get thrown into a tub full of ice-​ cold water,” an officer
explained as everyone gathered round. “But only those who
have already soloed get to throw him. Whipps, you’re up.”
With that, a handful of officers reached out and
grabbed me, easily lifting this newbie pilot over to the
bathtub. It was cold all right, but no amount of shivering
could have wiped the smile from my face.
✪
Flying wasn’t the only thing that was going well for me
at Gonzaga. The demands of the physical training had
increased, and I was thriving. The obstacle course was
rumored to be the toughest in the whole Navy Air Corps,
yet somehow I was able to scramble up the walls, sprint
across the trails, and climb the ropes faster than most of the
other guys. When a local newspaper came to take photos of
the V-5 program in action, the officers gave me the nod to
demonstrate for the camera. Whether I was hanging from
ropes as thick as my wrist or swinging across the monkey
bars set three feet apart and ten feet off the ground, the
physical maneuvers just came naturally to me. It wasn’t
flying, but it felt pretty close.
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