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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2009 > July > 17
Friday, July 17, 2009
Guest column: Aerospace history still shaping Dayton’s future
Janet Bednarek, who wrote this column, is an aviation historian at the University of Dayton and a former chair of the history department.
Anniversaries are an opportunity to reflect on the past, but they also shine a light on the future. Monday, July 20, is the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11 and the first time humans set foot on the moon.
In June, Dayton marked the 100th anniversary of the great parade honoring the Wright brothers upon their return home after stunning much of the world with their public flights in Europe and near Washington, D.C.
Both anniversaries celebrate events that were made possible, in part or in whole, by people and technologies associated with Ohio. They should remind us that Ohio and Dayton have a rich history of entrepreneurship and technological innovation.
The Wright brothers, Neil Armstrong and the airplane easily come to mind when reflecting on these anniversaries. Perhaps less well known is the important work on rocket engine technology done at what is now the NASA Glenn Research facility in Cleveland.
Today, around Dayton and throughout Ohio, many individuals and groups are working to draw on that heritage to chart a course into the 21st century.
This week, several aviation/aerospace events are taking place in the Dayton area. This shows how much many people — both locally and nationally — already recognize the important air and space heritage of the city and, in some respects, can envision a possible future.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Air, Trade and Technology Expo opened. On Friday, a dozen Apollo astronauts — including the first two and the last two on the moon — gathered in Dayton for the National Aviation Hall of Fame’s President’s Dinner. There, in an important link in the chain of events leading to the moon walk anniversary, they and their other Apollo colleagues were awarded the NAHF Spirit of Flight Award. Finally, this weekend, the Vectren Dayton Air Show is taking place at Dayton International Airport.
Local leaders hope this burst of activity will help reshape the image of Dayton and Ohio. Instead of the Rust Belt and closed factories, people will think of aerospace, technology and — most important — innovation.
Initiatives such as the creation of an Ohio Aerospace Institute, Dayton’s Tech Town and plans to strengthen STEM education also speak to an emerging vision for Dayton and Ohio.
The extensive aviation and aerospace heritage of the city and the state offers a strong foundation upon which to build this image. Throughout the 20th century, individuals and organizations in Ohio helped the United States step into a future of flight — atmospheric and space.
Dayton and Ohio boosters hope that the heritage of those activities will inspire a new generation to help the city, the state and the nation take the first steps into whatever future the 21st century might offer.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Local History
Kevin Riley: A baseball dad, and so much more
Last weekend, I was in Nashville, Tenn., at a tournament with my son’s baseball team.
In most ways, it was the typical experience many parents have of joining your kid’s team or club on an out-of-town trip: watching them compete, hanging out at the pool, organizing meals, enforcing curfews and finding something for them to do during the down time.
And the parents, together for long periods instead of for just one short game, got to know each other a little better.
But we had one parent missing.
Mark White, father of infielder Ryan White, had deployed to Iraq just a few days before the trip. Instead of joining his family in Nashville, Col. White was at Kirkuk Regional Air Base in northern Iraq. He’s in charge of the 506th Expeditionary Medical Squadron and runs the hospital at that base.
Through this season, as our team got to know White and his family, we gained insight into Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and life in the Air Force. The base employs a large number of people; at times it’s hard for those of us outside its gates to understand its many operations (Air Force people say “missions”) and people.
But when you’ve developed a direct connection to an Air Force family, it helps you appreciate their commitment.
It started with Ryan coming to the team tryouts last fall. He was new to school, and some of our players knew and liked him. And he’s a good player. Through the winter, during indoor workouts and parents’ meetings, Mark was usually around, lending a hand.
Occasionally it was clear he’d rushed from work, and sometimes he’d still be in uniform. Like many of us, I wasn’t sure about asking him about his job; often the Wright-Patt folks can’t or won’t talk about their work.
As games began this spring, we became friends. I learned that he was a senior administrator at the Wright-Patt hospital. He’d moved to the base almost a year ahead of his family. His wife, Kim, daughter, Sam, and Ryan joined him from Virginia in the fall of 2008, after he’d spent time scouting out schools and places to live.
Dayton was the latest stop after stints in Wyoming, Michigan, Louisiana, Mississippi, Hawaii and Colorado.
He’s part of the 88th Air Base Wing, the unit responsible for operating Wright-Patterson, including the hospital. He’ll be in Iraq for six months. He is among the 300 to 500 airmen from Wright-Patt who are deployed to places like Iraq and Afghanistan on any given day.
Because the base is so large, and has so many areas of expertise, its units are sent to the war theaters as security forces, medical specialists, engineers and logistical experts. White emphasized that his role is not like so many military men and women who are in front-line combat roles.
He’ll run a small hospital that provides care to troops and also to injured Iraqis. He had to train intensely, including learning how to react in a chemical attack and how to defend the hospital if it came under attack.
When White first told his children about the deployment, they cried. He will be away from home for his wedding anniversary, several birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
While he’s in Iraq, he has e-mail, and he can call home twice per week for 15 minutes. The military calls them “morale calls.”
When I talked to White a few days before he left, he was focused on his family. He said he was “spending time with my family. Doing the day-to-day stuff that most people don’t think about much.” Like attending his son’s baseball games.
In Nashville, our team had some good moments and some bad.
Ryan was injured when a ground ball took a bad hop on him. He kept playing, but after he returned to Dayton, we found out he’d broken his thumb.
The boys, as always, had hoped to win the tournament. We didn’t, so most of us left a little disappointed. But I thought about Col. White and just appreciated being there.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Post your comment | Categories: Columns, Kevin Riley, Sports and Recreation, Wright Patterson Air Force Base
