When we study history, we often know the end of the story and fail to understand, that the outcome was not inevitable. Take for example, the event that actually created the United States of America, the American Revolution. The successful separation from England was in doubt until the very end of significant conflict at Yorktown, Virginia. Early in the war, Washington was defeated and routed in the Battle of Brooklyn, by what was probably the first Hail Mary attack in America. Stormin' Norman Schwarzkopf is famous for his end around attack in the Kuwait War, but that is not the first involving Americans in conflict. Another was the attack by Stonewall Jackson, on behalf of Robert E. Lee at Chancellorsville. This attack was against General Fightin' Joe Hooker, who Lee referred to as Mr. F. J. Hooker.
Washington's American army was huddled on the shore of the East River, outnumbered and outclassed. The Brits decided to wait until morning to finish the job, but a miraculous fog appeared on the river and Washington managed to escape Long Island for Manhattan Island in small boats and live to fight another day. This is but one example of the battle losses and narrow escapes of Washington's ragtag army. No one at that time gave the former colonies any hope of winning that war against the most powerful army on the planet at that time. During the Civil War, World War II, just about every war our country has engaged in, there were points where victory was in doubt.
As I wrote my blog, Flexible Flyer, How Not To Build An Aviation Career, I knew how it ended, but while I was living it, there was always great uncertainty that I would achieve my goal of having a financially successful career as an airline pilot. If you read the blog, you will see how it developed, step by step and see how bleak things looked at several points. There were times when my resolve was nearly broken. There are also many elements that helped build and rebuild that resolve.
I have been thinking about a small part of that process lately. When I was in the army from October 1965 to October 1967, I spent most of my time as a drill sergeant at Fort Knox Kentucky. My best friend and roommate was Howard "Ricky" Richter, a Jewish guy from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, near Camden and across the Delaware River from Philadelphia. Ricky was fascinated by the 1965 musical, Man of La Mancha, which was based loosely on the 17th Century novel, Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. Ricky loved the principle song from the musical and he would sing it often as we drove from Fort Knox to Louisville, to do the things young men strive to do. Ricky did not have a good voice and could not carry a tune, but he did not allow that to deter him.
In recent years, I search the World Wide Web for Ricky and found his obituary.
