The Sad Story of Hayden Warren Bar - Flight School's First Casualty 

 By Long Knife Pilot, Stephen Cover
Copyright January, 2010
All rights reserved.

I entered flight training at Ft. Wolters Texas in the spring of 1966.

 Happy that I had survived the rigors of basic training, I was looking forward to a more leasurly phase of training.....

 Boy, was I in for a surprise!!!! The first month of training is only ground school. They don't let you near an aircraft.

 The reason is that you never are allowed to get much sleep.

 Training is expensive and only those individuals who can stand up under incredible pressure are allowed to move on.

 One example is that you are instructed to sleep at a brace (at attention....come on!!)   Naturally nobody can do that.

 It wasn't unusual for the whole platoon to be rousted out of bed in the middle of the night and made to stand at attention outside on the pavement because someone had not followed orders and failed to sleep at attention.

 It was HEAVILY ingrained into us that "we were all in this together"..... If one was punished, we all took the punishment with him.

 While the TAC Officer (we were Warrant Officer Canidates and had an TAC Officer instead of a Drill Sargent .... I longed for the "Nice Sympathetic" Drill Sargent from basic training) was chewing us out, someone would invariably look at him.

 A sin of the highest magnitude! "Are you in love with me boy!!!???... Get down and give me ten." The TAC Officers were not allowed to force anyone to do more than ten push ups....

 Naturally, the first poor guy would dorp and start doing push ups..... BUT!! "we are all in it together".... so the rest of the platoon would also drop and start doing pushups.

 This of course is the opening the TAC wanted. He would go to the next man in line and say, "You! I didn't tell you to move! Give me ten... And again the whole platoon would drop and do ten pushups.

 This was repeated until one man would not drop with the others. Then it was over, and we were allowed to return to bed for a while.

 The next day when we came back from morning classes to change uniforms, (We "broke Starch" twice a Day) there would be a note on the bunk of the candidate that abandoned the others to not go to class, but to see the Major.

 When we came back from afternoon clases, the offending candidate would be gone, his bunk was rolled and his name on the door of his loacker was painted over..... It was that easy to be eliminated from training.

 I tell you this so you can understand the incredible pressure we were under......

 Have you ever tried to spitshine boot laces??.

 One of the higest sins was "Thou Shalt Not Posses Any Officer Insignia" ...... This was nearly to firing squad offense.

 Well, one day while we were in class, the TAC Officers were doing their usual inspection of all our possesions.

They found a Warrant Officer Bar in a student's dress uniform hat.

Black clouds formed over the barracks and the thunder could be heard for miles!!!!!

 Unfortunately, the student in question was a fine person who helped his fellow candidates all the time and was very high in the scolastic standings.

 The TAC Officers were trying to eliminate quitters and the unqualified..... With this guy, they needed to find some way to keep him.

Everybody has heard the urban legend of a poor soldier having to bury a discarded match stick.....

 This was obvoiusly their inspiration. However, this was "Flight School".

 Not only did our candidate have to dig a regulation grave for the bar, but he had to finance a complete funeral; Flowers, Casket, Herse and all!!

 So, one bright Sunday morning, the TAC Officers rousted the entire 1st WOC Company.

 Uniform was bare heads, sun glasses and crying towels...... You "WOULD" shed tears.... The TAC officers checked for tears form everyone....



1st WOC Company, 2nd Platoon. (I'm the good looking one with the sun glasses)


The entire 1st WOC (Warrant Officer Candidate) Company


The herse starts its slow procession past the assembled company.


Good picture of the herse.

The funeral procession, sobbing our way to the burial ground.


Here we are at the grave site waiting for the uplifting words of the pastor.


Hayden's flowers for the grave site.


Poor Hayden being laid to rest.


Here the flowers are laid and the words of comfort are about to be expressed.
21 gun salute was simulated with parts of a bed frame because,
"We aren't stupid enough to let you have weapons."



Here I am at Hayden's Grave stone

The inscription says: 
Hayden Warren Bar, WOC Ret. The Bar that Was Found In The Hat,
Not the Hat That Was Found In The Bar.... Amen.

And that Aint No Sh*t !


Steve


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