GLOSSARY Based on the extensive dramaturgical work of SUSAN MYER SILTON ANDY GUMP: the goofball main character in “The Gumps,” a daily newspaper cartoon strip that first appeared in 1917. It was created by Sidney Smith, first ran in the Chicago Tribune, became very popular right away, and was soon syndicated. Gus Edson inherited “The Gumps” in 1935 following the death of creator Sidney Smith, and continued with it until its final installment in 1959. The 1940s strip, which pits Andy Gump against real-estate racketeers, would likely have been one that Frank read. “The Gumps” Daily Comic Strip from the Chicago Tribune, 1940s, by Gus Edson.
ARMY AIR FORCE TRAINING COMMAND: The US Army Air Force trained its pilots during WWII at dozens of sites, due to the high demand for pilots when the War became imminent. The Army Air Forces Training Command (AAFTC), a unit that was inactivated after WWII, established centers in the US to train pilots, flying specialists, and combat crews. During its lifetime (January 23, 1942 to July 1, 1946), the command struggled with the challenge of a massive wartime expansion of the air forces. Wikipedia describes the extreme demand for flight personnel as well as aircraft and other equipment at that time, attesting to the pressure that Joe’s factory was under to produce: Throughout 1942, the need for combat crew personnel far exceeded the current and contemplated production of the command’s flying training schools. The rate of expansion of housing and training facilities, instructors, as well as the procurement of aircraft and other equipment, though at a breakneck pace, constrained the rate of increase of production. Facilities were used to their maximum capacity as quickly as they could be stood up. Some schools were expanded while they were still under construction. New airfields had to be located in areas with sufficient flying space free of other air traffic, and the West Coast training center faced the extraordinary requirement to avoid sites near the internment camps for JapaneseAmericans. Before WWII, the Army Air Corps had produced about 500 new pilots per year, which was adequate for the peacetime air corps. After the 1938 Munich Agreement, the number of pilots had to increase in case of a war breaking out again. As a result, a plan was developed to supplement the training at Randolph Field, Texas, where nearly all flying training took place, with military pilot training conducted at civil flight The PT-17 Stearman.