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Waco 67

We landed, taxied in, and George came running, with more than his usual platoon of photographers. The shoot was for pictures of "Buck, Mrs. Buck, and the papoose." Buddie and I were soundly kissed by George, who lost some of the darkness from around his eyes, (my world), Billie held Buddie in the rear cockpit, and George sat on the wing near me. "Him worried? With a pilot like Burke, he guess no!" We all laughed, George excessively jolly, (which always was his way of covering up his emotions), and like in Aesop's fable, the tortoise won the race. The Breguet had been there for three quarters of an hour. 
At the meet, I re-met many of George's old students all the commercial aviators, who looked a bit shabby in dress and airplanes alongside the smartness of the Army flyers, and Army ships. Lester Maitland, I recall helped George defend the commercial craft against some kippy second lieuts. disparagement, and when "Buck" flew, all the Army ships came down, and joined in the shouts, of "Buck"...."Waaa-ko!" It was the second ovation I had heard the thousands of spectators give George. Sam and Clayt arrived in the Waco, one of the three built in Medina, and George offered to strut it for the crowd, if the fellows wanted him too. I knew his heart was in that exhibition. He quite outdid himself and the crowd saw him fly that day, as they never saw him fly before. I would have sobbed, had it not been so wonderful, so generous, so..... perfect.... As he came in for a landing, dead stick, fluttering down, I thought of the check for one thousand dollars fluttering to the floor.... and I did cry. Sam had tears in his eyes too. 
We went to the dances, once more it seemed like camp.... George proud I was popular, and he and I always having the waltzes to-gether regardless, of the mob and clamor. (Galss for Buck) Pictures and pictures, George and little George, his idol. reporters getting George's ideas on the future of aviation. Stearmans, the Perry Huttons, part of the Wichita crowd, we did the town, rode the bus tops, and "Waako" was let fly at sight of