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himself to do the thing he knows how to do very well indeed." We asked about how to handle specially gifted children, those who are so easily bored by the average classroom. "Maybe they should be put in special schools. We create special schools for idiots, we create special schools for the slow, we create special schools for everyone but the very gifted. And the very gifted - for there aren't many of them in this world - should have a very special school where they can go and become the mental giants of this world. They're entitled to it. In my opinion, this is what education is all about. If they're specially gifted, they need very special circumstances under which to learn - all kinds of stimulation, everything in the world put at their feet." Aviation One of the leading figures in the growth and development of modern aviation in this country, Colonel Cochran recalled how she got started flying. "Some friends of mine one night said, 'Of all of the things you want to do in your life, what are you going to do?' I said, 'I'm going to do all these things' - and I outlined my plans - definitely. (And I did everything I outlined). Then they said, 'But you'd have to fly to do all that!' I responded, 'That sounds like a good idea.' (I had just read a book on How to Fly in Three Easy Lessons.) You know, it's funny - I'd never even seen an airplane on the ground in my life. "Shortly after that I went out one Saturday morning and had my first free lesson, bought the course, soloed on Monday, went to Canada two weeks later - solo - and so a pilot was born!" Since that time Jacqueline Cochran has established and still hold's more international speed, distance and altitude records than any other person. "I met Amelia Earhart's husband and he said, 'What do you want in aviation, little girl?' I said, 'To put your wife in the shade. Not only that - I'm going to be the first woman in the world to make Mach I!' "At that time, nobody had ever heard of Mach I. I was lucky enough to know the great Dr. von Karman, who spent more than two years in our home. One time we were talking about speed and he said, 'Do you know what the speed of sound is?' I asked, 'No, what is it?' 'It's traveling 760 miles an hour at sea level at standard temperature.' I said, 'I'm going to be the first woman in the world to do it!' "Then I asked, 'What's Mach II? I've got to do that one too!' I did. I did both - the first human being, female, that did both Mach I and Mach II. In fact, I did 2.5 machs last go-round. This was solo - not with someone else. You go out and fly the airplane alone. You beat it almost to death and you beat yourself almost to death, too. "But I've been a good pilot. I've done some remarkable things in flying. They're so incredible that I look back and I can't believe that I've done them. I feel like I'm a person outside of myself who's been flying these airplanes. But one can. You have to work 14 hours a day and become so disciplined that you can't believe you're that disciplined. I would never let anything interfere with what I had to do in flying - ever. It really has been my life - my passport to happiness." Jackie Cochran and Amelia Earhart were very close, especially in the last few months before Miss Earhart's final flight. We asked about the books published recently suggesting that Amelia Earhart is alive, well and living in New Jersey. "There is no truth that I brought her out of Japan. The New Jersey woman doesn't even look like Amelia - even an older Amelia. After all, she would have been high up in her 70's by now. The truth is, she and her navigator just plain couldn't find that island, ran out of gas and crashed in the Pacific." As an aviator, Colonel Cochran tested many experimental aircraft. Regarding some areas of contemporary aviation, we asked: The SST - do you feel that the decision reached by Congress was a valid one or one based on emotionalism and politics? "I think it's the most terrible thing that has ever happened to this country, aeronautically speaking. Now, I didn't like the way we went about awarding the contracts - but that's my opinion. And it's too long a story to tell. "But nevertheless, the contract was awarded and it was practically finished - and a man by the name of Proxmire scuttled the whole thing! How could he do this to our country?" Do you feel our space program is valuable? "I think it's the greatest thing that's ever happened in the world. I can't think of anything we shouldn't do to promote it. People say, 'They're going to bring more rocks back?' Well maybe they should bring some soil back. Maybe we should do all kinds of things. They haven't touched the surface of what could be done." Do you feel our defense system is adequate and if not, in what areas do you feel that we are weak? "As far as I can determine, a great many of our people who hope - or are hopeful - that we have a good defense posture think we're way down the totem pole. That, if tomorrow morning somebody were to walk in on us - like China or Russia or the rest of these countries - we'd be in pretty bad shape. We have nothing - we have no bombers, we have nothing in space, we have nothing to defend ourselves with today. And, I think we're sitting back here on a pretty bad posture. But this is my opinion, based on my exposure and background." Being a Citizen Flag-waving may not be fashionable today, but Jacqueline Cochran does it - and with style. She asked what our TRO reporter thought was the most horrendous crime that can be committed and then answered: "Treason is the worst crime that can happen to a nation - not only to our nation, but any nation. Sabotage on a big scale, where, maybe, a whole factory of people is destroyed." She continued to explain her views: "People have to be devoted to many things - first of all to their country. I only have one little yardstick to go by and that's what I was able to do for my country. I think I've earned my keep as a citizen. That's another thing The Retired Officer September 1971 29
