FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, April 13, 2009
Contact: Robert Preston, Jr.,
912.260.4276
robert.preston@sgc.edu
Fixing the Moon tells story of famous South Georgian
If you’ve ever heard of Henry Tift Myers Airport in Tifton,
you might think that the airport is simply a memorial to one of the founding
fathers of Tift County. And it is, in a sense. But there’s more – much more,
in fact, -- to the Henry Tift Myers story.
Bonne Cella, a Tifton resident, has published a book on the life of Myers,
and in the book tells the remarkably unknown story about a South Georgia boy
who rubbed elbows with presidents, world leaders and Hollywood starlets, and
left an indelible impression on aviation. Cella traveled to South Georgia
College recently to discuss her book, titled Fixing the Moon, and tell a
little about the story of “Hank” Myers.
Myers always wanted to be an aviator, but his family wanted him in Tifton to
help run any one of the family’s several businesses. Myers resisted, and
ended up in Culver Military Academy, where he finished near the top of his
graduating class. He then enrolled in the University of Georgia, where,
among other things, he played football. Realizing that their son wouldn’t
let up on his dream to fly, his parents relented. Myers trained at Kelly
Field in San Antonio, Texas, where he also graduated at the top of his
class.
It was during the height of the Great Depression, and Myers was having
trouble finding employment. Sen. Walter George, a family friend, helped
Myers land a job as a ticket agent with American Airlines. His big break
came one day when all of American’s available pilots were out sick. Myers
told his supervisor he could fly, and that one moment began one of the most
storied careers in aviation.
When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Myers, a member of the Army Air Corps, was
selected to be Gen. Harold George’s personal pilot. When the decision was
made to build the first presidential jet – at the time, President Roosevelt
flew commercial, a huge security risk – Myers was tapped not only to help
design the aircraft but also to fly it. He only flew Roosevelt once; Myers
was the pilot that ferried the president to the 1945 Yalta Conference just a
few months prior to the president’s death. Roosevelt took a boat to Malta,
where Myers picked him up and flew him to meet with Josef Stalin and Winston
Churchill in Yalta. “It was the only time Roosevelt flew on the presidential
plane,” said Cella.
Myers would fly Eleanor Roosevelt regularly, in addition to royalty, world
leaders, their families and many of the Who’s Who of the U.S. at the time.
He flew President Harry S. Truman, former president Herbert Hoover, and
Dwight Eisenhower before he was elected president.
During the World War II era, a popular token pilots carried with them was
called the “short snorter.” Whenever pilots would meet famous people, they
would have those individuals sign dollar bills. When a bill was filled with
signatures, they would tape on another bill and keep collecting autographs.
Pilots kept their short snorters rolled up in their pockets. Whenever they
would meet other pilots in a bar, they would unroll their short snorters,
and whoever had the shortest would have to buy drinks. Myers’ stretched over
35 feet long; according to Cella, he never picked up the tab.
Myers also set a number of aviation milestones. Among them, he was the first
to fly around the world at the equator and he set an air transport record
that stood for over 20 years until it was broken by none other than Howard
Hughes.
These and many other details of Myers’ life are highlighted in vivid detail
in Fixing the Moon. Autographed copies of the book are available at the
South Georgia College library.
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About South Georgia College
South Georgia College (www.sgc.edu)
was founded in 1906 and is a two-year institution in the University System
of Georgia. Located in Douglas, Ga., the college's environment gives
students exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close
collaboration with faculty.
