Our Heroes

“Space Patrol” heroes, Captain Video, played by Al Hodges and Video Ranger, played by Don Hastings.

 Veterans Day brought to mind all the heroes we had in the 50s. Some of them were real and some not and sometimes there was a fine line between the two.

 We had our war heroes coming out of the war, the biggest of them being General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was to become our president. We all had “We Like Ike” buttons. Then there were the entertainers and sports heroes who were our war heroes, including Ted Williams, the baseball player; John Wayne, Henry Fonda, and Glenn Miller with his wartime swing band. After the war these entertainers and more would star in a popular movie genre of the day “war movies.” It was a case of art imitating life.

As we moved into the 50s we had our sports heroes: Bob Cousy of the Celtics; Jackie Robinson, and Willie Mays, who won all the awards going for a baseball player at that time including MVP, Rookie of the Year, and all star in four World Series.

From the world of science, the biggest hero of the 50s was Jonas Salk who gave us a cure for polio. We were all in a panic, especially when we saw those newsreels of people lying in iron lungs and kids in heavy metal braces trying to walk. When they put the lights up and passed the bucket for the “Jimmy Fund” we all put in our change left over from buying candy at the theater concession stand. Locally, our own hero, Eliza Steele, no doubt made sure all the kids under her jurisdiction got their shots. We must also recognize Albert Einstein, who launched the space program. Rachel Carson was also a hero and probably one of our first recognizable environmentalists with her book, Silent Spring.

In the late 50s and early 60s we had our civil rights heroes including Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat on the bus down south after a long day on the job working for the white man. Many more African-Americans were heroes of the day during their struggle for equal human rights in the land of the free.

We all had our favorite “cowboy” hero: Roy Rogers and Dale Evans; Gene Autry, Hop-a-Long Cassidy, and the Lone Ranger. We also had supernatural heroes such as Superman and Wonder Woman. We followed them and cheered them on as we listened to the old radio shows and watched them on Saturday Matinees at the Strand and Park Theaters.

Then there was Captain America, who saved us all from communism.

We had a fascination with space and we had a real life hero in Alan Shepard, the first man in space. We were disappointed when Russia launched “Sputnik” and beat us into space; but Shepard came through for us and saved the day.

Our imaginary “space heroes,” preceded the actual space program we came to know as NASA. The picture above shows two of those heroes as they appeared on the early T.V. program, “Space Patrol.” I am attempting to upload a video of this show called, “Hit by a Meteorite.” If successful I will post it for you. Otherwise, you can catch this video on YouTube.com. Look for Space Patrol. Note the silly girls and the blond with the perfect “pageboy” hairdo, something many teen-aged girls of that time aspired to. The costumes were a bit over the top too, especially those hats.

Flash Gordon was another fictional space hero we first came to know on radio. See the separate blog for one of those old shows. The real hero of this show was the announcer. He had his work cut out for him to first set the scene and then narrate the ensuing action. Producing this action-packed show purely in an audio format over the radio airwaves was an act of pure genius.

Our Rock and Roll idols didn’t become heroes till later on in the 60s when many of them joined the “Peacenik” anti-war movement. Notably I remember Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, the voice of a generation. Some would say that many more heroes were born at the famous Woodstock gathering.

Heroes are all around us every day. They may not be famous, but they get the job done when necessary to keep everyone safe. Give a high-five to our police officers, firemen, teachers, civil servants; and those who perform medical miracles; as well as all our service men and women. These people perform services for us as on a daily routine without ever looking for a thank-you or recognition of any kind. We salute them.

Thanks for listening.