“Keep ’Em Flying” was coined on May 17, 1941 by the U.S. Army’s chief recruiting officer, Lt. Col. Harold N. Gilbert. The simple slogan was an effective, patriotic battle cry introduced by the U.S. War Production Board to inspire WWII aircraft factory workers. [1] The motto was popular and versatile, just what a public relations campaign needed.
A poem by Jack Childs entitled “Keep ’Em Flying” was published on a 1941 poster by artist C.C. Beall issued by the United States Army Recruiting Service. The slogan encouraged recruitment and civilian participation in the war effort. [2]
Keep ’Em Flying
Keep ’em flying—
Airplanes—flags—
Machines—production—
Nothing lags.
Put your shoulder
To the wheel;
Courage staunch
With nerves of steel.
Greet each day,
Or pledge a toast—
“Keep ’em flying”
Is our boast.
Here’s a slogan
For us all—
An answer to
Our country’s call.
Keep ’em flying;
Keep ’em clear.
The time is ripe,
The time is HERE.
To pull together—
One bold front—
Each one prepared
To do his stunt.
Workers and
The men who hire—
Housewives—children—
All aspire
To help and work
With little pause—
One mind, one heart,
One goal, one cause.
SO—“KEEP ’EM FLYING!”
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| A typical U.S. Army recruitment poster, 1942. [3] |
The slogan was versatile and adaptable, all right. Every citizen was encouraged to support the war effort, even Miss U.S.A.
 |
| “Uncle Sam needs stenographers!” Imagine the paperwork a war generates. Poster produced by the Royal Typewriter Company for the U.S. Civil Service Commission. [4] |
The “Keep ’Em Flying” message was widely promoted and adopted. It was the title of a half-hour 1943 U.S. Army Air Force job placement film that explained for new recruits the roles and importance of many supporting occupations they might consider. [5]
The slogan was also the title of a 1941 Abbott & Costello movie [6] and a Glenn Miller & His Orchestra foxtrot recorded December 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbour [7]. (It works well as a motto for today’s antique aircraft enthusiasts and restorers, too.)
RCAF outfits like No. 6 Repair Depot in Trenton, Ontario were all about keeping 'em flying. Nil nobis irreparabile (“Nothing Beyond Repair For Us”) was their official motto, but a less formal version used by The Sixardee newsletter was “You Bend ’Em, We Mend ’Em”—a snappier slogan akin to “Keep ’Em Flying.”
It was easier said than done, especially for overseas ground crews servicing badly damaged aircraft limping back from their bombing raids. [8]
The slogan worked in Winnipeg, too. It was especially appropriate for MacDonald Bros. Aircraft Limited, a local firm that truly was keeping ’em flying.
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| The photo is unclear in this 1942 advertisement in the Winnipeg Free Press, but may have featured Avro Ansons assembled at the MacDonald Bros.’ new plant. [9] |
A feature in the two Winnipeg daily papers highlighted the remarkable efforts of MacDonald Bros. Aircraft Limited to meet wartime production contracts.
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| This article by Dick Sanburn ran in both Winnipeg dailies on December 29, 1941. [10] |
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| Letter to the Winnipeg Tribune, April 22, 1942. [11] |
Sources (retrieved October 24, 2021)
- Stephen Joiner, “And Then There Was One: Ten airplanes that are the last still flying,” Air & Space magazine, March 2007, https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/and-then-there-was-one-15867954
- Jack Childs, “Keep ’Em Flying” poem, United States Army Recruiting Service poster, 1941, https://discover.library.unt.edu/catalog/b2849053
- 1942 U.S. recruitment poster, https://vintagraph.com/products/keep-em-flying-is-our-battle-cry?variant=12105156886630
- U.S. recruitment poster, “Victory Waits On Your Fingers – Keep ’Em Flying Miss U.S.A.,” https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/powers-of-persuasion#womens-war and https://catalog.archives.gov/id/515979
- U.S. Army Air Force, “Keep ’Em Flying” film, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oAb0LNmzM4
- Abbott & Costello, “Keep ’Em Flying” movie, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvBkw46lBmw
- Glenn Miller & His Orchestra, “Keep ’Em Flying” foxtrot, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfpJyBSngK4
- Pathé Gazette, “Keep ’Em Flying” video, 1944, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l612hBWNmII
- MacDonald Bros. Aircraft Limited advertisement, Winnipeg Free Press, December 29, 1942
- Dick Sanburn, “Doing Their Bit: Vast Assembly Plant Is Landmark of Canadian Industrial Speed in War,” Winnipeg Free Press, December 29, 1941
- Sgt. L. R. Silver, “Airman Thanks Men Who ‘Keep ‘’Em Flying’,” Winnipeg Tribune, April 22, 1942
