Finally the day for graduation arrived!
Up to this point an Aviation Cadet was the lowest form in the universe! A "yard bird" in the rear ranks gave us orders!

We all very carefully had selected and bought our new officers uniforms. We were again told how to dress so that we all wore the same uniforms for the graduation ceremony.
We marched as usual, to the ramp where the ceremony took place and all lined up in the regular formation. A General officer swore us in and then gave the speech as to what was expected of us as "Officers and Gentlemen!"
At this point the class behind us flew over us in the typical vee formation. I will admit that I got "goose bumps" from this ceremony!
When that was completed we were all issued our silver pilots wings and were allowed to have someone pin them on us. A friend of mine did mine and I did his! It was then time for the enlisted men to collect their dollar. The first man to salute a new officer gets a dollar. After the ceremony was over we were allowed to get back to the same tar paper shacks that were our quarters the best we could. We all had a 30 day leave coming before we had to report to our next duty station. I was to go to Randolph Field near San Antonio, Texas to Flight Instructors School and become a Flight Instructor.

I was going to go home to the Cincinnati, Ohio area so needed to get some stuff from the Base Exchange to take along.
I was walking up the road toward the BX and a master sergeant with hash marks up his sleeve was coming the other way. When he got the required distance from me, up went his hand in a salute. I quickly looked around to see what officer I had missed and then, red faced, knew that he was saluting me. I returned the salute and he said, "That's all right sir, I have seen your kind before!"
I have laughed a lot about that since for it did put things in the proper perspective!

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