Over
the years as a newspaperman I’ve had the privilege and honor to interview many
prominent people ranging from senators, congressmen, governors and astronauts
to name a few. At the top of the list were Medal of Honor recipients who also
became friends, including Jimmy Doolittle, Ed Michaels, Joe Foss, Dan Gery and
Bob Bush. Each of these men demonstrated courage, dedication and devotion to
our country beyond what any ordinary person would ever consider. Yet memory recalls
one individual who never was awarded a medal, was never renowned for any
particular exploit by the government but demonstrated courage beyond the
ordinary. This is the story as it appeared some 40 years ago
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By
DELL ARTHUR
Staff
Reporter
HOQUIAM—“If
you have belief in yourself and you are willing to put out the effort, a guy
can do darn near anything,” said John Williamson.
And
he ought to know.
Williamson,
53, is owner of the Williamson Logging Company, a private airplane pilot
qualified for both land and water flying, and an enthusiastic hunter and
fisherman. He is also paralyzed from the waist down.
HOLDS DISTINCTION
According the Federal Aviation
Administration Williamson is the only known paraplegic certified for both water
and land aircraft. “I always wanted to be an airplane pilot,” the husky,
broad-shouldered logger recalled. “When I got out of the Marine Corps in 1946
the first thing I did was to enroll under the G.I. Bill flying school.” With
his eyes set on a commercial pilot’s license, his aspirations were cut short
following a woods accident which severed his spinal cord.
“After
the accident I had to spend a great deal of time in bed,” he vividly recalled.
“Several specialists examined me and all agreed the injury was permanent. I
figured my flying days were over.”
Following
his release from the hospital Williamson’s most important problem was making a
living. “It was a question of making a few adjustments,” he said with a grin.
“Having worked in the woods all my life I hated to give it up. That’s when I
started going into the business end of it. My wife, Grace, worked just as hard
getting us set up as anyone.”
FLYING BUG RETURNED
But the thought of flying never left
the determined businessman. The “bug” started gnawing at him when he visited
his nephew Jack Duffy of Anglemount, B.C. “We used to go out scouting timber in
his airplane and Jack would let me handle the controls when we were in the air.
One day I figured, ‘heck, why can’t some sort of rig be attached to the rudders
of this thing?’ So when I got home I started making some inquiries.”
Williamson
found to his disappointment there were only seven officially certified pilot
paraplegics in the nation. But, again thinking positively, he decided there
should be eight.
“The
biggest problem was to select a type of airplane that could be modified,” he
said. “After checking with Bud Oswald’s Flying Service in Tacoma, a Piper
Cherokee was selected.
Williamson
explained the Cherokee didn’t use foot brakes, but had a handle instead. “That
solved one big problem,” he said, but another problem was the rudder controls
normally operated by the feet. “One of the mechanics at Oswald’s designed a
lever-operated control to replace the foot controls so that solved another
problem. After the Federal Aviation Agency approved the modifications, I was in
business.”
Driving
a specially equipped automobile, Williamson made weekly treks from Hoquiam to
Tacoma for his flying instruction. Following 23 hours of dual instruction, his
instructor patted him on the back, climbed out of the airplane, and Williamson
made his “solo” flight.
However,
this was only part of re-qualifying himself as a pilot. “I had to take a
special flight check with a FAA examiner,” Williamson explained. “He met me at
the airport and we climbed into the airplane, fastened our seatbelts, and
headed for the runway.” The critical check flight lasted only 40 minutes he
recalled.
Following
the landing Williamson wondered how much he impressed the examiner with his
ability to fly. When they pulled up to the flight line the examiner got out of
the plane, looked him in the eye and said, “Nice job.” He then signed his pilot
certificate.
With
the freedom to fly Williamson’s taste was barely whetted. An avid hunter and
fisherman, he started thinking about all the lakes and streams he used to fish
prior to his accident. “About the only way you can get into some of those places
is by airplane,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “Well, since I was now a
qualified land-rated pilot, I started thinking why I couldn’t get a water
rating.”
So
with a purpose in mind, Williamson started examining amphibious airplanes. “It
was obvious I would need at least a four-passenger plane,” he continued. “Also,
the plane would have to be of a design where I could climb in and get out by
myself.” Finally, he set his sights on a Lake LA4. “This was a great little
airplane. It has a pusher-propeller, good visibility, tri-cycle landing gear,
and cruises at a little over 100 m.p.h.”
The
airplane presented other benefits for Williamson as well including a hydraulic
system. “This was particularly important. Since the plane had hydraulic brakes,
we could make a device which could activate either the left brake or the right
one, or both merely by pushing a small lever,” he explained.
After
mastering the mechanics of the plane he was set to start on his water rating.
Again he went to his friend Oswald and was referred to DeVon Edrington who had
some 30 years of experience as a flight instructor and test pilot. Following 36
hours of dual instruction, Williamson achieved what no other paraplegic has
managed to do. He was now a rated land and water certified pilot.
And
how does he feel about it?
INSPIRES HANDICAPPED
“The tragedy is there are a lot of
people like me who have a handicap but feel they can’t ever do anything like
flying. From my personal experience this isn’t so. If someone who is paralyzed
wants to get into aviation, there is no reason why, under normal conditions,
they can’t. Besides, if they stick to it and learn to fly, they will find a
totally new and wonderful world--the world of an aviator.”
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Recently we tried to locate
Williamson without success. With the passage of time perhaps he is no longer
with us. But his courage and determination lives on and is still an inspiration
to those of us who knew him. Who he was and what he represented puts him in the
hero category of the best of the best.
