Before ordered to Vietnam, Guy was based at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho. When an older couple at church discovered that Guy was an air traffic controller, they invited us to their home for dinner.

Howard and Winifred Firebaugh were so gracious. She served Cornish game hens, which we’d never eaten before. Everything was so elegant.

Mr. Firebaugh was a pilot and worked for the FAA as a representative at the air force base. He said his pilot’s certificate had been signed by one of the Wright brothers! An article in the FAA Horizons newsletter of Oct. 14, 1968, shows a photo of Howard and the treasured signature of Orville Wright.

The accompanying article says that the certificate, “issued jointly by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale and the National Aeronautic Association of U.S.A., was among the last of its kind. Shortly afterward, licensing of U.S. pilots was taken over by the Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce.”

Orville Wright was chairman of the Contest Committee of the National Aeronautic Association, which issued licenses “on proof of fitness.”

J. Howard Firebaugh was born in 1901 so was 68 when the article was published, and about the time we met him. After obtaining the license in 1929, he left coaching at Santa Cruz, CA, and worked as a barnstormer, aerial photographer, and flight instructor, then for the Bureau of Air Commerce at Montana State Airport.

In 1937, Firebaugh transferred to air traffic control, serving as chief controller at Cincinnati and Great Falls ARTC Centers, and more.

We also learned that Howard Firebaugh was a student of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and had hiked much of their route. That was a new concept for me, but after reading Undaunted Courage, I can certainly see why someone would enjoy that as a hobby. Oh, I wish we’d asked more questions.

I remember serving Cornish game hens only once. So much for trying to be elegant.