Evening star., 1942-08-11
Anmy-NaW Given
Boeing Plant for
Production Speed
Thousands OF Workers
Attend Ceremonies at
Aircraft Factory
BY ALFRED TOOMBS,
Star Staff Correspondent.

SEATTLE, Wash, Aug. 1l.-Th'
Army-Navy e pennant tapped il
the breeze today over the spot wher,
this country is Matching the world :!
most formidable bomber--and tn,
Axis thereby gained a 45-minute
respite.
All work stopped in the Boeine
aircraft factory, where the Flyint
Fortress is made, for three-quarters
of an hour yesterday while thou
sands of workers assembled outside
the plant to receive their reward
for a job we'll done.
It marked the first time the award
a sort of industrial Distinguished
Service Medal-had been made tC
an airplane manufactured. To those
who know the record of the Flying
Fortress in this war, the Efor-ex-
cellent rating seemed almost an
understatement.
One of Rare Pauses.
This was only the second time
since December that work in the
Boeing plant had stopped for even
a minute. The other occasion was
the visit of Capt. Hewitt r. Wheeless,
the Flying Fortress pilot who was
mentioned by President Roosevelt
in q report to the Nation some
months ago.
Capt. Wheeless was here yester-
day, along with other American
flyers who have piloted the BIZ
bombers against the enemy. They
heard the workmen cheer and sing
as the red, white, blue and gold
pennant was raised above the plant
The award was made to the Boeing
plant not alone for the high quality
Of its lethal product. 1t was made
also because the plant managers
had been able to keep consistently
ahead of their schedule and produce
more aircraft tonnage per square
foot Of factory space than any other
manufacturer.
P. G.. Johnson, president of the
company, told reporters that Boeing
was capable of producing 40 per cent
more planes than was originally con-
templated. If materials could be OBJ
tanned, he said that the production
rate of Flying Fortresses would al
most be doubled.
The war out here is a much. grim
mer business than in the East
They are conscious that the enemy
Is near off somewhere in the Pa
cific fog and perhaps not very far.
The Boeing plants here are heavily
guarded by soldiers who squint
speculatively down the barrels of
machine guns when they see group
of strangers approach.
Cheer Officer.
It was against this background
that the ceremony took place at the
Boeing plant yesterday.
The Boeing workers, jam packed
around a bunting -draped stand,
heard congratulatory remarks from
Gov. Arthur B. Langlie and Col.
Charles w. Steinmetz, who repre-
sented the Secretaries OF the War
and Navy.
They cheered Col. Eugene L. Eu
bank. the Air Forces officer who
commanded our squadrons of Flying
Fortresses in action in the Philip
pines, Java and points south. Then,
when the pennant had been raised.
they joined in singing the National
Anthem.
Some one started the four motors
on just-completed bomber outside
the factory doors as the thousands
of voices took up the first verse
The roar Of the engines was prob
ably the most fitting accompaniment
the anthem could have had.
And as the men and women
filed back to their work the huge
bomber was hauled out onto the
factory airf1eld-its guns loaded and
its fuel tanks full-ready to take
oil for a theater of operations