Are We at War?
When I was a child in California a National Guard unit about 10 miles from my home often flew large silver cargo planes with orange on the tails and wing tips over the neighborhood on training flights. It being the height of the cold war, military stuff was common in the area.
“Real” Air Force planes looked different when I served in Vietnam a few years later. They were dark green and black C-130 Hercules monsters. I associated their sound with the war, and when I returned “home” discovered that even the National Guard had switched over to using them.
After college, I moved to Taiwan and dwelt in Pingtung its Air Force base, becoming accustomed to the sound of the 1940’s vintage C-119’s that flew over my house every day. But once I heard a different, chilling sound. Looking up I saw a C-130 approaching to land. My first reaction was, “are we at war?” Taiwan’s C-119’s are long gone, and I’ve left Pingtung. I work in Tainan where fighter jets and C-130’s are common sights and sounds, no longer assuming that we’re at war.
When i lived in Shenyang it was common to see fighter jets overhead. Very cool.