Through the history of world aviation many names have come to the fore
 Great deeds of the past in our memory will last, as they're joined by more and more

 When man first started his labor in his quest to conquer the sky
 he was designer, mechanic and pilot, and he built a machine that would fly

 But somehow the order got twisted, and then in the publics eye
 the only man that could be seen was the man who knew how to fly

 The pilot was everyone's hero, he was brave, he was bold, he was grand,
 as he stood by his battered old bi-plane with his goggles and helmet in hand

 To be sure these pilots all earned it, to fly you have to have guts
 And they blazed their names in the hall of fame on wings with bailing wire struts

 But for each of these flying heroes there were thousands of little renown,
 and these were the men who worked on the planes but kept their feet on the ground

 We all know the name of Lindbergh, and we've read of his flight to fame
 But think, if you can, of his maintenance man, can you remember his name?

 And think of our war time heroes, Gabreski, Jabara and Scott
 Can you tell me the names of their Crew Chiefs? A thousand to one you cannot

 Now pilots are highly trained people, and wings are not easily won
 But without the work of the maintenance man our pilots would march with a gun

 So when you see mighty jet aircraft as they mark their way through the air,
 the grease stained man with the wrench in his hand is the man who put them there

             ~ Anonymous ~