THE QATSPY- Yankee Personal-Style Traditional Apparel Quarter Masters
By: Charles W. Boatright
The Story Behind the 2nd Amendment Leather Flight Jacket by US WINGS®
The Story Behind the US WINGS® 2ndAmendment Flight Jacket is a story where we took our A-2 Flight Jacket to support the awareness of one of the most fundamental rights we have, the right to bear arms. We designed the 2nd Amendment Patch to help support this right and to help educate others on the importance of this right.
The open forum is a basic right that we hold dear in order to institute, protect, and defend basic principles that form the very foundation of our Republic. There are five (5) principles that are proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence and these are- Life, Liberty, and pursuit of Happiness, within the premise of Safety and Security.
I designed the 2nd Amendment A-2 Leather Flight Jacket patch to remind us that these five principles of Life, Liberty, Happiness, Safety, and Security are enumerated in the second paragraph of The Declaration of Independence. This paragraph starts with these important words–
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.
These basic rights that we as Americans strive for and enjoy are Life, Liberty, pursuit of Happiness, Safety, and our Security for ourselves, family, and our neighbor. But as history bears out, these rights have to be constantly re-established, protected, and defended and not compromised.
History is important to all of us because it tracks the Risk and Reward of previous generations for the benefit of future generations that will come after them. This has been proven true with the Founding Generation of our country right through the Greatest Generation to our present Generation.
The 2nd Amendment in the Bills of Rights
Amendment II
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
It was no accident that the Framers saw the need for the 2nd Amendment of the Bill of Rights to defend the premise as spelled out in The Declaration of Independence of Safety and Security that was ratified just six years after the War of Independence was fought and won in September of 1783.
There are unsung heroes that are referred to as Minutemen that not only fought in the Revolutionary War, but also the War of 1812, where ordinary citizens picked up arms and fought with General Andrew Jackson to defend the safety and security of New Orleans during the Battle of New Orleans, against the British. These same-type American Minutemen traveled to Texas to defend the Alamo.
Minutemen are just essential to the formation of our country today, as during World War Two, where the French Underground made up of regular French citizens, that fought against the German occupation of their country. There again, common French citizens picked up arms and helped the Allies defeat the Third Reich in 1945.
This goes back to a principle of Do unto others as you have them do unto you. And that we are our brother’s and neighbor’s keeper. It’s been proven that common citizens that formed the Minutemen and women have helped defend our Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness within the premise of Safety and Security. Without women taking their place in the War Effort, America would had lost the Second World War.
The False Narrative
For those who have the false narrative that confiscation of arms, and or gun control, will provide a means for a safer society only have to look at the 18th Amendment to see the fallacy of that argument. It was called Prohibition that prohibited the manufacturing, distribution, or sale of alcohol to the public in the United States.
The unforeseen consequences of Prohibition set up the largest crime wave we’ve ever seen in the United States with black-markets, bootlegging, moonshine running, and not to mention, murder carried out by organized crime.
If you want a safer and securer society, we need to utilize our education and instill responsibility at all levels, especially at the family level. We did it with educating the public with the use of seat belts and non-smoking campaigns. We even have seat belt laws in most states, and we still hear where deaths occurs in accidents where people weren’t wearing their seat belts.
Education is at the heart and purpose of my 2nd Amendment A-2 Leather Flight Jacket patch design. This 2nd Amendment Flight Jacket encourage an open forum, to inform, and to show the significance of the 2nd Amendment and how it provides safety and security as part of the foundation of our country, as stated in the Declaration of Independence. Not to mention the sporting industry of competition shooting and to have a healthier game and wildlife.
The Origins of the US WINGS® 2nd Amendment A-2 Leather Flight Jacket
The original A-2 Leather Flight Jacket that the US WINGS® carries in our inventory is based on the original A-2 Flight Jacket that was developed in the early 1930’s for the U.S. Army for the Army Air Corps and the Airborne units like the 82nd and the 101st Airborne. We took this classic A-2 jacket that we at US WINGS® have and still supplies to the U.S. Military and designed a 2nd Amendment patch that comes in the 10-inch and 5-inch diameter sizes of the Hand-Painted and the 10-inch diameter embroidered patches, shown below:
We have both the embroidered and the hand-painted versions of this patch with an Oxford-Red background with the words “THE 2nd AMENDMENT” arched across the top of the patch, “U.S.” in the center and the wording “THE RIGHT To BEAR ARMS” under two iconic rifles and pistol all in white lettering, the M-1 Garand and the M-14 Rifles with the Model 1911 pistol, as shown above in the two images.
The embroidered patch is available in a 10-inch back patch. The Hand-Painted Leather patch comes in the 10-inch back patch and the 5-inch front crest patch.
About the 2nd Amendment Patch Design
I designed The 2nd Amendment Patch, based on research that I conducted into the history of American arms. I found three arms that stood out more than any other, due to two World Wars and the shear number of these arms issued over decades, and are still issued today. The first was the Model 1911 pistol, designed my John Browning in 1911, a .45 Caliber that was used during WWI, WWII, Korean, Vietnam and is stilled used by certain Special Forces Units today.
These two rifles were the M-1 Garand designed by John Garand in 1928, 30-06 (7.62 x 63 mm) Caliber and the M-14. Most U.S. Generals agree that this weapon (the M-1 Rifle) helped win WWII. The M-14 was John Garand’s improvements that he made to his M-1 Rifle that became the M-1(A), or the M-14, model that was started in 1944 and issued in 1957 as a 0.308 Winchester (7.62 x 51mm) NATO round. This was the last wood stock and metal rifle issued by the U.S. Military. The M-14 was mainly used for ceremonial settings like at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. What is surprising is that this rifle is now being reissued to the U.S. Military, over the M-16. These are the reasons I chose these three Arms on The 2nd Amendment Patch on our A-2 or CWU-45P Flight Jackets.
My Engineering and graphics background as a Grid Engineer and designer allowed me to design this patch. I had extensive structure design and graphic training.
About the Hand-Painted 2nd Amendment Patch
The company that I have the pleasure of working with after I retired as a Grid Engineer, is with US WINGS that was started by Sergeant Hack, a Vietnam Hero, has the renowned Nose Art Artist, Jim Harley working for him. Jim Harley grew up in an aviation family in Ohio. He spent the majority of his time flying various aircraft as a youth.
Jim’s grandfather was a commercial artist who taught Jim how to draw and paint in all mediums. Jim combined the two passions and started doing commercial- grade Nose Art that are exact replicates of the Nose Art that was on World War Two aircraft, as illustrated below.
Jim also used to fly World War Two-era aircraft for airshows and flyovers where he flew the B-17, B-24, B-25, P-51, and the T-6. He’s even flown in an airshow held at the Southern Heritage Air Foundation in Tallulah, LA, where I’m a member. I have attached a YouTube Video below of one of his flights in a P-51 A Mustang (C). He is the one with goggles and the Snoopy cap below, this is very much worth watching:
Jim Harley hand-paints and numbers each patch that we can sew onto our US WINGS Leather or Nylon flight jackets. For more information and how to purchase yours, select the image of the 2nd Amendment A-2 and CWU-45P Nylon Flight Jackets Below:
The Southern Heritage Air Foundation Museum Raffle
As a fundraiser, the Southern Heritage Air Foundation Museum will be raffling off a 2nd Amendment A-2 Cape Buffalo Leather Jacket, starting on February 29th through April of 2020 to the public. This 2nd Amendment A-2 Cape Buffalo Leather Jacket is a $420.00 value. This 2nd Amendment A-2 Flight Jacket is being provided by The Yankee Personal-Style Traditional Apparel Quarters. This US WINGS A-2 Flight Jacket meets U.S. Military Specifications and is supplied to the U.S. Military.
To book a BOARDING PASS flight on one of the Southern Heritage Air Foundation select the BOARDING PASS below:
Have several dates available to make sure the aircraft and pilots are available during your visit to the Museum.
Call (318) 574-2731 between March and December time frame.