The Junior Birdmen of America was a national organization for boys and girls interested in aviation and model plane building, founded (ca. 1934) and promoted by the Hearst Communications newspaper chain, with the cooperation of the U.S. Bureau of Air Commerce. The Junior Birdmen of America (JBA) program was officially launched on April 15, 1934, with notices published in every William Randolph Hearst-owned newspaper in America. There were 17 Hearst-owned newspapers involved initially as "Junior Birdmen Wing City Newspapers," including his flagship '' San Francisco Examiner,'' the Hearst ''

New York American :''Includes coverage of New York Journal-American and its predecessors New York Journal, The Journal, New York American and New York Evening Journal'' The ''New York Journal-American'' was a daily newspaper published in New York City from 1937 t ...

,'' the Hearst '' New York Evening Journal,'' the Hearst ''

Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph The ''Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph'' was an evening daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1927 to 1960. Part of the Hearst newspaper chain, it competed with ''The Pittsburgh Press'' and the ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' until bein ...

,'' the Hearst ''

Detroit Times Six different newspapers called the ''Detroit Times'' have been published in the city of Detroit; the most recent existed for six decades, from 1900-60. Overview *The first iteration of the ''Detroit Times'' was an antislavery bulletin only print ...

'' and '' Detroit Sunday Times,'' the Hearst ''

San Antonio Light The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the state of ...

,'' the Hearst ''

Chicago American The ''Chicago American'' was an afternoon newspaper published in Chicago, under various names until its dissolution in 1974. History The paper's first edition came out on July 4, 1900, as '' Hearst's Chicago American''. It became the ''Morning ...

,'' the Hearst ''

Chicago Herald-Examiner The ''Chicago American'' was an afternoon newspaper published in Chicago, under various names until its dissolution in 1974. History The paper's first edition came out on July 4, 1900, as ''William Randolph Hearst, Hearst's Chicago American''. ...

,'' the NY '' Syracuse Journal'' and '' Syracuse Sunday American,'' and Hearst's ''

Boston American The ''Boston American'' was a daily tabloid newspaper published in Boston, Massachusetts from March 21, 1904 until September 30, 1961. The newspaper was part of William Randolph Hearst's chain, and thus was also known as ''Hearst's Boston Americ ...

'' (its Flight Squadron Plan application form and letter listed 22 Hearst newspapers). The cost to join and become a JBA member originally was one dime sent to your local Hearst newspaper. Within a year, Hearst newspapers were reporting Junior Birdmen membership was over 151,000 by 1935. The Hearst Newspapers supported the program with daily and weekly articles, and with local and national events and competitions sponsored around the country. By 1937, there were over 578,000 members. In August 1937, after four years of sponsorship, the Junior Birdmen of America program in its entirety passed from the Hearst News corporation to an independent organization in New York City, as the Hearst Corporation, which was unable to service its existing debts, faced a court-mandated reorganization in 1937. Hearst newspapers also ceased publishing the official daily column of the JBA and the Sunday Birdmen Feature Page in August 1937. The new Junior Birdmen of America organization and

United Air Lines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

sponsored a scholarship award program in 1937 for an 18-month course in airline operations at the

Boeing School of Aeronautics The Boeing School of Aeronautics was started by Boeing to compete against the Wright brothers' Wright Flying School and Curtiss Flying School in San Diego, California. Founded in 1929 at Oakland Municipal Airport in Oakland, California, the school ...

in Oakland, Calif., which included free air transport to and from the school and living expenses while attending classes. It was noted that Junior Birdmen of America, Inc. was defunct by 1939. The organization's motto was "Today Pilots of Models — Tomorrow Model Pilots," but it is now best remembered for the song "Up in the Air, Junior Birdmen", which has been sung with a variety of lyrics to mock would-be or inexperienced aviators. In a sequence in the hugely successful 1955 film, '' To Hell and Back'', Audie Murphy's infantry companions irritate a group of Army Air Corpsmen by singing a version of the song.

Notes

{{reflist Youth organizations established in 1934 Youth organizations based in the United States Defunct organizations based in the United States Aviation mass media