Tag Archives: wings

Keeper of the Wings

Title: Keeper of the Wings

Informant info: Informant name is Jason Laackmann. Jason is twenty-eight years old and attends Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH as a United States Army Veteran. Jason served in the Army for five years in active duty and continues to serve in the Minnesota National Guard. The locations in which he has served are Fort Bend, Georgia, Fort Riley, Kansas, and overseas in Eastern Afghanistan.

Type of lore: Customary Folklore, Tradition

Language: English

Country of Origin: USA

Social / Cultural Context: Jason was interviewed at Dartmouth College. He was asked to talk about any traditions he could recall during his time in the Army. The informant discussed a tradition for the youngest members at airborne school.

Associated File: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6KcnEdk7Q4 (start at 3:58)

Transcript:  [I have recorded the item exactly how it was told to me in the interview]: Um, yeah, at airborne school they also have this thing called the “keeper of the wings”, where they give the, the badge to the youngest person in the, in the class. And it’s their job to maintain it and keep it with them throughout the whole three-week training. And at the end, they’re the first ones who get their wings pinned on them, and I think to this day, the youngest person has never failed the course. Uh, which is pretty cool.

Informant’s comments:  Jason commented that this particular tradition has a lot of value to the point that no member to be a part of the tradition has broken it. He has a lot of pride in this fact and believes it to be one of his most memorable traditions.

Collector’s comments: Jason is big on tradition and this idea of passing down a meaningful item to the younger members who come after the older.