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Roger Latham, with his granddaughter Sophia Gordon, wrote the poem she is holding in memory of his friend who died in a plane crash in the late 1980s. The poem has since touched the lives of many people, including members of the Blue Angels.
Courtesy of Roger Latham
Roger Latham of Fort Worth has written many poems in his life. One that stands out above all others is one he wishes he’d never had to write.
A close friend of his, Errol Johnstad, was killed in a crash at the National Championship Air Races in 1987. The next day Latham wrote a poem entitled “Little Boys” that reflects on their time together from youths through adulthood, anchored by their shared love of aviation.
“Upon learning of his death, Sept. 15, 1987, I was so overwhelmed by grief that it was hard to articulate it,” Latham said. “The next day, I picked up a pen and let my soul pull forth the words to ‘Little Boys.’ Then and only then did my tears release.
“I never changed a word. It is as my soul wrote it.”
It was Latham’s ode to a friendship that even death could not end. To this day it’s both a somber and happy moment when he recalls the times they shared.
“When I finished the poem — in the first and only draft — and read it, the overwhelming emotions I’d kept bottled up were unleashed, and I wept,” he said, almost misting his eyes with the memory. “I thought at that moment that others who loved Errol might also find some relief in my words.
“The next day, my father, my Louisiana banker, and I flew to Reno, and I gave some of my poems to his other buddies. Then, the three of us flew to Minneapolis to attend Errol’s first memorial service, held at the Children’s Theater. Here, I read ‘Little Boys’ and gave plaques with the poem to his present family. They were moved.”
Latham continues to honor Johnstad as the poem has touched the hearts of numerous others over the past nearly four decades. He had it laser engraved onto wooden plaques and has presented it to a few folks, starting with the family of Johnstad.
“The only pieces I’ve sold were for a friend of Charlie Hillard, when he was killed in his race plane, and my father’s P-38 wing man for his personal museum. They insisted,” Latham said.
Hillard, from Fort Worth, was the first American to win the world aerobatics championship, doing so in 1972.
Friends from the start
Latham and Johnstadt first met in 1985 through another friend who had flown with Johnstadt in the Air Force. It was the same year Johnstadt won the Formula One championship at the Reno event.
He was impressed with his friend right from the start.
“Meeting him and having him call me friend is an honor I’ll always hold dear,” Latham said, adding that through Johnstadt he took what he already knew about aerobotics and increased it. “He taught me how to fly aerobatics with the butter smoothness only a pilot with such skills can teach,” he said.
He also admired his friend’s tenacity for success.
“Errol was born in Blair, Wisconsin. He was raised by his grandparents who only spoke Norwegian. When Errol went to first grade, he only knew that language,” Latham continued. “Errol was a Rhodes Scholar, F-104 fighter pilot, senior captain in a 747 for Pan Am, stunt pilot at air shows and a race pilot.”
Their love of the skies created a lifelong bond. Latham grew up in Fort Worth, graduating from Carter-Riverside High School in 1965. While he never competed at the level of Johnstadt, he was once associated and flew in a local gathering of aviators flying an Italian Marchetti SF260.
“I soloed my first plane in ‘64 when I was 17,” he said, adding that this was at the now demolished Luck Field south of Fort Worth. “My father taught me aerobatics soon after I started flying.”
Hillard died in a plane crash in 1996 in Lakeland, Florida. Though Latham did not know him, they had a mutual friend in one of Latham’s classmates, Reb Stimson.
“When Charlie died, Reb came to me and purchased ‘Little Boys’ to give to Charlie’s widow. I offered to give it to him, but he insisted he would pay.”
The only other time Latham sold a copy of the poem was to one of his father’s wingmen from war, Revis Sirmon from Abbeville, Louisiana.
“Revis also created his own private museum showing his flight history and family. He purchased ‘Little Boys’ to put into the museum,” Latham said.
Wanda Cox, chairperson of the Air Power Foundation in Fort Worth, recalled reading the poem at the funeral service of Gene de Bullett, a friend to both her and Latham.
“The poem brought everything Gene loved together. He loved being a little boy,” Cox said. “It has a different meaning for a lot of different people. It has touched people when they read it.
“I know Gene was looking down, enjoying that poem.”
Blue Angels
Among those who have been presented with the poem are the Blue Angels, a flight demonstration squadron of the Navy formed in 1946.
In 1999, seeing that two Blue Angels crashed and were killed, Latham took it upon himself to mail two copies of poem to the Angels — without expectation of compensation, of course.
“I received a nice letter from the then commander of Angels,” he said proudly.
In 2016, another Angels pilot was lost, and he again mailed his poem to the new commander, who also responded with a kind letter of appreciation.
“The plaque called ‘Little Boys’ will be treasured by the team for years to come,” Commander Ryan J. Bernacchi responded in 2016.
“I am, therefore, the unofficial poet of the Blue Angels,” Latham proclaimed. “For me, it’s the best reward for a poet, to be considered worthy in scribbled dots and dashes from the depths of the soul.
“I am a poet, so yes, I’ve written many — some published — but none with the power of ‘Little Boys.’”
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