Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: ‘Mr. Aviation’ at Nellis

Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2002 | 8:39 a.m.

WHAT DOES A GUY DO to celebrate his 90th birthday? If your name is Howard Walter Cannon you visit Nellis Air Force Base and tour the flight line during a Red Flag exercise. That's exactly what the former U.S. senator from Nevada did last week.

Cannon not only served the Silver State in Washington for 24 years, he was also the political and financial key to the local base becoming our nation's Air Warfare Center and home of the Thunderbirds. Not only is he an honorary Thunderbird, but he also flew almost every modern fighting aircraft developed and built during the past 65 years.

When Cannon, a Democrat, left the Senate in 1982, his Nevada colleague, Sen. Paul Laxalt, a Republican, told fellow senators: "I want to put into perspective the long career of Senator Cannon. He retires after 24 years of service in the Senate and ranking seventh overall in terms of service among Senators now serving. He has served the Senate under seven Presidents, beginning with the last term of President Eisenhower.

"But Howard Cannon was serving his country long before he was elected to the Senate. In the early days of World War II, Senator Cannon enlisted in the Air Force at a time when it was woefully inadequate as a fighting force. He served with distinction and was, at one point, shot down behind enemy lines. With the help of Dutch freedom fighters, the Senator and his crewmate successfully made their way back to American lines. The Senator's interest in aviation carried over into his duties in the Senate. It was not without reason that Howard Cannon is known affectionately as 'Mr. Aviation,' well beyond the circle of the Senate.

"He has developed a deep understanding of aviation and its problems and he has helped guide the growth of aviation steadfastly during his Senate career."

Cannon had been defeated in his bid for a fifth term in the Senate by Las Vegas businessman and state senator, Chic Hecht. It was a slick media campaign along with a bruising Democratic primary that had Cannon losing by 5,657 votes. The senator had been battered in the primary by Congressman Jim Santini, a man Cannon had helped in his prior campaigns.

Hecht was a one-term senator who was dumped by a 14,212 vote margin. Popular Gov. Richard Bryan was the winner in 1988, and Hecht was named U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas by then-President George Bush. Jim Santini went on to leave the Democratic Party and become a Republican. In 1986 he ran against Congressman Harry Reid for the U.S. Senate seat, being vacated by Laxalt, and lost by 14,349 votes. Today Hecht is back home in Las Vegas and Santini is still a lobbyist in Washington, D.C.

What would have been different if Cannon had been returned to serve an additional six years in the Senate? Nobody really knows, but the seniority of the man would have had him return as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee or taking over the reins of the Armed Services Committee during that period of time. We can safely bet the designation of Nevada as the sole nuclear waste-dumping site wouldn't have happened during his reign.

I had the opportunity to work in Cannon's Washington office during several summer months when I wasn't teaching at Basic High School. Those summers gave me the opportunity to learn national legislative government and study at Georgetown University in the evenings. When Speaker Sam Rayburn died, Cannon had me accompany several senators to the funeral in Texas.

Watching Cannon in committee meetings was always a learning experience. His staff attended those meetings knowing that their boss was prepared and had valuable contributions to make. He served with several great Americans on the Armed Services Committee, and partisan politics were left outside the door when it was meeting.

Now you know why Cannon, a retired Maj. Gen. in the Air Force, and his family were greeted and escorted by Maj. Gen. L.D. Johnston, Brig. Gen. Dan Darnell and Col. Tim Hopper during his birthday visit at Nellis Air Force Base.

Happy Birthday, Senator!