sentimental journey history

AIR & SPACE MAGAZINE

B-17 “Sentimental Journey”

Photographer Lyle Jansma started creating 360º views of cockpits in 2005, and has documented historic aircraft in several collections, including the Heritage Flight Museum, Museum of Flight, Erickson Aircraft Collection, Evergreen Air & Space Museum, and the National Museum of the Air Force. A full set of his cockpit views is available on the ACI Cockpit360º App for iOS and Android. Keep visiting this site ( airspacemag.com/cockpits ) as we add to the gallery below.

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress was a four-engine heavy bomber aircraft used by the U.S. Army Air Forces against German industrial and military targets in World War II. The B-17G could carry a crew of 10. Rolling off the Douglas assembly line in late 1944, the B-17 Sentimental Journey participated in nuclear tests in 1951 and became a staple on the airshow circuit after being restored. The view here is from the cockpit. See here for more views from different locations on the aircraft.

Source/ more information: Commemorative Air Force

SR-71A “Blackbird”

Douglas A-1 Skyraider

Sikorsky UH-19B Chickasaw

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Sound from B-17 Sentimental Journey is featured on "Masters of the Air"

(Mesa, Arizona, February 21, 2024) - When it comes to World War II aircraft like the B-17, loudness is a given. Powered by four 1,200-horsepower Wright R-1820-97 Cyclones, this beast of a plane produces a deafening roar. Imagine wartime missions, where these engines ran full throttle with turbochargers on, making it an extra noisy journey for crewmembers near those massive radial engines. Even with earplugs, usually just some cotton stuffed in the ears, crews often faced hearing problems.

So, when the producers of the new Apple TV+ series "Masters of the Air" needed authentic sounds, they wanted the real deal. The "Masters of the Air" production team meticulously crafted two full-scale replicas for ground scenes, while all airborne action, from takeoffs to dogfights, was brought to life using CGI. But for authentic sounds, they turned to Sentimental Journey.

Operated and maintained by CAF Airbase Arizona, Sentimental Journey is one of the few airworthy B-17 Flying Fortresses left, authentically restored to its former glory. The production crew got to work in April 2022, placing microphones inside the plane and around the airfield during pilot training flights, capturing the raw sounds needed for the series.

Starring Austin Butler, Callum Turner, and Barry Keoghan, "Masters of the Air" was produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, marking their third World War II miniseries after “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific.” But for the folks at Airbase Arizona, it's their B-17,* Sentimental Journey*, that steals the spotlight.

The series premiered on January 26, 2024, with the first two episodes on Apple TV+. CAF members gathered at the Airbase Arizona hangar for the premiere, erupting into cheers when they saw “B-17 Flight Recording Arranged by Commemorative Air Force, Airbase Arizona” in the closing credits.

Even though the last B-17s were retired over 50 years ago, their legacy lives on through preservation efforts like those of the Commemorative Air Force and the tales of those who built and flew them. As for Sentimental Journey's role in “Masters of the Air” it proves that being heard is just as crucial as being seen, as the thunderous roar of its Cyclone engines echoes true history.

Want to learn more? Annie Flodin, one of the Boeing Historians, has written a great Boeing News Now article on Sentimental Journey’s sound contribution to Masters of the Air.

Click Here to Read More

B-17G Flying Fortress

Sentimental journey.

Wartime Mission: Designed for daylight precision bombing, B-17s flew unescorted bombing missions over Europe for much of the war. B-17s were legendary for their ability to return home after taking brutal poundings. They dropped over 640,000 tons of bombs over Europe. A total of 12,731 B-17s produced by Boeing, Vega, and Douglas. Our Sentimental Journey is one of only five B-17s around the world actively flying today and was built in November, 1944.

After World War II, B-17s were used for other military purposes including photo-mapping, atmospheric nuclear weapon testing drone control, fighting forest fires, and other civilian purposes.

Flight details

There are 2 seats in the nose section: The bombardier seat at the front of the compartment and the navigator seat immediately behind. Passengers are requested to swap seats during the flight so that each passenger may experience either takeoff or the landing in the bombardier’s seat. Passengers in the bombardier/navigator compartment are restricted to that compartment during the flight. Flight time is approximately 20 minutes in the air.

There are 3 seats in the radio room and 3 seats in the waist compartment. In flight, passengers are allowed to move around in these two compartments and enjoy the view through the waist gunners position. Passengers in the radio room/waist compartments are restricted to those two compartments during the flight.

Flight Time is approximately 20 minutes in the air.

Number of Passengers: 8 Price: $475 for Radio Room/Gunner seats (6 total); $850 for Bombardier seats (2 total) – highly coveted in the nose of the airplane enclosed in see-through plexiglass. Accessibility: Please see disclaimer and boarding video below. Ear Protection: Earplugs (provided or bring your own) Flight Intensity: Low (typically less than a commercial airliner)

The B-17 Bomber “Sentimental Journey”

General Characteristics Type: Heavy/Strategic Bomber Manufacturer: Boeing (later on Vega and Douglas) Maiden Flight: 28 July 1935 Introduced: April 1938 Theater of War: World War II Number Produced: 12,731 Status: Retired in 1968 Our B-17G “Sentimental Journey” was built in November, 1944 at the Douglas plant in California

Dimensions Crew: 10 Wingspan: 103 ft 9 in Length: 74 ft 4 in Height: 19 ft 3 in Empty Weight: 36,134 lbs Max Takeoff Weight: 65,500 lbs

Performance Power Plant: (4) Wright R-1820-97 Cyclone Turbo-Supercharged Radials Horsepower: 1,200 hp. each Maximum Speed: 263 knots (302 mph) Service Ceiling: 36,400 ft Rate of Climb: 900 ft/min Range: 3,259 nm (3,750 mi) Armament: Guns: (13) 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning Machine Guns Payload: Up to 8,000 lbs ordnance (short range missions of less than 400 mi) and up to 4,500 lbs ordnance (long range missions of up to 800 mi)

Flights on this plane

B-17 bomber seating chart.

• There are two seats in the forward compartment both labelled Bombardier . One of these seats is the navigator position directly behind the bombardier seat. Passengers in the forward compartment are requested to change seats halfway through the flight so that both passengers can experience sitting in the bombardiers seat during flight.
• Passengers must be 12 years of age or older. Minors who fly (age 12-17) must have their guardian complete a Minor Hold Harmless agreement and the guardian(s) must be present on the day of flight.
• For safety reasons, all passengers must wear close-toed shoes. No Sandals or flip-flops will be allowed. Long pants are recommended.
• Passenger flight suits will be offered for the duration of flight. Passengers have the option to decline the flight suit if they are wearing long pants.
• All flights take-off from and land at the same airport.
• For your safety and ours, Passengers must be able to enter and exit the aircraft without assistance. Passengers that cannot board without assistance will not be flown. Passengers may be required to demonstrate that they can board and exit the aircraft prior to boarding. Please see the boarding video below for more information.
• There is a minimum number of passengers required to fly this aircraft. If the minimum is not met prior to flight time, the flight will be cancelled.
• Flights may be cancelled due to weather, mechanical, or crew availability
• For safety reasons, no vaping devices are allowed on any of our aircraft
• No Firearms are permitted on the aircraft
• No animals are permitted on the aircraft

(This section is currently in preparation.)

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Ghost of christmas flights past: luckier even than santa, doolittle raiders fly into history books, james dietz – a master storyteller, carroll shelby—from curtiss to cobra. born january 11, 1923 flown west may 10, 2012, read my lips, steve ritchie—the last ace, julie clark’s flying adventures as captain and aerobatics superstar, adam aircraft to fly again a-500 donated to “wings over the rockies”, bobbi trout: “just plane crazy”, harry combs enters the jet age, harry combs: the early years, how emily hanrahan howell warner conquered the male-dominated airline industry, the sentiment behind the sentimental journey resilient b-17 kicks off 16-state tour.

• By: AJ Staff Writer
• In: National
• On: July 1, 2008

The Sentimental Journey takes off toward Boulder.

By Barry Biggs

While Doris Day may never have met Capt. Robert “Bob” Blue, she and the soft-spoken Commemorative Air Force pilot would be able to strike up a conversation: both have a deep and long-lasting affinity for the moniker “Sentimental Journey.” One prefers it be on the air; the other prefers it be in the air.

Day’s version hit the Billboard charts March 25, 1945, as Columbia Records’ catalog number 36769. Her melodic tones struck the heartstrings of listeners around the world as the war moved reluctantly from Europe to the Pacific.

Blue’s version was accepted into service by the U.S. Army Air Corps just 12 days earlier, on March 13, and was christened 44-85314. With four throaty 1,200-hp radial engines, this Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress filled the hearts of servicemen and women with a sense of pride, and it eventually became an icon of American offensive airpower. Although manufactured far too late to see service in the European theatre, this plane did fly briefly as an RB-17G in the Pacific, fitted as a platform for photo-mapping operations.

Sentimental Journey nose art features the popular actress Betty Grable.

More than 60 years later, 85314 is one of only a handful of the B-17s still flying. And while her tail number has changed, and she’s donned a more glamorous designation, Sentimental Journey still reports for duty.

Assigned now to the Arizona Wing of the Commemorative Air Force as a flying museum, Sentimental Journey serves to honor the men who flew and crewed the B-17s during the war, as well as the men and women who built them.

According to the CAF, an educational, historic, preservation, nonprofit organization that restores and flies vintage military aircraft, an average of 80,000 visitors see and pass through the meticulously restored plane during its annual summer tour, which this year brought her to the 2008 Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport Open House.

CAF volunteer pilot Blue, who has flown the restored B-17 for seven years, points out Sentimental Journey is as about as authentic as they come.

This view of Boulder is from Sentimental Journey’s starboard waist gun turret.

“This is the most accurately restored B-17 there is,” asserts Blue. “It’s about 96 percent accurately restored.”

Although Sentimental Journey entered service at the tail end of the war, she still had work to do. After her tour in the Pacific, she was transferred to Eglin Field, Fla., and was converted to a DB-17G for service as an air-sea rescue craft.

During the 1950s, she was reconfigured as a DB-17P, serving with the 3215th Drone Squadron at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. There, in 1951, she took part in “Operation Greenhouse,” the fourth in a series of postwar atmospheric nuclear weapon tests designed to study the principles that would lead to the development of the hydrogen bomb.

During the classified testing, Sentimental Journey was designated as the airborne mother ship, used to remotely fly and control a drone B-17 as it traveled in and out of the target area and collected radioactive cloud samples.

But eight years later, on Jan. 27, 1959, the Air Force mothballed Sentimental Journey and transferred her to storage at Davis Monthan AFB in Tucson, Ariz. But not for long.

Engines number 1 and 2 can be seen from the bombardier seat in the aircraft’s glass nose.

According to the War Bird Resource Groups registry for 44-83514, Acme Aircraft Parts of Compton, Calif. briefly picked up Sentimental Journey on July 31, 1959. She was re-designated as a civilian aircraft with a brand new tail number, N-9323Z, which she still wears today.

Western Air Industries, of Anderson, Calif., then acquired Sentimental Journey in November 1962, and converted her from her B-17 configuration to airborne fire tanker #E17. From there, she moved to the Aero Union Corporation of Chico, Calif., where she was flown as #C17 and #17 and eventually restored in 1977 to her military configuration as USAAF483514/Class of ’44.

In January 1978, the storied plane was donated to the newly formed Arizona Wing of the CAF. Local media launched a contest to name the plane. Out of more than 800 entries, “Sentimental Journey” was selected.

But a warbird of this stature needed appropriate nose art. The wing obtained permission from the estate of Betty Grable, who was perhaps the most famous pinup girl of the era, to use her famous pose as part of the finishing touches.

Barry Bills “operates” one of the two waist gunner turrets on the B-17.

Wing members worked diligently to return Sentimental Journey to her original glory, but even in her pristine condition, she was still missing what really made her a Flying Fortress— four operational turrets, operational bomb bay doors, navigator and radio operator stations, a Norden bomb sight and machine guns.

The next two years found wing members scrounging junkyards and airfields in search of elusive original parts. Seattle-based Boeing Aerospace provided photos and engineering drawings to make the restoration as authentic as possible. Boeing even helped install a new nose turret, the first major piece of equipment of the restoration.

By 1986, Sentimental Journey was an air show favorite, making more than 60 appearances across the U.S. and Canada. In 1988, she suffered a brake failure during a landing at Burbank Airport in California. The accident caused extensive damage to the underside front section of the aircraft and took six months to repair.

CAF wing members made repairs, and Sentimental Journey is once again making the rounds. This year, she and her volunteer crewmembers kicked off their summer tour with a roster that includes stops in 16 states, featuring walk-though tours and rides for some lucky locals who feel that flying aboard Sentimental Journey is well worth the $425 price tag.

Cleared to land, the Flying Fortress is on short final for runway 29R at Rocky Mountain Metro Airport, coming in at about 110 mph.

Passengers, under the watchful eye of the crew chief are free to move about the interior of the aircraft and can sit at most of the plane’s 10 crewmember positions. They can stroll down the catwalk or watch the world pass by from the vantage of the .50-caliber starboard waist gun turret, which has a large acrylic opening for use as an observation platform. It is the perfect roost for any photographer who has the ability to focus with one hand and hang on with the other.

The best seat in the house belonged to the bombardier, who sat tucked in the clear glass bubble beneath the nose. The 180-degree view makes up for a tight fit. Interestingly enough, during wartime operations, the bombardier would actually take control of the plane during bomb runs. Using the B-17’s autopilot controls and famous Norden bombsight, the bombardier would carefully calculate distance, speed and other factors affecting his ability and apply his skills in delivering the payload on target. Then with the “bombs away” command, he returned control of the aircraft to the pilot.

While just the sight of Sentimental Journey is exciting for many, its crewmembers, who rotate throughout the season, will remind guests that she’s not a joy ride: she’s a grand lady and a flying memorial and museum of the men who flew and crewed these airplanes, as well as the men and women who built them more than 60 years ago. Out of 12,731 built, only 10 restored and airworthy examples remain in the country.

“It’s really such a privilege to be part of the B-17,” said Capt. Mike Buckley, Sentimental Journey copilot and CAF director of operations. “It’s a wonderful experience to feel what the guys did before us—to be a part of a plane that’s part of our history—and then be able to go around the country and share that with the public.”

Buckley, who is a retired airline pilot with 35 years under his belt at Northwest, confessed the best part for him was to be able to talk with former B-17 crewmembers.

Capt. Bob Blue, retired after 39 years with United Airlines, has flown the restored B-17 for seven years.

“Whether they were gunners, waist gunners or pilots, it’s always very satisfying to talk to them—and thank them for their service to our country,” he said.

Buckley hopes that during their annual summer tours, future generations will have a better understanding of what the B-17 Flying Fortress did for the nation.

“Hopefully, the younger generations will pick up an appreciation for what we have—and why we have it,” he said.

For more information about Sentimental Journey, including tour stops, visit the Arizona Wing of the CAF at [http://www.azcaf.org], or call 602-448-9415 for information and scheduling of rides. Upcoming stops this summer will include Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. A special thanks to Bea Khan Wilhite of the Colorado Aviation Historical Society for making possible the interviews and flight aboard the Sentimental Journey.

Crewmembers including Mike Pemberton (left) and Chuck Youngbeck rotate throughout the season.

© Copyright 2016 Airport Journals

Sentimental Journey 11th in 1944

Added by koan Managed by Isa

• Highlights 5
• Versions 409
• Adaptations 11
• Discussions 1

Sentimental Journey

First recording and first release by Les Brown and His Orchestra - Vocal Chorus by Doris Day (November 20, 1944 / January 22, 1945)

Adaptations

An adaptation is a musical work, which uses elements (music or lyrics) from another musical work.

• Cesta do nebe written by Jiří Štaidl Czech 1976
• Petit voyage sentimental written by Jacques Plante French 1946
• Terugkiek written by Jan Groenendal Frisian 1960
• Komm, wir machen eine kleine Reise written by Heinz Woezel German 1959
• Heute Nacht beginnen wir die Reise written by Kurt Feltz German 1964
• Viaggio sentimentale written by Devilli Italian 1946
• センチメンタル・ジャーニー [Sentimental Journey] written by Maki Asakawa Japanese December 1975
• Dosť s tým sentimentom written by Tomáš Janovic Slovak 1976
• Jornada sentimental written by Augusto Algueró [Sr.] [Mapel] , Artur Kaps Spanish 1961
• Jornada sentimental written by unknown author(s) Spanish 1964
• Jornada sentimental written by José Enrique Okamura Spanish 1967

Sentimental Journey written by Bud Green , Benjamin Homer , Les Brown English

Sentimental Journey written by Bud Green , Benjamin Homer , Les Brown instrumental

Cesta do nebe written by Jiří Štaidl Czech

Petit voyage sentimental written by Jacques Plante French

Terugkiek written by Jan Groenendal Frisian

Komm, wir machen eine kleine Reise written by Heinz Woezel German

Heute Nacht beginnen wir die Reise written by Kurt Feltz German

Viaggio sentimentale written by Devilli Italian

センチメンタル・ジャーニー [Sentimental Journey] written by Maki Asakawa Japanese

Dosť s tým sentimentom written by Tomáš Janovic Slovak

Jornada sentimental written by Augusto Algueró [Sr.] [Mapel] , Artur Kaps Spanish

Jornada sentimental written by unknown author(s) Spanish

Jornada sentimental written by José Enrique Okamura Spanish

Sentimentální cesta written by Michal Bukovič Czech (not verified yet)

Forum topics

Sentimental Journey (aircraft)

Sentimental Journey in flight in Mesa, Arizona in January 2009)

Sentimental Journey , Close up of nose art. On the ramp at KAOH - Lima, Ohio

Sentimental Journey (44-83514) is the nickname of a B-17G Flying Fortress bomber. It is based at the Commemorative Air Force Museum in Mesa, Arizona. [1] The aircraft is regularly flown to airshows throughout North America.

The nose art features Betty Grable , the number one pinup girl of the World War II era. The aircraft's name takes after a song made very popular by Doris Day in 1945.

Fuselage of the bomber

• 2.2 Bibliography
• 3 External links

History [ ]

Boeing B-17G 44-83514 was built by Douglas Aircraft in late 1944, and was accepted by the U.S. Army Air Forces on 13 March 1945. Assigned to the Pacific theater for the duration of the war, it was subsequently placed in storage in Japan. In 1947, the B-17G was reconfigured as a RB-17B for a new role in photo-mapping and assigned to Clark Field in Manila. [2]

In 1950, the aircraft was transferred to Eglin Field, Florida and converted to a DB-17G for service as an air-sea rescue craft. During the 1950s, it was modified to a DB-17P standard, serving with the 3215th Drone Squadron at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. One of its important missions was “Operation Greenhouse,” the fourth postwar atmospheric nuclear weapon test series conducted by the United States during the spring of 1951. As a mother ship, the RB-17P directed unmanned, radio controlled B-17 drone aircraft to measure blast and thermal effects and to collect radioactive cloud samples. During the test, a drone aircraft would be taken off by ground control. A “mother ship,” already airborne, would then come from behind, take control of the drone and fly it to the target area. [2] On 27 January 1959, the aircraft was transferred to military storage at Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. After a few months storage, 83514 was acquired by the Aero Union Corporation of Chico, California, receiving civilian aircraft registration: N-9323Z. For 18 years, the converted bomber flew as a forest fire fighter throughout the United States. [2]

On 14 January 1978, at a membership banquet for the newly formed Arizona Wing of the Commemorative Air Force, Colonel Mike Clarke announced the donation of the aircraft to the CAF for assignment to the Arizona Wing. A contest was initiated by the local media to name the aircraft, which resulted in more than 800 entries, and the ultimate selection of the name "Sentimental Journey" with nose art featuring World War II pinup Betty Grable. Permission was secured from widower Harry James to add Betty Grable in her most tantalizing pose to complete the newly acquired bomber. [3]

Although flyable, "Sentimental Journey" was hardly an accurate representative of the wartime B-17 bomber and in December 1981, the aircraft underwent an extensive restoration. By 1985, the addition of four operational turrets, operational bomb bay doors, navigator and radio operator stations, Norden bomb sight and machine guns completed the transformation to its original condition. [3] Over the years,"Sentimental Journey" has performed across North America, as one of the most recognizable examples of the type, keeping the legacy of the B-17 intact. [2]

References [ ]

• ↑ "B-17s: Where to find them." aerovintage.com , 15 January 2007.
• ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Sentimental Journey". CAF Official Page.
• ↑ 3.0 3.1 Johnsen 2000, p. 149.

Bibliography [ ]

• Johnsen, Frederick A. B-17 Flying Fortress: The Symbol of Second World War Air Power . McGraw-Hill Professional, 2000. ISBN 978-0-07134-445-6 .
• O'Leary, Michael. "Forts on the Sky Road." Warbirds International , Volume 27, No. 6, September/October 2008.
• Thompson, Mike. "The Flying Fortresses: 75 Years Later – Airworthy B-17s in 2010," Warbird Digest, Thirty-two, September/October 2010.

External links [ ]

• Official website

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Maureen Dowd

Trump the Lion, or Trump the Lyin’?

By Maureen Dowd

Opinion Columnist, reporting from Milwaukee

No one has ever said that Donald Trump doesn’t know a good story when he hears one.

Trump is a master of narrative. Not always true narrative, and not always rational narrative. But the man knows dramatic narrative.

The former president lived through one of the most harrowing episodes in American history, and, thank God, survived it. And for his nomination acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night, he recounted it — to maximum primal and dark effect — before a spellbound audience in a subdued tone with a messianic vibe, as Melania, in a bright red suit, and other family members looked on from a V.I.P. box. (Barron, who was very upset by what happened to his father, according to Trump aides, was nowhere to be seen.)

“I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” Trump told the crowd at Fiserv Forum, after walking out on a stage with a campy giant “TRUMP” in blazing white lights and a display of the White House portico.

“Yes, you are!” the MAGA crowd roared back at him.

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He said he raised his right arm to let the crowd know he was OK, and started shouting “Fight, fight, fight!”

The firefighting uniform of Corey Comperatore, who was fatally shot while attending the Butler rally, was on the convention stage. Trump kissed the helmet.

Trump has spent years on a self-mythologizing hero’s journey, and finally that journey had a story to go with it, sealed with a kiss. A convention video introducing him on Thursday night called him “a folk hero,” and his convention organizers wanted to reintroduce him to the country as a heroic unifier. But Trump couldn’t slay his own ego.

He had originally written a speech that was “a humdinger,” he said. His son Don Jr. called it “fire.” But, after the assassination attempt, the former president tore it up and rewrote it, right up to the last minute, at first taking out any mention of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

He started out on the unity theme, noting gently that “the discord and division in our society must be healed,” and saying: “We rise together. Or we fall apart.”

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He told Democrats to “drop these witch hunts” against him if they wanted unity.

He promised many things. But he couldn’t even keep his promise to leave the president’s name out of his speech. He trashed Biden as an “unthinkable” disaster, noting, “I’m only going to say his name once.”

Trump got to be president by sowing discord and division, so it was unlikely he was suddenly going to have a Paul-on-the-road-to-Damascus conversion.

All week, we were held in suspense.

Would Donald Trump come into the arena a changed man after his brush with death, more spiritual and generous, less petty and cruel, his white bandage covering his red badge of courage?

Or would Trump still be Trump, the same old amoral, demonic showman, preaching unity for one night while continuing to nurse plans for retribution, government evisceration and a vicious smack-down of whichever Democratic nominee he ends up running against?

Is Donald Trump a man of destiny, as some conservatives are now claiming, or a con man of destiny? (“Napoleon in a golf cart,” The Free Press called him.)

And can we even divine any of that on Trump’s big night, given that the Republican ticket features two master shape-shifters?

A Timeline of Lies, Chaos and Damage: This Is Trump’s Record as President

Every night the look on the former president’s face in his V.I.P. box was hard to decipher as the unmanageable candidate watched his well-managed convention unfold. He did not seem engulfed in the kind of euphoria that often follows a near-death experience. He did not seem gleeful. He seemed pensive, as though he were still absorbing the enormity of what happened to him. Every time he looked at a TV screen, he saw the terrifying, totemic moment, and he watched it over and over again in fascination.

He was no doubt trying to fathom his surreal lucky streak, not only with the botched assassination but also court decisions and the remarkable split screen this week. His stunning triumphs contrasted with President Biden’s stunning meltdown.

Trump had undermined democracy and encouraged the violence on Jan. 6. During the 2016 race, he told me he didn’t mind violence at his rallies. He thought it added a frisson of excitement to the proceedings.

Yet despite his bullying, dishonest ways, he is winning. And winning some more.

“This is going to sound extraordinarily cocky, and I don’t mean it to sound that way, or overconfident, but literally we stopped counting at 25 different paths to 270,” Tony Fabrizio, one of Trump’s pollsters, told reporters at an event Wednesday hosted by the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics.

As long as Biden remained in denial, he said, they were golden. And the only thing voters seemed to know about Kamala, he added, was her laugh — whether or not they liked her.

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I’ve covered Trump since 1987, through all his iterations, including the first time he tentatively dipped his toe in the presidential waters with his maiden foreign policy speech to Cuban Americans in Miami in 1999. (He was counting the cameras, bragging about TV ratings and how “my women are more beautiful,” and making bitchy comments about other pols even back then.)

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At the convention, he had a new role: He played the Roman emperor, like a Julius Caesar who survived that “foul deed” and “bleeding piece of earth,” fist in the air, sitting high in the forum, gloating, as his vanquished foes bent the knee. Caesar had a cult of personality as well, the epitome of the strongman authoritarian politician.

That Caesar was martyred. But before that he had already eroded republican rule and was on his way to emperor. (Some Trump supporters on X call Barron “Octavian.”)

This week has been less a convention than a convocation, a MAGA congregation beatifying Trump, a man who delighted in breaking all Ten Commandments.

The former president’s messiah complex was magnified by the assassination attempt; his habit of practicing what face he wants to use for a given occasion kicked in, leading him to instinctively create a bloodstained, defiant image for the ages.

The speeches were replete with references to Trump as a lion, a symbol of Jesus in Christianity and in C.S. Lewis’s “Chronicles of Narnia.” (Trump has a tawny mane but that’s where the similarities end.)

Don Jr. said his father faced danger with “the heart of a lion.” Lara Trump quoted a proverb: “The wicked flee, though no one pursues. But the righteous are as bold as a lion,” adding, “He is a lion.” Tim Scott said: “On Saturday the devil came to Pennsylvania holding a rifle. But an American lion got back up on his feet and he roared.”

The message of Narnia was that good bested bad. But now it was a chronic liar and felon, a man also held liable for sexual abuse, who was getting cast as the sacred lion.

When I covered Trump’s first campaign, it was Hope Hicks, Corey Lewandowski, Michael Cohen, a few young men at computers and a lot of pictures of Trump on a floor beneath him at Trump Tower.

Now he has the wise Susie Wiles and the cutting Chris LaCivita, famous for devising the “Swift Boat” strategy that smeared John Kerry, a war hero, as a war liar.

With Trump, LaCivita is doing the reverse: exfoliating the former president’s criminality and autocratic schemes, including a Truth Social post about terminating the Constitution. I heard no prime-time mention at the convention of the rioters on Jan. 6, dubbed “patriots” by Trump; the day of infamy was wiped out, Lenin-style.

Unlike Biden, Trump has avoided any talk of being a grandfather — or anything at all that is humanizing. He wants to be seen as a strong man. He didn’t want the intro video to be too schmaltzy; aides said he was able to deal with the very personal speech of his lovely 17-year-old granddaughter, Kai, because she is his golf buddy, the one who hangs out at Mar-a-Lago with him, practicing to turn pro.

So the torrent of humanizing anecdotes, meant to soften his image with suburban women and moderates and puncture blue strongholds like Minnesota, was probably, for him and for us, “frow up.” That’s how Dorothy Parker described her reaction to sentimental scenes.

J.D. Vance talked about how Trump kissed his sons good night on their cheeks. Kellyanne Conway talked about how he was amazing with working women — yes, the same president who appointed a bunch of religious fanatics to the Supreme Court, which took away women’s rights to control their own bodies. Alina Habba, one of his lawyers, talked about what great taste Trump has in music and how he once chose a song to play at Mar-a-Lago called “Hold On I’m Coming.”

Lara talked about how her kids loved to hug their gramps. Kai, a daughter of Don Jr., said “Grandpa” gave them candy and soda when their parents weren’t looking; she also said he called her at school to talk about her expert golf game. He even sat with his 4-year-old granddaughter, Carolina, on his lap Thursday night, as she listened to her father, Eric, give a speech.

Thursday night’s speakers were more in Trump’s wheelhouse. He is not that keen on going to war, but he has always loved playing the tough guy, even to the point of praising killers such as Al Capone, Vladimir Putin and Hannibal Lecter. He seemed more faux tough than tough. Now, years after being christened Cadet Bone Spurs, he has an actual battle wound and can brag on being, in that moment of horror, “one tough S.O.B.,” as Sean O’Brien, the president of the Teamsters, said at the convention.

Trump did not want too much softening, and he was eager to macho-up the convention. He entered the arena one night to the James Brown song “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World,” a version that featured Luciano Pavarotti. In the old days, before Trump brought isolationism to his party, Republican nominees used military imagery to show their toughness. But at his convention, Trump bragged: “We had no wars. I could stop wars with a telephone call.”

Playing Caesar, Trump asked gladiators to speak before his speech: Dana White, the U.F.C. chief, to introduce him, which seemed fitting since Trump always treated politics like a blood sport, and Hulk Hogan, the W.W.E. star. Hogan ripped off his shirt to show his muscly arms and a red Trump-Vance T-shirt. He said he was “bleeding like a pig” the last time he saw Trump at a championship match at Trump Plaza.

“I know tough guys,” Hogan said. “But let me tell you something, brother: Donald Trump is the toughest of them all.”

Trump blew Hogan a kiss.

Trump’s convention tried to normalize the former president and gloss over his coup attempt and efforts to strip women of their rights, pushing the Heritage Foundation’s extreme Project 2025 to the side for the week.

Trump’s brand of casual cruelty crept in at spots. In his introductory video, there was a shot of Biden falling on the stairs of Air Force One. (The video ended with the bloody fist pump, of course.)

But luck and political success — and even surviving a shooting — are not the same as destiny.

The notion of destiny confers an inevitability upon Trump’s rise. It wasn’t ever inevitable. His incredible rise was possible because of a coarsening of the culture, plagued by the nastiness on social media, and a decline in our society and our courts.

Besides, it’s easier to rise if you are unscrupulous and you lie. That’s not part of a hero’s journey.

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Maureen Dowd is an Opinion columnist for The Times. She won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary. @ MaureenDowd • Facebook