US Army Air Forces

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Bala, Walter The Invasion of Poland and Drafted into the Air Force
Walter Bala grew up in Detroit [Annotator's Note: Detroit, Michigan]. His parents were Polish immigrants, and Bala had...
Stewart, William The Korean War
William Stewart was sent to Washington state to work on the radar in flying box cars. He made corporal as an auto...
Burkle, Henry The Korean War
Henry Burkle was in charge of periodic maintenance [Annotator’s Note: referring to his service during the Korean War,...
Tangradi, Richard The Last Mission
Richard Tangradi’s last mission was to Frankfurt [Annotator’s Note: Frankfurt, Germany]. They had to abort the mission...
Brewer, Chester The Last Missions
[Annotator's Note: Chester Brewer served in the USAAF as a tail gunner aboard Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers...
Douglas, Walter The Merseburg Mission
Walter Douglas recalled a flight surgeon okayed one of his crewmen for a mission that he was not ready for. He also...
Epstein, Ben The Moral of the Story
Ben Epstein reiterated that his mother's influence, and her mantra "Don't ever give up," saved his life the night the...
Kaiser, Raymond The P-40
Raymond Kaiser always mocked the P-40 [Annotator's Note: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter aircraft] as low and slow but he...
Kirkpatrick, Otto The Pathfinders
Otto Kirkpatrick got orders on Easter Sunday 1943 to transfer to the 322nd Bomb Group [Annotator’s Note: 322nd...
Ratcliff, Henry The Philippines and War's End
Henry Ratcliff reached Mindoro [Annotator's Note: Mindoro Philippines, as a member of the 860th Aviation Engineer...
Cahoon, Robert The Philippines, War's End, and Going Home
Robert Cahoon briefly stayed on Biak in the Netherlands East Indies [Annotator's Note: in May 1944, Cahoon left New...
Arrow, Kenneth The RAND Corporation
Dr. Kenneth Arrow joined the RAND Corporation in 1948. [Annotator's Note: RAND is the abbreviation for Research and...
Roberts, George The Rose of York
George Roberts befriended a woman who was the widow of a British officer who had four daughters while stationed in...
Reese, Lloyd The Run on Ploesti
Lloyd Reese was the bombardier on a Consolidated B-24 Liberator taking part in Operation Tidal Wave over Ploiești,...
Whitcomb, Robert The Russians and Writing Home
No one tried to escape while Robert Whitcomb was a prisoner. After the Russians liberated the camp [Annotator's Note:...
McLaughlin, Sr., James The Second Schweinfurt Raid
James Kemp McLaughlin could see the German fighters approaching. The Germans liked to attack from the front and when...
Molen, Herman The Second Schweinfurt Raid
Herman Molen volunteered to go on the second Schweinfurt mission [Annotator’s Note: The Second Schweinfurt raid, also...
Roberts, George The Second Schweinfurt Raid
When George Roberts flew to Schweinfurt they ran out of ammunition, except for in the radio room, on the way to the...
Morehead, James B. The Thirst for Blood and Evacuating Java
James Morehead's first combat action was an intercept of bombers determined to destroy the 19th Bomb Group's [Annotator...
Galbraith, Wendell The Toughest Missions
The target for Wendell Galbraith's second mission [Annotator's Note: with the 782nd Bombardment Squadron, 465th...
Smith, Samuel The Troop Ship
Samuel W. Smith flew for two hours during his check flight. Everything went well. The major complimented his abilities...
Porche, Albert The Tuskegee Airmen
Albert Porche served in Italy with the 99th Fighter Squadron. The 99th was issued light training aircraft after months...
Brown, Roscoe The Tuskegee Airmen and Red Tails Movies and Reflections
Dr. Roscoe Brown says that the scene in the film "Red Tails" where the pilots were standing on the air field doing a...
Goodwin, Hersey The War Ends
When Hersey Goodwin was discharged, it was after the atomic bombs [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on...
Fienup, Victor The War Ends
Victor Fienup went to Paris [Annotator's Note: Paris, France] on V-E Day [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8...
Elliott, Calvin The War Ends
[Annotator's Note: Calvin Elliott consults some notes to see if he left anything out of his story.] Calvin Elliott was...
Klenoski, Richard The War Ends
[Annotator's Note: After his bomber crashed, Richard Klenoski was in a rest home in England when the Germans...
Hillard, Frank The War Ends
Frank Hilliard [Annotator's Note: with the 5th Air Force] enjoyed his stay at Ardmore [Annotator's Note: Ardmore,...
Bridger, Harley The War Ends
Harley Bridger's original crew stayed together the entire war except for the bombardier. He was a young, Jewish boy...
Cristiano, Nick The War Is Over
Nick Cristiano feels that his Japanese prison guards did not know the war was coming to an end. They were brainwashed....
Ernest, Malcolm The Will to Live
[Annotator's Note: Malcolm Ernest was a prisoner of war at Hoten Camp, Mukden, Manchuria; present day China.] Ernest...
Doolan, Robert The YB-40 and England
The first time Robert Doolan ever flew was in a B-17 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] and...
Kaiser, Raymond Thoughts About the War
The war did not change Raymond Kaiser a bit. He felt like he was doing his job. He was in [Annotator's Note: in the...
Caudle, John Thoughts and Discharge
John Caudle has had a lot of thoughts over the years. Especially when he came home out of the service and did not have...
Heilbrun, Herbert Thoughts of Survival
Herbert Heilbrun did not care which theater he fought in as long as he was a part of the war. He got into training late...
Goodwin, Hersey Thoughts on Combat
Hersey Goodwin and the gunners spent a lot of time with flight recognition. When the plane flew into the one in front,...

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