[Annotator’s Note: Can hear paper ruffling in the background throughout this segment.] Albert Castaing was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in January 1921. During the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: the Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States], his father worked in a packing house. His mother died when he was seven years old, so various family members helped raised him. Castaing had just returned from a duck hunt with his brother-in-law when his sister told them about the bombing of Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. Castaing decided to quit his job at a hotel and join the service. His brother-in-law wanted Castaing to join the Navy like him, but when he went to Shreveport [Annotator’s Note: Shreveport, Louisiana] to enlist, the Navy was not an option. Instead, Castaing put his name down for the Army Air Corps. On 13 January 1943, he was called in for service. He was sent to Camp Livingston [Annotator’s Note: Camp Livingston near Pineville, Louisiana] for induction and then sent to Keesler Field [Annotator’s Note: Biloxi, Mississippi] for basic training as an aircraft mechanic. He was then sent to Chanute Field in Champagne, Illinois for six months of training for aircraft mechanics. However, three months later he was shipped to Niagara Falls, New York to train on the P-39 [Annotator's Note: Bell P-39 Aerocobra fighter aircraft] for one month. While there, many of the men contracted measles, so everyone was quarantined in a hotel for an additional week. Castaing and 24 other men were selected for a mission and given an envelope to open when they boarded the train. When Castaing opened the envelope, he found out he was heading to New Orleans to support the Flying Tigers [Annotator's Note: The First American Volunteer Group of the Republic of China Air Force composed of American airmen and ground crew]. However, when he got to New Orleans, he learned that the group had already left.

[Annotator’s Note: Can hear paper ruffling in the background throughout this segment.] Albert Castaing was in New Orleans, Louisiana with 24 other men waiting for their orders to be shipped overseas. He was sent to Sarasota, Florida to join the 69 Fighter outfit [Annotator’s Note: 69th Fighter Squadron] and to assist with preparing P-39s [Annotator's Note: Bell P-39 Aerocobra fighter aircraft] for pilots. After 10 months of mechanical training with the P-39s, he was sent to Springhill College in Mobile, Alabama for college courses. After completing his coursework, he was sent to San Antonio [Annotator’s Note: San Antonio, Texas] for one month, and then to East St. Louis, Missouri for flight training. Castaing decided he did not want to be a pilot, so he transferred to Texas for gunnery school for three weeks and then went to California to join up with a crew. He trained with his crew for two months and then was shipped to Hamilton Field in northern California [Annotator's Note: now Hamilton Air Force Base in Novato, California]. Castaing received orders to be shipped to the Pacific and was assigned to a B-24 [Annotator's Note: Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber].

[Annotator’s Note: Can hear paper ruffling in the background throughout this segment.] Albert Castaing and his crew were training in California on B-24s [Annotator's Note: Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber] waiting for orders to ship overseas. He was given a physical and found out he had high blood pressure, and he thought that he would not be able to join his crew in overseas duty. His pilot somehow was able to okay him for overseas duty, however. In September 1944, his crew boarded a troop train and headed for Camp Patrick Henry in Virginia. Then, he and his crew boarded a troop ship to cross the Atlantic with a convoy. The 500 airmen were in the hole of the ship with bunks. Castaing suffered from sea sickness. The ship sailed through part of a hurricane and then later was targeted by German planes when they came close to the African coast. His ship docked in Naples [Annotator’s Note: Naples, Italy] in September 1944. He his crew was a replacement for the 757th Bombardment Squadron, 459th Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force.

[Annotator’s Note: Can hear paper ruffling, seats squeaking, and people in the background throughout this segment.] On 22 September 1944, Albert Castaing [Annotator’s Note: serving with the 757th Bombardment Squadron, 459th Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force] was assigned his first mission to Munich, Germany. As the engineer of the plane, he went through pre-flight checks before takeoff. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewer pauses interviewee and asks him to repeat what he said at 0:43:50.000.] When he boarded the plane, he took the position of waist gunner. Not long after he got onto the flight, two planes near him were shot down by anti-aircraft guns. When they got to their target, they dropped 500-pound bombs on a bridge. He flew 50 missions and most of them lasted about eight hours. On one mission to Austria, he had to pass the target because the weather conditions were so cloudy, and they could not see the target. His crew decided to go into the target area and release their bombs and then flew away. His squadron hit two enemy ships.

[Annotator’s Note: Can hear paper ruffling, seats squeaking, and people in the background throughout this segment.] Albert Castaing [Annotator’s Note: serving with the 757th Bombardment Squadron, 459th Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force] was awarded a DFC [Annotator's Note: The Distinguished Flying Cross, or DFC, is awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight] for one of his missions. He was on the lead command ship heading to Austria. After the pilot made the initial point to the target, the bombardier found out that four of the bombs were frozen. Castaing made his way to the bomb bay and discovered that the bay was too cold for the bombs to release. He was able to work on the bombs and prepare them for the drop. All the bombs dropped, and they were able to destroy the target. He was awarded the DFC for these actions. While aboard the plane, Castaing was required to make sure that it had enough ammunition for each mission for the four gun positions. He acted as the top turret gunner during a mission. He also had to maintain four generators.

[Annotator’s Note: Can hear paper ruffling, seats squeaking, and people in the background throughout this segment.] While on one mission, Albert Castaing’s [Annotator’s Note: serving with the 757th Bombardment Squadron, 459th Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force] plane lost its third engine and the use of hydraulics. They had to begin dropping all of their equipment off the plane to keep it in the air as they made a landing. The plane landed on a metal runway and the plane slid. The nose of the plane hit the ground, but everyone was okay. Castaing worked with the pilot to get the plane to take off again. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewee opens up an old newspaper to show interviewer at 1:25:25.000.] Near the end of the war, Castaing and his crew carried anti-personnel bombs and dropped them on the German infantry. Throughout his service, Castiang hit targets in Germany, Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Poland. His squadron received a Presidential Unit Citation. When the war ended in Europe, Castaing was on a ship heading back to America after completing 50 missions with his crew.

[Annotator’s Note: Can hear paper ruffling, seats squeaking, and people in the background throughout this segment.] Albert Castaing returned home from serving in Europe. He was given one month leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] before reporting to North Carolina and being assigned to a B-29 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber]. After two weeks, he had enough points to be discharged from service [Annotator's Note: a point system was devised based on a number of factors that determined when American servicemen serving overseas could return home]. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewee moves out of the picture to grab a folder of items and begins talking about them at 1:34:35.000.] Castaing was discharged from the service in July 1945 as a technical sergeant at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. His friend convinced him to work for the telephone company and stayed with the company for 39 years of service. He retired in 1983. Castaing believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and that we should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations.