Dr. Albert Habeeb was born in Elmira, New York in 1914. After two years, his family moved to Mississippi. 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 owned a grocery store, so food was not hard to come by for his family. Habeeb attended Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi, earning his bachelor’s degree in biology. He then attended Tulane University Medical School [Annotator’s Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] graduating in 1941. One of his professors criticized the sound of his last name and since then, he has always been sensitive to how people pronounce his name. While he was interning at Southern Baptist Hospital [Annotator’s Note: known today as Ochsner Baptist in New Orleans, Louisiana], he was in bed with influenza at 11 o’clock in the morning listening to the radio when he heard the initial news of Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. His fiancée was down in Venice, Louisiana with her family picking oranges and when they returned, he informed them of the news. Habeeb thought it was absolutely impossible, and could not believe that a fleet could travel all the way from Japan and not be recognized. Habeeb joined the military medical reserves in 1938 because he and his friends knew that war was coming, and they wanted to get it over with. After the war broke out, he still had to finish his internship, but he knew he would be placed in the Army medical corps when he became active. Habeeb wanted to pursue the Air Force because it was a new branch. His girlfriend worked as a secretary at New Orleans Public Service (NOPSI) at the time, and Habeeb recalled that if she got married, she would have been fired. As an intern, Habeeb was not allowed to get married, so they sought permission and got married in late April 1942 at Carrollton Methodist Church in New Orleans. In 1942, Habeeb went into the service at Carlisle Barracks and Medical Field Service School [Annotator’s Note: in Carlisle, Pennsylvania]. While in training in the States, Habeeb how to walk like a soldier and how doctors handle the contents of a bedpan while in combat.

Dr. Albert Habeeb became active in 1942 after he completed his medical internship. He was sent to training at Carlisle Barracks and Medical Field Service School [Annotator’s Note: in Carlisle, Pennsylvania] for one month. He put in a request for aviation, and he was accepted before he finished his training at Carlisle. He was sent to Fort Dix [Annotator's Note: now Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Trenton, New Jersey] which is where he made his first diagnosis of a sick person. His first diagnosis of a disease in the service was a “man complaining about a sore ding-dong.” He recognized the issue as a venereal disease. Habeeb was sent to Fort Totten, New York and assigned to the 1st Fighter Group. He stayed only a short time until he was accepted into surgeon school. He and his wife were staying with an older man that had taken a liking to them. He advised Habeeb on many things and Habeeb was very appreciative of the older man. Habeeb was sent to Randolph Field in San Antonio, Texas for flight surgeon school with a class of 682 doctors. He enjoyed his classes and the professors. He learned that the medical professionals were in as much danger as the combat soldiers. After completion of school, he was transferred to Nashville, Tennessee and stayed there until December. He soon learned that he was being assigned to the Eastern Flying Training Command in Camden, South Carolina and arrived there on 26 December 1942. He was charged with going to nearby restaurants and bringing them up to military code so cadets could dine at those establishments. During this time, he was able to take flight training and completed a solo flight.

Dr. Albert Habeeb was assigned to the Eastern Flying Training Command in Camden, South Carolina as a flight surgeon. He would get random calls from paratroopers wounded during their jumps. He remembered one paratrooper who fell into a tree. He also made a diagnosis of meningitis for a cadet, which caused a small controversy. In August 1944, he was sent to Nashville, Tennessee. He and his wife rented a house and got along with their neighbors. Later in life, they reunited with their neighbors when they all lived in New Orleans, Louisiana. They stayed in Nashville until May 1945. In late December of 1944, Habeeb received orders to ship out to Miami [Annotator’s Note: Miami, Florida]. He went to register, and the orders were changed to return to Nashville. He almost went to North Africa. In May of 1945, he received orders to report to Fort Totten [Annotator’s Note: Fort Totten, New York] to be shipped overseas. Habeeb spent ten days getting ready, and then he flew in a C-54 [Annotator’s Note: Douglas C-54 Skymaster] from New York to Casablanca [Annotator’s Note: Casablanca, Morocco], across North Africa to Egypt. Habeeb then spent time in Karachi [Annotator’s Note: Karachi, Pakistan] and was amazed by the culture and living conditions of the local population. Habeeb spent time in Egypt waiting for orders to get to Calcutta [Annotator’s Note: Calcutta, also known as Kolkata, India]. He was assigned to Air Transport Command and handled all the China-Burma-India personnel and delivered the necessary materials to pursue the fighting against the Japanese. He was stationed in Gaya [Annotator’s Note: Gaya, India].

Dr. Albert Habeeb was assigned as a flight surgeon in the China-Burma-India Theater and stationed in Gaya, India with Air Transport Command. The station was changed from a defensive position to a training school. Once when a pilot was training, a buzzard hit his windshield and killed him. The only time Habeeb cried was when he was in Camden [Annotator’s Note: Camden, South Carolina] watching paratroopers practice. One of the airplanes was too low and plowed into at least one body. He and all the other medical personnel went to check on the paratrooper and all they could find was a leg. [Annotator’s Note: loss of sound from 00:49:18 to 00:49:29] He spent three months in Gaya and enjoyed his experience while he was there. He often shot buzzards to give to the local people as food. He learned a lot about the culture and way of living of the Indians in Gaya. There were movies and other recreation for the military personnel. He visited Kunming [Annotator’s Note: Kunming, China] while he was overseas. His major duties were to keep military personnel healthy and practicing clean habits. Later in life, he took another trip to Kunming and was surprised by how much had changed. He received orders in the fall of 1945 to go to Burma and when his plane landed, he learned that he had to destroy a medical building.

Dr. Albert Habeeb was assigned as a flight surgeon in the China-Burma-India Theater and travelled to Burma for a four-week mission. His living quarters were made from old parachutes. During the night, it would get so cold that he had to sleep with several blankets. During his last 10 weeks overseas, he was assigned as the flight surgeon for a search and rescue unit. This unit searched North Burma for plane crashes. Habeeb went on flights to drop supplies at the crash sites. He was given a gift for his services from a young man to show his appreciation. He was waiting to get enough points [Annotator's Note: a point system was devised based on a number of factors that determined when American servicemen serving overseas could return home] to go home. He returned to Kunming [Annotator’s Note: Kunming, China] while he waited for orders to return home. The food that was served to him at the officer’s club was delicious. He went peacock hunting to pass the time. He returned to the United States by plane. He stopped in North Africa and shared a story about a prostitute bartering for cigarettes. Habeeb returned home at the beginning of 1946 and landed in Miami [Annotator’s Note: Miami, Florida].

Dr. Albert Habeeb’s most memorable experience of World War 2 was traveling to different areas of the world. He thoroughly enjoyed his time in the service. He does not know how the war changed his life. He has become interested in the history of civilization. While he was in the service, his wife was with him until he went overseas. He then wrote to and received a letter from her once a day. Once, he got sick from drinking while he was overseas. He feels so sorry for the men who died in World War 2 and that they did not have control over their lives, but were controlled by our government. Americans are not active enough to support American veterans. Habeeb 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. He is appreciative to the monks around the world who kept record of events of their time. Habeeb decided to serve in World War 2 because he was stupid and did not know any better. He was there to support the combatants in the war.