Anthony “Tony” Gallego was born in November 1923 in Los Angeles, California. His father, a metalworker, made enough money to support the family 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 mother worked for a gift basket company and a laundry company. He lived near extended family, so he never felt alone. In the late 1930s, Gallego was aware of the tensions building in Europe and Asia. The German-American Bund [Annotator’s Note: The German American Bund, or the German American Federation, was a German-American Nazi organization which was established in 1936 as a successor to the Friends of New Germany] was active in Los Angeles at the time. He thought of them like the Ku Klux Klan. Gallego had German and Japanese friends in school and says the Japanese ones were sent to internment camps shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. [Annotator’s Note: Someone interrupts the interview at 0:09:05.000.] Gallego’s family was having a party for his father’s birthday when they got the news of the surprise attack. Because he and many of his cousins in attendance were of military age, the mood of the party quickly soured. Gallego dropped out of school his senior year to work in his father’s trade and earn enough money to buy a car. He also took a test and attended a cadet school because he wanted to fly. He was inducted at Fort MacArthur in Los Angeles where he was sworn in and received his uniform and equipment.

[Annotator’s Note: There is noise in the background throughout this segment.] Anthony “Tony” Gallego enlisted in the Army Air Corps and hoped to qualify for cadet training. He was inducted at Fort MacArthur [Annotated Note: in Los Angeles, California]. He attended basic training at Keesler Field, Mississippi. He learned about marching, bugle calls, KP [Annotator’s Note: kitchen patrol or kitchen police], and military decorum. After basic training, he was sent to aerial gunnery training in Laredo, Texas. He practiced shooting in an AT-6 [Annotator’s Note: North American Aviation T-6 Texan]. Gallego always wanted to fly since he was a little child. He recalled pretending to be a fighter pilot with his childhood friend. Going into the service gave Gallego a chance to make his childhood dream come true. After joining, Gallego did not particularly care for military life and the strict uniform regulations. After gunnery school, Gallego was sent to radio school. While in radio school, he was selected for pilot training and attended Morningside College at Sioux Falls, South Dakota before flight training near his home in Santa Ana, California. Because of some trouble he got into while a cadet, he was commissioned as a flight officer as opposed to a second lieutenant. He had flunked a history test and was confined to quarters. Gallego went into town anyway and was caught for disobeying orders. He had to start his pilot program all over again and missed Christmas.

While Anthony “Tony” Gallego was in pilot training, he was married to his wife whom he had known since she was 14 years old. He was in Santa Ana, California for pilot training which was close to his hometown of Los Angeles [Annotator’s Note: Los Angeles, California], so he could date his future wife and visit family and friends. He was sent to Baker’s Field, California for further training on UC-78s [Annotator’s Note: Cessna UC-78 Bobcat]. During his primary training, his friend was flying, but could not get both his wheels down. The instructor told his friend to land on one wheel. Gallego and his friend performed a round robin and had some trouble when they ran out of gas, but still somehow passed and received his wings. He flew to Albuquerque, New Mexico and then flew home and got married.

After receiving his wings and commission, Anthony “Tony” Gallego went home [Annotator’s Note: to Los Angeles, California], married his wife, and brought his wife with him to Colorado where he attended advanced training on a B-26 [Annotator’s Note: Martin B-26 Marauder]. Soon the news came that the war had ended in Europe [Annotator’s Note: 8 May 1945]. Gallego knew that his training was for the invasion of Japan. When the war ended in the Pacific [Annotator’s Note: 15 August 1945], Gallego was stationed in Yuma, Arizona as a B-26 pilot flying training flights for navigator and bombardier candidates. Gallego was relieved that Truman [Annotator's Note: Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States] ordered the dropping of the atomic bombs in Japan [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945], because if he was part of the invasion, he probably would not be alive today. He went home to his pregnant wife. He celebrated on VJ-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory Over Japan Day, 15 August 1945] with his wife and friends. He was discharged in late 1945 and went to work as a metalworker. He was relieved that he already had a job lined up. He bought his first home using the G.I. Bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment].

Anthony “Tony” Gallego’s most memorable experience of World War 2 was graduating as a pilot and marrying his wife. He served in World War 2 because America was attacked. He hated the way the Vietnam veterans were treated by Americans. Because of the war, he was able to buy a home through the G.I. Bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment]. He is proud of his service and his contribution to his country. He is concerned about the future of the world and what future wars will bring. Gallego believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and that we should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations so people do not forget.