Austin Hustead was born in 1923 in Fairchance, Pennsylvania, where he also spent his youth. The youngest of three children [Annotator's Note: he had one brother and one sister], he recounts that growing up during the Great Depression was difficult. His father worked as a coal miner and was out of work at times throughout the period. He enjoyed growing up in the small town; everyone knew everyone else and he still has family in the area that he visits. He clearly recalls when he heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor; he was working in an ice cream store in Uniontown, Pennsylvania and upon hearing of the attack, he immediately wanted to go into the service. His father, a World War 1 veteran, was very angry at the Japanese, but his mother insisted he finish high school. He enlisted on 27 October 1942 after he had graduated. As he recalls, he enlisted because he wanted to kill Japanese, and he was part of a group of eight that enlisted together. He had no particular desires regarding which branch of service; of his group, five were sent to the Army Air Corps and three were sent to the regular Army. He has no idea how he was selected for the Air Corps. He was sent first to Miami, Florida, but after only a week and without completing any basic training he was sent out to Colorado for armaments school [Annotator's Note: Interviewee states training was at, "Lahana,Colorado" or something similar, but no such town currently exists. He was most likely trained at Buckley Field in Aurora, Colorado.] Armament school lasted ten weeks, one week of which was spent on KP [Annotator's Note: kitchen patrol or kitchen police]. His armament instruction focused on the .50 caliber machine gun, of which there were eight on each of the P-47 Thunderbolts [Annotator's Note: Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft] in the squadron to which he was ultimately assigned [Annotator's Note: 81st Fighter Squadron, 50th Fighter Group, 9th Air Force]. Following this school, he was sent to Orlando, Florida, where he remained until he was sent overseas.

Upon graduation from armorer's school in Colorado, Austin Hustead was assigned to the 81st Fighter Squadron, a P-47 Thunderbolt [Annotator's Note: Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft] squadron that was part of the 50th Fighter Group, 9th Air Force. The squadron departed New York City, New York in the spring of 1943 on an old British steamship, and he recalls the 14 day transit as being miserable. Everyone slept in hammocks, was seasick the entire time, and sanitary conditions were relatively poor. Once they landed in England, they were transported by train to their final destination, an airfield near Southampton, England. He was there on 6 June 1944 when the sky was full of airplanes heading towards France and the Normandy Invasion. In his squadron, he was responsible for a single aircraft, cleaning and maintaining the guns and ensuring they were loaded when the aircraft returned from a mission. His particular P-47 had no name, but all of the squadron aircraft's noses were painted red. He found life in England very pleasant; once the squadron took of for a mission, the ground crew had two hours or so before they returned, so they used the time to explore the local area. He visited local shops and stores, and found the English treated them very well. He remarks that the British military often appeared poorly dressed, which he attributes to the shortage of supplies brought on by the war. On their base, the enlisted men lived in tents and had their own mess hall; they had no relationship with the squadron pilots. In general, as soon as an airplane returned from a mission, it was immediately made ready for another flight. They typically flew in flights of four, and he recalls squadron aircraft often flying close air support for the infantry. He also recalls instances of when V-2 rockets [Annotator's Note: from the German Vergeltungswaffe-2, "Vengance Weapon 2," a long-range missile] flew overhead. They could hear them. He speaks of having some anxiety once the fighters took off; waiting for their return weighed on the ground crews' minds.

After D-Day, on 10 June 1944, Austin Hustead's squadron [Annotator's Note: 81st Fighter Squadron, 50th Fighter Group, 9th Air Force] was sent into France. He describes making the English Channel crossing in an LCI [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft, Infantry] and spending the first night ashore in a foxhole on Omaha Beach. As was typical when the squadron redeployed, half of the ground crew formed the advance party and half stayed behind to service the aircraft. He was in the advance party and when they arrived at their airfield near Saint-Lo, France, it was still being constructed. Once complete, the aircraft and remaining personnel arrived. He recalls that initially the Thunderbolts [Annotator's Note: Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft] were flying close air support missions supporting Allied infantry, and they were close enough to the front lines that they could see the aircraft strafing and dropping bombs. They would quickly return, and he would re-arm his airplane as soon as possible before it took off again. This cycle repeated itself throughout the day. They were so close to the advancing army that pilots were instructed that should they bail out, simply hide and wait for the friendly infantry. At one point, a rumor went around about a German panzer attack, but it never materialized. He speaks of standing guard duty over the aircraft at night, and that their orders were to, "shoot anything that moves." As time went on, the fighter missions pushed out further and eventually the squadron redeployed. They moved across several locations in France including Orly airfield outside Paris, Lyon, south France, and ultimately arrived in Giebelstadt, Germany before the war ended.

Austin Hustead recounts that as the front lines moved, the squadron [Annotator's Note: 81st Fighter Squadron, 50th Fighter Group, 9th Air Force] would also move, however, they never had any interaction with the ground forces, save for one occasion where he and another member of his squadron were allowed to take a jeep to visit the member's brother, who was part of a nearby tank unit. He discusses several family members and friends who also served, including his uncle who was a B-17 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] radio operator, a cousin who was a B-17 bombardier, and a friend who was a B-17 tail gunner. He also talks of Alfred Wilson, who had grown up just down the street from him in Fairchance, Pennsylvania. Wilson served as a medic and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for continuing to render aid to members of his unit despite having been mortally wounded. While the squadron was in France, he found the French to be very nice. He had little opportunity for time off, but he and a squadron mate were able to take a few days rest and relaxation in Lyon, France. His working conditions were outdoors, but he comments that despite any adverse weather conditions, they did what they had to do. Aside from muddy conditions in the springtime, there was nothing remarkable otherwise.

When they arrived at Giebelstadt, Germany, Austin Hustead's squadron [Annotator's Note: 81st Fighter Squadron, 50th Fighter Group, 9th Air Force] occupied a former German airfield, including the existing barracks. He recalls that crossing into Germany wasn't a problem as there was no fighting taking place, and the war ended not long after. He remembers that when they got word the Germans had surrendered, they sent a truck out to retrieve some wine and when it returned they had a large party to celebrate. Once the war ended, the squadron was initially told they would be sent to the Pacific to participate in the war against Japan, but hostilities ceased before this took place. After some delay, they began their trip back to the United States, culminating in a four-day return transit aboard the Queen Mary. As they entered New York Harbor, he recalls seeing the Statue of Liberty and being very happy to be home. After being sent initially to Colorado, he was sent to Oklahoma, where he was discharged in the fall of 1945. He returned to the civilian workforce, first working at a coke plant as part of the steel industry and then later working for companies that produced automotive and storm windows. Hustead comments that he was happy in the service and that his fellow squadron armorers were a tight-knit group. While he says that the war didn't change his life significantly, he feels that he did his duty for the country and that future generations must continue to be educated on World War 2 so that they understand the war and what it meant to the country.