Barbara Stables was born in November 1926 in Mobile, Alabama. They were not affected too much by the Depression [Annotator's Note: Great Depression; a global economic depression that lasted through the 1930s]. They shared a home with her grandfather. She went to a school for girls. They had a good lifestyle. Her education was outstanding. She had a little brother. She had a nice and happy life. She was married for 52 years. She heard about the attack [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] on the radio while they were going home from Sunday mass. She was in disbelief. No one really thought about the Japanese as enemies. After the attack, there was rationing. The whole country was in a state of shock. When the battles began, it got serious. She had an uncle in the Corps of Engineers who was building airfields. The war was the number one priority and concern. They had the shipbuilding industry and an air base. Her mother was involved in charities and Stables was included. A hotel was turned into a hospital. There were a number of wounded there. They would visit the wounded to read and talk to them. She later got married in that hotel. She joined her husband in Germany. They lived in a hotel. They found a studio apartment in the mountains of Nuremberg [Annotator’s Note: Nuremberg, Germany]. Stables went to get a job after going to take the civil service test. This made her a legitimate dependent of her husband.

Barbara Stables remembers they got an apartment on the third floor in a building where generals lived. [Annotator’s Note: Stables was living in Germany]. They moved to a small cottage because her husband got a new assignment. They had to clean up the cottage. While her husband was in Spain, people showed up to fix the house. Stables would not let them in. The Air Police showed up. Stables went to see the commanding officer. The townspeople were wonderful. They loved Americans. They had a housekeeper. They had apple trees in their backyard. They came back to the United States and her husband was accepted for a master's program in nuclear physics at the University of Illinois. After he graduated, they were transferred to Maryland. He worked in Boston [Annotator’s Note: Boston, Massachusetts]. When they left Germany, Stables no longer had a job. Her husband was in the DIA [Annotator’s Note: Defense Intelligence Agency] and worked in the Pentagon. They were working on the high-altitude balloon which had a camera to take photographs of the Soviets. It was programmed to go back to its place of origin. The battery died and it landed in Soviet territory. It caused an international issue. Her husband received accommodations for his work.

Barbara Stables was in Mobile [Annotator’s Note: Mobile, Alabama] with her children visiting her parents when the news broke. Her husband was in some trouble from what the news said. But he came back and all was good. He went to jet school in the 1980s. During the war, he flew the B-29 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber]. Her children got to take a ride on the B-29 that toured the United States. As they went through Germany, many places were destroyed. Mainz [Annotator’s Note: Mainz, Germany] was nothing but rubble. It was troubling to see the ruins of the buildings. Wiesbaden [Annotator’s Note: Wiesbaden, Germany] did not see any damage. It was beautiful. All the people she met were nice to her.

Barbara Stables remembers that the bombing of Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] was a shock. Her uncle was in the Corps of Engineers. Her father fought in Germany during World War One [Annotator's Note: World War 1, global war originating in Europe; 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918]. They were relieved when the war was over. She is displeased about the education devoted to World War Two. History should not be removed from textbooks. Stables’ husband’s crew members spoke highly of him. He did not speak of his war exploits, but the crew members were forthcoming. Her husband received the Distinguished Flying Cross [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].