Cawthon B. Perdue Jr., known as C.B. to family and friends, was born in El Dorado, Arkansas in 1925. He graduated high school in El Dorado in June 1943. He grew up with two brothers and two sisters. He grew up on a farm 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] which supplied most of their food source. He was the oldest of the five kids and worked a lot on the farm with his father. His mom milked the cows until Perdue was old enough to do it after school. Perdue was on a date with his girlfriend when he first heard the news of the Pearl Harbor attack [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He had no idea how this attack would impact his life. He and his father and grandfather thought the war would be over before Perdue would have to go in. Perdue’s father served in World War 1 [Annotator's Note: World War 1, global war originating in Europe; 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918]. After he graduated from high school, Perdue received a draft notification to report to the board in Little Rock, Arkansas. He took a train ride for the first time in his life to Little Rock. He passed his physical exam and was inducted into service at Camp Robinson, Arkansas. The board told him to get his affairs in order and report back in two weeks. After his return to Camp Robinson, he was given various duties and took an aptitude test on which he scored well. He was sent to Buckley Field, Colorado for basic training. Basic training was followed by armament school at Lowry Field, Colorado then gunnery school in Kingman, Arizona. He had a 10-day leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] after his ground training. After visiting his family, Perdue reported to Salt Lake City, Utah for crew assignment, but came down with a severe illness upon his arrival. He was hospitalized for some time until fully recovering in August 1944. After he was discharged from the hospital, he was sent to Lincoln, Nebraska where he joined a B-17 crew. He and his crew then went to Rapid City, South Dakota for overseas training after which they returned to Lincoln. Perdue was assigned as a togglier [Annotator’s Note: The togglier was responsible for arming and dropping the bombs in lieu of a bombardier]. On 22 December 1944, Perdue and his crew picked up a new B-17 in Lincoln and flew to Gander Lake, Newfoundland []Annotator’s Note: in Canada] where they had Christmas dinner. They then continued to England. Perdue and his crew were sent to Knettishall, England where they were assigned to the 561st Bombardment Squadron, 388th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force. They lost their brand-new plane to another crew and received the oldest plane in the group, called “Heavens Above.” His crew put the 100th mission on that plane.

Cawthon “C.B.” Perdue Jr. was assigned to the 561st Bombardment Squadron, 388th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force as a togglier [Annotator’s Note: The togglier was responsible for arming and dropping the bombs in lieu of a bombardier] on a B-17 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] in Knettishall, England, and flew several combat missions over North Germany. During his 25th mission [Annotator’s Note: on 7 April 1945], a strike on a Luftwaffe [Annotator’s Note: German air force] airfield in Kaltenkirchen, Germany, his B-17 was rammed by an enemy aircraft, likely an Me-109 [Annotator’s Note: German Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter aircraft]. The tail section of his B-17 was ripped off, and the plane jerked violently and began to nose up. The surviving crew members began bailing out. Perdue and the radio operator went out of the escape hatch in the nose section of the plane. While he was in the air, a P-51 [Annotator's Note: North American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft] circled him a few times to make sure he was not strafed by ground fire. As he floated to the ground, Perdue could see people in the tree line surrounding the field he was heading down into. As soon as he hit the ground, he was approached by a German soldier who promptly captured him. Perdue, with an injured leg, was led to a local jail. During the walk, he was attacked by several members of the Hitler Youth [Annotator's Note: a youth organization of the Nazi Party for young men]. Fortunately, the German soldier escorting him ran the youngsters off. While he waited in the jail, he was given a bucket of coffee, which tasted terrible. Perdue was locked up over night with other members of his crew then sent to Hamburg [Annotator’s Note: Hamburg, Germany] for interrogation. The interrogation process was brief and Perdue was surprised at how much the Germans knew about him and his crew. He and the rest of the surviving crew were then sent by train to Barth, Germany where they spent the last six weeks of the war as POWs [Annotator’s Note: prisoners of war] in Stalag Luft I. When they arrived at the camp, Perdue and his crew were processed in. They received new clothes, soap, a toothbrush, and a blanket. He and another prisoner were given a piece of cardboard to share when they slept on the floor. Food was scarce. The Germans gave them potatoes, stew with meat, and black bread. Some of the contents of the bread was saw dust, leaves, and beets. He was also sent food parcels from the Red Cross [Annotator's Note: Red Cross, an international non-profit humanitarian organization]. Perdue traded his cigarettes to other prisoners for their chocolate bars. He was allowed to take two showers during his time as a prisoner, but they were cold showers.

Cawthon “C.B.” Perdue Jr. was a prisoner of war at Stalag Luft I in Barth, Germany after he bailed out of his plane [Annotator's Note: a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber named “Heavens Above”]. There was not much to do in camp. Every morning, he reported for roll call. Then, on the morning of 3 May 1945, they awoke to discover that the German camp guards who had been in the guard towers the previous night were gone. Shortly after that, Russian troops showed up and officially liberated the camp. Within a few days, stripped down B-17s were flown in. They picked up Perdue and his fellow newly liberated prisoners and flew them to Camp Lucky Strike [Annotator's Note: one of the transit and rehabilitation camps in France named after popular cigarette brands] in Le Havre, France. While he was a prisoner, food was always in short supply, but they were not ill-treated by the guards. Two weeks later, Perdue was on a US Navy ship that took him back to the United States. Perdue was given a 60-day leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] then returned to Camp Robinson, Arkansas. While Perdue was overseas, his mother died of a heart attack. Perdue was distraught by the news and decided to just focus on his missions so that he could go home. In October 1945, he was discharged from the service with the rank of staff sergeant. After leaving the service, Perdue went to work in a machine shop. He also got married shortly after getting out. He did not like the work he was doing and did not have any other job prospects, so just three months after leaving the service, he re-enlisted. Over the next 28 years, Perdue held various positions including being a recruiter and running a public affairs office. He retired from the US Air Force in November 1973 with the rank of chief master sergeant, or E9.

Cawthon “C.B.” Perdue Jr. was drafted and sworn into the army in July 1942. After taking aptitude tests, he was assigned to the Army Air Corps. His first pilot was Lester Hess from Buffalo, New York, who did not drink or smoke. His crew members were scattered from all over the United States. He tried to keep in touch with his pilot because they were close during his service. He lost contact with everyone else. Perdue was on his 25th mission when his plane was shot down, but the crew he was with were only on their 5th mission. On 22 December 1944, Perdue and his crew picked up a new B-17 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] and flew to Gander Lake, Newfoundland [Annotator’s Note: Newfoundland, Canada] where they had Christmas dinner. They then continued to England. Perdue and his crew were sent to RAF Knettishall [Annotator’s Note: Knettishall, England] where they were assigned to the 561st Bombardment Squadron, 388th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force. He was able to visit London [Annotator’s Note: London, England] a few times. He visited a wax museum and toured around the city. He also rode a bicycle to church on Sundays, but did not interact much with the local population. He began flying combat missions on 9 February 1945 after doing several training missions. He talked about the strategies and formations of his missions to Berlin [Annotator’s Note: Berlin, Germany], which was heavily defended by anti-aircraft.

Cawthon “C.B.” Perdue Jr. was captured as a prisoner when his plane was shot down by Germans. Perdue was led to a local jail. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewer adjusts interviewee’s microphone at 0:52.42.000.] He began flying combat missions on 9 February 1945. His first mission did not bother him until he got back and saw that the plane had 18 holes from flak [Annotator's Note: antiaircraft artillery fire]. For each mission, he rose early, ate breakfast and then was debriefed on the route and what to expect from the Germans. They were briefed in groups according to their role on the crew. [Annotator’s Note: Video break at 0:58:31.000.] Perdue flew two missions where his plane dropped chaff out [Annotator’s Note: aluminum strips used as a countermeasure to confuse German radar]. There were a couple of times that he had to go to the bomb bay and kick the bombs loose over the target. It was on the mission where his plane went down in Germany that was the first time he encountered enemy aircraft. His B-17 [Annotator's Note: a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber named “Heavens Above”] was rammed by an enemy aircraft, likely an Me-109 [Annotator’s Note: German Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter aircraft].

Cawthon “C.B.” Perdue Jr. bailed out of his B-17 [Annotator's Note: a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber named “Heavens Above”] after being hit by a German fighter plane. As he floated down, he began to pray and hope that he would survive. He was taken prisoner. As soon as he hit the ground, he was approached by a German soldier who promptly captured him. Perdue was led to a local jail. During the walk, he was attacked by several members of the Hitler Youth [Annotator's Note: a youth organization of the Nazi Party for young men]. Fortunately, the German soldier escorting him ran the youngsters off. While he was at the prison camp, there was a chaplain who held services. Perdue was sent by train to Barth, Germany where he spent the last six weeks of the war as a POW [Annotator’s Note: prisoners of war] in Stalag Luft I. Every morning, he woke up and had to go to roll call. After roll call, he had nothing to do. The weather was cool, and he did not have a coat or anything. Russian troops showed up and officially liberated the camp, and Perdue returned to the United States to be with his family. [Annotator’s Note: Interviewee was telling a story when the clip ended abruptly.]