[Annotator's Note: There is a sound of a clock ticking in the background]. Chester Sharp was born in March 1925 in Holtville, California. His father was the superintendent of the air raid operations and his mother worked at the Naval Air Station as a manager of housing. His family was able to live through the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression, a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1945] comfortably because they lived on some land with a garden and chickens. Sharp mowed lawns and worked at a hardware store. He graduated from high school. Sharp and his family followed the war in the Pacific. He felt concerned for the adequacy of the military after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. Many of his Japanese-American friends from school were taken to internment camps with their families. Sharp graduated from high school in 1943 and within a week was on his way to train as a cadet for the United States Army Air Forces. Sharp volunteered because he did not want to be drafted and he wanted to be part of an air crew. He started with his basic training in Kearns, Utah [Annotator's Note: at Kearns Army Airfield] for five weeks, then to the University of Montana [Annotator's Note: in Missoula, Montana], and then to the air base [Annotator's Note: Santa Ana Army Air Base] at Santa Ana, California where he began his pre-flight school. He was chosen to be trained as a pilot. While at Santa Ana, he played in the military band. He also had his wisdom teeth pulled during his training and did not care for the experience.

[Annotator's Note: There is a sound of a clock ticking in the background]. Chester Sharp was a cadet for the United States Army Air Force and was chosen to train as a pilot. He was sent to Sequoia Field Airport in Visalia, California for primary flight training which took two and a half months to complete. He enjoyed his training from his flight instructor and learned instrument training. He then learned to fly a BT-13 [Annotator's Note: Vultee BT-13 Valiant basic trainer aircraft; also known as the Vultee Vibrator] during his basic training. While he was flying a BT-13 one day doing acrobatics, his stick got stuck when a wire wrapped around it. He decided to do a power landing and was successful. He went to Pecos, Texas for advanced and radio training. He was caught in a storm during one of his training sessions. He graduated from pilot school and was ordered to copilot training in Kingman, Arizona for two months. He learned fly formation in a B-17 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber]. The bullets had different colors and he had to hit towed targets. After copilot training, he was granted a short leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] and then reported to Lincoln, Nebraska. He was assigned to a crew and they went to Rapid City, South Dakota where they trained together in B-17s.

[Annotator's Note: There is a sound of a clock ticking in the background]. After being assigned to an air crew, Chester Sharp was shipped overseas on the USS West Point (AP-23) unescorted in February 1945. He had no problem with the voyage because he stayed in the officer's quarters. The journey took about five days to Scotland. He was put on a train upon arrival and sent to an air station in England [Annotator's Note: Knettishall, Suffolk, England], assigned to 388th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force [Annotator's Note: 561st Bombardment Squadron, 388th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force]. Sharp flew 18 missions, working five days on and one day off. His first few missions were over the Ruhr Valley. They received antiaircraft fire every time they did a mission in the valley. He witnessed a crash of a German fighter plane and a B-17 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber]. Most of his targets were military targets or geographical targets. He had no problem bombing military targets but had apprehension about bombing cities. Sharp was later transferred to the Aircraft Commander Crew as the first pilot. He enjoyed visiting London, England when he had time off. He enjoyed sightseeing and nightlife.

[Annotator's Note: There is a sound of a clock ticking in the background]. Chester Sharp and his crew [Annotator's Note: Sharp served in the US Army Air Forces as a pilot flying Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers in the 561st Bombardment Squadron, 388th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force] were stationed in England [Annotator's Note: Knettishall, Suffolk, England]. On one mission where the whole 8th Air Force flew to Berlin [Annotator's Note: Berlin, Germany] and dropped hundreds of timed bombs. He did not have too many interactions with the RAFs [Annotator's Note: Royal Air Force] because they were stationed at a different location and they flew at night. The United States Army Air Force flew during the day. The locals were very nice and were glad the Americans were there. He was on a mission where one shell blew in front of their windshield, which was a close call for Sharp. He recalled that his crew was very regimented and did not joke around while they were on a mission. Sharp flew 18 missions, and then transferred as an aircraft commander to another crew. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses the interview to change tapes at 0:51:47.000.] Sharp woke up one morning to go on his 19th mission and when he arrived at his plane, another pilot was in his seat. He was told he had been transferred to Austria. Sharp transported about 30 French prisoners of war at the end of the war. As they crossed the Rhine River from Germany and into France, the French prisoners began to sing their national anthem.

[Annotator's Note: There is a sound of a clock ticking in the background]. Chester Sharp and his crew dropped food supplies in Holland [Annotator's Note: Operation Chowhound, 1 to 8 May 1945, Holland, Netherlands]. On his first mission, there were so many people waiting for the food to be dropped he was afraid to open the bomb bay doors. He decided to drop the food at a different location to avoid hurting anyone. Years later, Sharp met a man on a cruise ship who was a boy in that crowd waiting for food to arrive by the Americans. He told Sharp that every morsel of food was picked up. Sharp returned home shortly after bringing French prisoners of war to France. He was in Lincoln, Nebraska when Japan surrendered [Annotator's Note: Victory Over Japan Day, 15 August 1945]. He celebrated with a beer or two. He thought that the decision to drop the atomic bomb [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945 and Nagasaki, Japan on 9 August 1945] had to be made because so much more death would have happened if they invaded Japan. He was sent to Fort Sumner, New Mexico until October 1945 and then went into the inactive Reserves. His older brother later returned from the Marines.

[Annotator's Note: There is a sound of a clock ticking in the background]. Chester Sharp used the G.I. Bill to go to University of Montana [Annotator's Note: Missoula, Montana] for two and half years. He married and had two children. He went to work for the Ventura City Fire Department [Annotator's Note: Ventura, California] in 1954. He returned to school for various degrees and certifications. Having a military background helped him advance in the fire department. Sharp suffered from post-traumatic stress when he first returned home.

[Annotator's Note: There is a sound of a clock ticking in the background]. Chester Sharp's most memorable experience about World War 2 was a check flight during his military training. He chose to fight because that is what everyone did. He knew so many men that overcame adversities to sign up and fight in the war. He thinks one of the biggest mistakes the government did was put the Japanese in internment camps. He believed that the Japanese-Americans were citizens of America like everyone else, but he did not care for the Japanese during the war. He has changed his view of the Japanese today. He did not like the Nazis but thought they were more sophisticated. The Holocaust was terrible. The war changed his life because he became more mature. He is proud to have served during World War 2. He believes it is important to continue to teach World War 2 history to future generations.