David Fisher was born in December 1925 in Evangeline, Louisiana and grew up in Jennings, Louisiana where his family moved when he was ten years of age. He had a younger sister. He lived with his grandmother after his mother passed away. He played sports and graduated in May 1943. He remembers the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. He had come out of a movie theater when he heard the news. He did not know the significance of the event. He took the test for the Navy's V-12 [Annotator's Note: the Navy's V-12 College Training Program was intended to produce officers in significant numbers] college program and passed it. He could not pass the physical so he went into the oilfields and worked until he was old enough to enlist. He enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces on 11 November 1943.

David Fisher reported for active duty on 23 December 1943 at Camp Beauregard [Annotator's Note: in Pineville, Louisiana] in Louisiana. He then went to Gulfport, Mississippi for training. Pilots were plentiful so none of the Louisiana applicants for cadet flight training were accepted. Fisher was selected for radio school for B-29s [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber]. After leave at home, he was sent to Lincoln, Nebraska where flight crews were assembled. Pilots, navigators, gunners, radio operators and bombardiers were all gathered together as an 11 man crew for each B-29. The crew then went to Clovis, Texas to become a replacement crew for the 39th Bomb Group. Next, the crew was outfitted for overseas duty at Kearney, Nebraska and assigned a brand-new B-29. The men took pride in the new aircraft. They flew their plane to Sacramento for deployment overseas. They flew out the day after President Roosevelt died [Annotator's Note: President Franklin D. Roosevelt died on 12 April 1945.]. The bomber flew to Hawaii, Kwajalein and then Saipan. Immediately upon landing, the crew was informed that their plane was assigned to another crew. [Annotator's Note: Fisher laughs.]

After a brief stay on Saipan, David Fisher and his crewmates were sent to Guam to join the 39th Bomb Group, 314th Bomb Wing [Annotator's Note: 62nd Bombardment Squadron, 39th Bombardment Group, 314th Bombardment Wing, 20th Air Force]. After a few practice missions, they began combat flights on 5 May 1945. They flew daylight missions after a very early morning briefing. It was only then that they discovered the objective of the mission and associated details. Portions of the crew might splinter off to discuss specifics of their responsibilities on the mission prior to manning the aircraft. Once aloft, the plane would assemble with the formation. Early morning takeoffs would place the bombers over their target at the middle of the day. Formations would form up off the coast of Japan and then head to the initial point [Annotator's Note: the initial point, or IP, is the location at which a bomber or bomber formation begins its bomb run]. At that point, the lead plane took the heading and brought the other aircraft with him to the drop location. There could be 400 to 600 planes flying sequentially over the target city. All the main cities of Japan were hit. Fisher flew over Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Kobe and other major cities. Industrial sites and airfields were also hit. As time progressed, smaller locations were bombed. Because the Japanese manufacturing capability was so dispersed, there was a lot of saturation bombing. Fires were started quickly. Day missions were mostly flown with general purpose [Annotator's Note: general purpose bombs], not incendiary bombs like the night missions. Day missions were about 16 hours in the air. It put substantial operational pressure on the aircraft. In particular, flight engineers had problems with engines overheating. An engine might have to be shutdown and the propeller feathered to lessen wind resistance. Fisher was on a mission when an engine was lost and the plane had to drop out of formation to aim for a secondary target. Engines were a problem for the B-29s [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber].

David Fisher and his crewmates, flew night combat missions off the island of Guam. Originally designed as a high-altitude bomber, it was discovered that wind currents caused inaccurate B-29 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber] bombing results. Consequently, the bombing missions were planned for lower altitudes. Flak [Annotator's Note: antiaircraft artillery fire] was heavier during daytime missions so higher altitudes were demanded compared to the night missions. Night missions were individual airplanes as opposed to larger aircraft formations used for daylight missions. After the load was released, the bomber would bank heavily to head to the ocean. Fisher's plane mistook Venus one night to be an enemy plane in pursuit. They ran away from Venus. [Annotator's Note: Fisher laughs.] It was Fisher's responsibility to observe the bomb bay and make sure all the ordnance had been released. When the bomb bay doors opened at night, the light of the flames below completely lit up the darkened bay. Fisher felt like he was being watched when that happened. On occasion, he could see the silhouette of another B-29 below him. He surmised that some of the B-29s were hit by bombs from above. Flying at various high altitudes was no problem because of the pressurized cabins. It was unlike the guys in Europe who froze to death in their bombers. The guns were electronically controlled by a central fire control gunner. It allowed transfer of a gun from one gunner to another. Flak in Europe was heavier than over Japan. Most of the flight time to and from Japan was over water. Most Japanese cities, like Tokyo and Kobe, were right on the coast so time over target was reduced. Fisher flew on one mission over southern Kyushu during the invasion of Okinawa. Kamikaze pilots flew against shipping during the invasion. Fisher's mission flew against staging areas for those enemy flights. The fires were raging by the time his B-29 flew over the target. The heat from below bounced his B-29 all over the place. When Fisher was ordered to drop foil to fool the enemy radar, most of it ended up in the plane's bomb bay. It appeared not to be a good idea. Fisher's plane flew every few days, especially in June and July [Annotator's Note: 1945] as the war came to closure. His plane flew 22 missions. After the two atomic bombs were dropped there was a bit of a stand-down waiting on the Japanese response. Hearing nothing, missions were picked back up on 15 August. Fisher's flight took him over Honshu. The mission was not aborted because no word came of the enemy surrender. He was on one of the last bombing missions of that war. The B-29s then began loading supplies for prisoner of war camps. The plane was marked with PW under the wings and the camps had PW shown on them. He dropped supplies to the POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoners of war]. His last mission was a search mission for a plane of dignitaries who had ditched. He had 50 points and was one of the first headed home with the valuable B-29s. He returned to the United States by the first week in November [Annotator's Note: 1945]. That was much sooner than some of the veterans in Europe. He was discharged at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.

David Fisher loved and admired the B-29 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber]. The performance of the aircraft was very satisfactory to him in the many missions he flew over enemy territory. Even before the atomic bombs, the B-29 and the Navy had Japan on its knees. The B-29 missions were overshadowed by the atomic bomb missions. He is still a member of the 39th Bomb Group [Annotator's Note: 39th Bomb Group [VH] Association] and serves as president of the reunion group. The membership is reducing over time but there is a 39th Bomb Group website with complete information. It is available for those who have an interest in the role the 39th played in the war.