Edward Field was born into a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York in 1924. He was one of six children born to Eastern European immigrant parents. His father changed the family name to Field from the original Feldscher upon entry into the United States. Prejudice against Jews was very extreme during those times across the world. The family was concerned that Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] might win the war and considered changing their religion although they basically felt they were atheist Jews. His father came from talented stock while the heritage of his mother was from the peasant class. At the age of five, Field moved with his family to Lynbrook, New York which happened to be the center of the German-American Bund activities. As a child, Field saw swastikas on the telephone poles in his neighborhood and was branded a Jew in school. Since he was from a Jewish family, even though they were not religious at all, Field was assaulted and beaten up by other youngsters in his neighborhood on a daily basis. Through later years, Field became a follower of Christian Science. When his father, a successful commercial artist, signed him up for classes at New York University's School of Commerce, Field was happy to be getting out of Lynbrook. By his second term in school, however, he had decided that the marketing world was not for him. He promptly dropped out of college and enlisted in the US Army Air Forces at the end of 1942.

Edward Field entered the military to escape his background and the oppression of anti-Semitism. It was wonderful and everything he wanted it to be. He was liked for the person he was. It was nice being accepted and not despised. He took his basic training in Miami, Florida after which he was sent to Fort Collins, Colorado for clerk-typist school. He was then sent to Tinker Field in Oklahoma City. While traveling across the country, he read a book of poetry given to him by a Red Cross worker. It was at that time he discovered that he wanted to be a poet as a profession. He has a lot to thank the Army for in his life.

While serving at Tinker Field near Oklahoma City [Annotator's Note: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma], Edward Field had a romantic relationship with the master sergeant overseeing his outfit. Field would come to realize later that getting in touch with a chaplain's assistant usually resulted in learning about the gay life on the base or in the nearby village or town. He was pleased to attend a well-received presentation by notably gay Ivor Novello [Annotator's Note: David Ivor Davies; Welsh composer and actor]. Field explains what life in the military was like for a gay man during World War 2. He had to be careful of discovery in concern of punishment. When the relationship with the master sergeant at Tinker Field soured a few months later, Field volunteered for the Aviation Cadet Program. Field discusses his gay experiences and affairs in Europe during and after the war.

Edward Field was accepted [Annotator's Note: into the United States Army Air Forces Aviation Cadet Program] and was sent to San Marcos, Texas where he trained to be a navigator on Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers. He enjoyed flying and the mathematics came easy to him. After completing navigator school, he was commissioned a second lieutenant and sent to Alexandria, Louisiana where he met the crew. He would travel to Europe with that crew. In December 1944, Field and his crew went to Lincoln, Nebraska where they picked up a brand-new B-17. They then flew via the Northern Route to England. Upon arriving in England, Field was sent to Grafton-Underwood where he joined the 546th Bombardment Squadron, 384th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force. He remains a Facebook friend of the mayor of the local city, Kettering [Annotator's Note: Kettering, England]. He missed the last reunion held there.

Edward Field was a navigator and an officer but also enjoyed associating with enlisted men. He discovered that one of the crew was gay. On his first mission, the bombardier, or togglier, became terribly frightened and Field had to hold the man's hand the entire flight back from the target. The man was transferred to a ground unit and never flew again. Bombing runs were very exciting for Field. As the navigator, he had to keep the flight log. As the mission progressed, he could tell his handwriting grew more and more shaky. He knew he was frightened, but it was exhilarating. It was thrilling. He never felt close to death except for one time. On 3 February 1945, Field flew his most memorable mission. He wrote a poem about it 20 years later. That poetic work was published in his second book. The target for that particular day was Berlin [Annotator's Note: Berlin, Germany]. He flew 27 combat missions between January and May 1945, the third of which was his most memorable. On that particular mission, on 3 February 1945, flak [Annotator's Note: antiaircraft artillery fire] was extremely heavy and two engines and fuel tanks were hit. Field's aircraft was hit over Berlin and began losing fuel at an alarming rate. It was forbidden to fly to Poland to meet the Russians even though the trip would have been closer. The pilot tried to get the plane back to their base at Grafton-Underwood, England but ended up ditching into the North Sea after the fuel was expended. All of the crew made it out of the crashed plane but two men died from exposure to the elements, including the ball turret gunner who had given Field his seat on the raft. Until getting that seat, Field felt he was going to die but convinced himself to survive. The ball turret gunner pulled the two rafts together, but he took off his wet, insulated clothes and perished. Field worried about the "J" indication on his dog tag and capture by the Germans who would have persecuted him. Luckily, he was rescued by a British search and rescue vessel. Field and the other survivors were sent to a recovery house for a week of down time. That was when he discovered that another member of his crew was gay.

After surviving ditching [Annotator's Note: in a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber], Edward Field returned to his squadron [Annotator's Note: 546th Bombardment Squadron, 384th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force] and went back to flying combat missions. He did not hesitate to go back into combat because he felt it was so thrilling. He was interviewed for a German movie, Die Flak Helfer,about bombing missions and German antiaircraft crews. It was shown on Bremen television. Teenagers mostly manned the German antiaircraft guns. After recovery, a new pilot was assigned to Field's crew. That pilot was a better technician than the one they previously had. During down time, Field would go to Kettering [Annotator's Note: Kettering, England] nearby or to London [Annotator's Note: London, England]. He met fellow gay individuals in London and saw famous plays including some starring John Gielgud [Annotator's Note: Sir Arthur John Gielgud; English actor]. Returning to combat, Field kept bombing the enemy because he was fighting the Nazis. Civilian neighborhoods were also the target but that never came to his mind. He was bombing Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] and Nazi Germany. Cologne [Annotator's Note: Cologne, Germany] and other famous cities were left in ruins. He accepted what he was doing. He bombed Munich [Annotator's Note: Munich, Germany] and Hamburg [Annotator's Note: Hamburg, Germany] and the ruins of Dresden [Annotator's Note: Dresden, Germany]. Few historic cities were exempt from the destruction. Field was still volunteering for bombing missions when the war in Europe ended. He ultimately completed his 27th bombing run. He was glad he never had to retrain to fly missions over Japan. The radio operator during the ditching of Field's bomber on his third mission was pulled under water in the North Sea. Sharks were in those waters. The crew was in the water for a couple hours before rescue.

After the war, Edward Field was given the task of flying ground troops home via France and North Africa. He was later assigned the duty of flying high-ranking officers around Europe. He thinks it was due to him being gay. It was a terrific job. He was invited to his first gay party while in Frankfurt [Annotator's Note: Frankfurt, Germany]. He was learning gay life. A light went on in his head that the gay lifestyle was going on everywhere. Field never told his family or people in his hometown about being gay. After six months, he had sufficient points [Annotator's Note: a point system was devised based on a number of factors that determined when American servicemen serving overseas could return home] and returned home. He regrets not being discharged in Europe and going to the Sorbonne on the G.I. Bill. When he heard about the atomic bombs [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945], he did not consider the moral issue. He only wanted the war to end. Field returned to the United States in December 1945 and was separated from service that same month at Fort Dix, New Jersey with the rank of first lieutenant. He took advantage of his G.I. Bill benefits and returned to school briefly. He regrets returning to his family and not staying in New York [Annotator's Note: New York, New York] or Europe. He later went into writing and acting and has had a very successful career as a poet. He attended therapy for being gay but he never wanted to go straight. He was in Freudian therapy. Field would leave the life of being a poet and enter into acting for a few years. When he met his partner, he gave up the theater and returned to poetry. Life changed tremendously. He has been recognized for his work and now is considered a celebrated veteran. He has had an extraordinary life and it is due to the Army and his experiences there. He never suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. The therapy was more directed to his troubles and persecution during his youth [Annotator's Note: due to anti-Semitism].

Edward Field had his most memorable experience with the crash of his plane [Annotator's Note: after his plane was shot up while bombing Berlin on 3 February 1945; see clip titled Bombing Missions and Ditching]. He learned the man's name who saved his life only after the war. It was Jack Clark. He has been the recipient of a congressional proclamation. Field has had a very good life as a result of the young man's sacrifice. A documentary movie about the mission and the crash is dedicated to Clark. As far as intolerance toward Field as a gay Jew, the whole world was horrified with the revelation of the death camps. Casual anti-Semitism was no longer acceptable. Except for the British that is. [Annotator's Note: Field laughs.] Israel became the homeland country for the Jews. It gave them a foundation plus value and worth. Field does not always agree with what is happening in Israel, but it is important to the Jews. During the war, there was a big upheaval on the civilian front. The 1950s changed many things. There was persecution of gays in addition to communists. It shook America that we could persecute in our country. The 1960s became a decade of revolution. As a Jew, he fought in World War 2 because of Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] and the Jewish extermination. The main reason was to get away from domestic anti-Semitism. He was scarred by prejudice in his early life. Once he went to college, the situation improved, but the damage had been done. His family was a difficult family. In retrospect, his service in the war was great. He found himself and became a poet. It meant everything to him. It was the crucible that made him. The experience made him feel like a person. It was marvelous. It was never a big deal for him being gay in the military. It was a liberating time for him. Field thinks The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] is amazing and marvelous. The war reversed the Nazi era in the world including America. He has learned that politics goes back and forth over time.