[Annotator's Note: Ed Kough refers to a paper for dates and holds it up in front of his face throughout the segment.] Ed Kough was born in January 1924 in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He and his two younger brothers were raised by his mother only because his father abandoned them. His childhood was rough. He moved often. Even though he grew up 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], he did not know how it affected him because he was just a kid. He was aware of the hostilities in Europe and Japan but did not know much or concerned about it. He was in high school when America got involved in World War 2. Kough was at home when he heard some newspapers boys yelling, "Extra! Extra!" down the street and learned about the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He was not concerned about being affected by the war because he was only 16 years old. In February 1924, Kough joined the Army Air Force to avoid being drafted into the Army. He chose to the Air Force because he did not want to walk with a pack on his back or live in a foxhole. After basic training at Miami Beach, Florida, Kough attended various additional flight schools before graduating as a lieutenant from Turner Field, Georgia [Annotator's Note: later Turner Air Force Base, followed by Naval Air Station Albany in Albany, Georgia] in June 1944. He recalled starting his training in a PT-17 [Annotator's Note: The Stearman Model 75 is a biplane formerly used as a military trainer aircraft]. He forgot to wear his seatbelt often. He enjoyed his training experience, especially how to skip-bomb.

[Annotator's Note: Ed Kough refers to a paper for dates and holds it up in front of his face throughout the segment.] After graduating from pilot training, Ed Kough was sent to Nadzab, New Guinea as a member of the 33rd Bombardment Squadron, 22nd Bombardment Group flying a B-24 [Annotator's Note: Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber]. He flew the majority of his 41 missions as a co-pilot. Kough was not very impressed with his first missions but did his co-pilot position well. He often flew with a different pilot. On a mission over Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan], they were chased by a Japanese fighter and the crew's number three gunner was hit, causing the remaining ammunition on the plane to explode, and set fire to the left wing. Luckily no one was wounded when they returned to the airfield. During down time, he watched the other guys play baseball. The food and water on New Guinea was awful, so he drank warm beer instead. He was stationed in New Guinea, the Philippines and on Okinawa during World War 2, flying missions to various places, including Hong Kong [Annotator's Note: now Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China]. His mission to Hong Kong was very long. They put the plane in autopilot and went to sleep. His group lost a lot of planes during his service time. He was in Okinawa when the war ended. It took him three months to return to the United States. He was sent to Manila, Philippines and stayed in a pup tent until he was assigned to an LST [Annotator's Note: Landing Ship, Tank]. The ship sailed to Honolulu [Annotator's Note: Honolulu, Hawaii], where Kough spent some time sightseeing. He missed his aircraft carrier and was placed on a Liberty ship [Annotator's Note: a class of quickly produced cargo ship] and docked at Seattle, Washington. The weather was horrible in Seattle. He took a train to Chicago [Annotator's Note: Chicago, Illinois] and then onto his hometown of Altoona, Pennsylvania.

[Annotator's Note: Ed Kough refers to a paper for dates and holds it up in front of his face throughout the segment.] Ed Kough was sent to the Pacific [Annotator's Note: as a member of the 33rd Bombardment Squadron, 22nd Bombardment Group flying a Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber]. He did not have much contact with the Japanese and did not think they were not very good flyers. On one occasion, he visited his younger brother while he was stationed in Peleliu [Annotator's Note: Peleliu, Palau]. Kough rode in the back of a truck in Palau with two Japanese soldiers who had committed suicide. That was the closest he ever got to a Japanese. Kough felt sad when his friends did not return from a mission. Because he was an officer, he was required to censor everyone's mail. While in Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan], Kough oversaw the officer's club's liquor cabinet. He opened it to everyone on VJ-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory Over Japan Day, 15 August 1945]. Kough was on Okinawa when a typhoon came through. It blew off the roof of the mess hall. Kough was not happy when he found out he would not be returning to the United States in his B-24. He was assigned to a Liberty ship [Annotator's Note: a class of quickly produced cargo ship] and returned home. He was happy to see his mother, but his two brothers were still in the service. He met his wife shortly after his returned.

[Annotator's Note: Ed Kough refers to a paper for dates and holds it up in front of his face throughout the segment.] After World War 2, Ed Kough was discharged from service, but decided to re-enlist because he liked the pay. He stayed in service for two more years. Two years later he re-enlisted again and stayed until he retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1970. He participated in the Korean War [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953] and Vietnam War [Annotator's Note: Vietnam War, or Second Indochina War, 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975]. When he was not in service, he worked in the railroad system. He did not like that the United States was involved in another war so soon after World War 2. During his time in services, he was stationed at Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan] and Guam [Annotator's Note: Guam, Mariana Islands]. During Vietnam, he thinks he was assigned to 33rd Bombardment Squadron, 22nd Bombardment Group, flying B-52s [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-52 Stratofortress long-range bomber]. Many of his missions during the Vietnam War were flown to North Vietnam from South Vietnam. There was a significant change of how the planes operated from World War 2 to Vietnam War. He did not think much about how unpopular the war at home because he flew planes and was not part of the troop regiments. His brother was a soldier in Vietnam and was able to visit him from time to time. American troops were treated poorly by American civilians when they returned from Vietnam. Kough has no opinion on the fact that there was no definitive win of the Korean War or Vietnam War. Kough decided to retire after serving for 28 years in the Air Force. He did not have a hard time adjusting to civilian life after he retired. He was able to secure a job quickly as a school crossing guard. [Annotator's Note: Video break at 0:51:47.000.] He believes that World War 2 was the more significant war than the war in Korea and Vietnam.

Ed Kough most memorable experience of World War 2 was flying the B-24s [Annotator's Note: Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber] but flying the B-52 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-52 Stratofortress long-range bomber] was his favorite aircraft. He fought in World War 2 because he knew he was going to be drafted. The war did not change him much but was glad he was able to retire from the service. He wonders if current Americans even know about World War 2. He believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and they should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations to help Americans remember the events in history.