George Grugett was born in McConnell, Tennessee which no longer exists. His father worked for the railroad. He moved from there when he was about six weeks old. He grew up in Dyersburg, Tennessee. He had three sisters and two brothers. They moved quite a bit. They moved to Covington, Tennessee and he graduated high school in 1942. His class had a movie made about them. Life was wonderful. It was during the Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression, a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1945], but they were fortunate that their dad always had a job. He remembers 7 December 1941. He had gone to Sunday school. Afterwards he ran over to the drugstore to get a Coke and the radio was on. The announcer was talking about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii]. He ran all the way home, thinking that the war was going to be over before he could get in it. He was 16. After he graduated high school, he got his parents to sign so he could enter the Aviation Cadets Reserve. He got a telegram to report to Keesler Field, Mississippi [Annotator's Note: now Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi]. He started his military career there. They were given tools and taken to clear a sand pile. They built a floor and pitched eight man tents. They jammed 18 people in each tent. His first night, one of the men in the tent started sniffling and said he wanted his momma. He then went to San Antonio, Texas for classification for about two months of tests. Grugett was classified as a pilot and he went to Fort Stockton, Texas. He got to Fort Stockton in a blizzard. The next morning they cleaned the flight strip and started learning to fly. It was a civilian operated school called Gibbs Field [Annotator's Note: now Fort Stockton-Pecos County Airport]. He went to basic training in San Angelo, Texas to Goodfellow Field [Annotator's Note: now Goodfellow Air Force Base], where he flew the BT-13 [Annotator's Note: Vultee BT-13 Valiant basic trainer aircraft; also known as the Vultee Vibrator]. He flew PT-19s [Annotator's Note: Fairchild PT-19 primary trainer aircraft] at Fort Stockton. When he first got to Stockton, the parking place in front of the hotel was a hitching rack for horses. The rooms did not have a key. Three or four of them spent one night there and in the morning there were some cowboys in their room asleep on the floor. At Goodfellow, flying the BT-13, he learned instrument and night flying. From San Angelo, he went to Pampa, Texas [Annotator's Note: Pampa Army Airfield in Pampa, Texas] and flew AT-9s [Annotator's Note: Curtiss-Wright AT-9 Jeep advanced trainer aircraft] and AT-10s [Annotator's Note: Beechcraft AT-10 Wichita multi-engine trainer aircraft]. He graduated and got his wings on 10 August 1944. He got a 15 day leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] for the first time in two years and went home.

Everything was rationed during the war. George Grugett's dad told him to go to the ration board and get gas stamps. He was home for 15 days and he got 15 stamps for 15 gallons of gas. He then went to Perrin Field [Annotator's Note: now North Texas Regional Airport] in Sherman, Texas to be made a BT-13 [Annotator's Note: Vultee BT-13 Valiant basic trainer aircraft; also known as the Vultee Vibrator] instructor pilot. He was there a short time when there was a request for 13 pilots for either the Pacific or European theaters. They could go to Columbia, South Carolina for B-25 [Annotator's Note: North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber] training or to Shreveport, Louisiana for B-26 [Annotator's Note: Martin B-26 Marauder medium bomber] training. Two of his friends wanted to go to South Carolina, so he went too. They took overseas training for a short time and went to Hunter Field [Annotator's Note: Hunter Army Airfield] in Savannah, Georgia to get equipment. They got on a Liberty ship [Annotator's Note: a class of quickly produced cargo ship] and spent 30 days going to Oran, North Africa [Annotator's Note: Oran, Algeria]. They were in the bottom hold. Bunks were six high. They got seasick and did not eat most of the time. They took saltwater showers once a week. They landed at Oran and went to Marseilles, France, Naples [Annotator's Note: Naples, Italy], and then to the island of Corsica [Annotator's Note: Corsica, France]. Corsica had so many airfields they called it the USS Corsica like it was an aircraft carrier. The Germans had to leave there because of the mosquitos. They were dying of malaria [Annotator's Note: mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite] and dengue fever [Annotator's Note: mosquito-borne tropical disease] because they did not have DDT [Annotator's Note: Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane; developed as an insecticide]. The Americans brought a spraying outfit that had A-20s [Annotator's Note: Douglas A-20 Havoc medium multirole combat aircraft] flown by former crop dusters. Their [Annotator's Note: 380th Bombardment Squadron, 310th Bombardment Group, 57th Bombardment Wing, 12th Air Force] primary mission was to keep the German troops in Italy. A lot of his missions were flown in the Brenner Pass [Annotator's Note: a mountain pass through the Alps mountain range that forms the border between Italy and Austria]. Their B-25s could not fly high because they did not have oxygen or heat. This was the winter of 1944 to 1945. He flew 47 missions. Every mission had flak [Annotator's Note: antiaircraft artillery fire] and some had fighters. They had very few missions with fighter escort. Sometimes the Australians flew for them in P-40s [Annotator's Note: Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter aircraft] and sometimes the Americans in P-51s [Annotator's Note: North American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft]. On rare occasions, New Zealanders would fly Spitfires [Annotator's Note: British Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft] with them. The last bit of the Luftwaffe [Annotator's Note: German Air Force] that was effective was stationed at Udine Airfield [Annotator's Note: Udine, Italy] in the Po Valley [Annotator's Note: also called Po Plain, major geographical feature of Northern Italy]. It was called the Hermann Göring [Annotator's Note: German Reichsmarschall Hermann Wilhelm Göring, or Goering, commanded the German Air Force and was second only to Adolf Hitler in the Nazi chain of command] Yellow-nosed Squadron and had flown in the civil war in Spain [Annotator's Note: Spanish Civil War, 1936 to 1939]. Some of those pilots had 200 to 300 kills to their credit. Grugett was on a six man crew that got six Purple Hearts [Annotator's Note: the Purple Heart Medal is award bestowed upon a United States service member who has been wounded as a result of combat actions against an armed enemy], but he did not get one. The flight engineer got two. The war ended and they were kept there about two months. There was an argument about who owned Trieste [Annotator's Note: Trieste, Italy], so every few days they would fly around the area to let the Russians, the Yugoslavians, and Italians know they were still there.

George Grugett and his outfit [Annotator's Note: 380th Bombardment Squadron, 310th Bombardment Group, 57th Bombardment Wing, 12th Air Force] flew their airplanes home. The plane he flew the most was called "Pete's Own Sunday Punch" and had a kangaroo painted on the side. They put Tokyo tanks [Annotator's Note: nickname for extra fuel tanks] in the bomb bay for extra fuel. His plane had flown so many missions, when they filled the tanks, it got damaged and had to be scrapped. He went to Naples [Annotator's Note: Naples, Italy] and got a brand new airplane. They flew to Ascension Island in the mid-Atlantic. The Germans had U-boats [Annotator's Note: German submarine] stationed around and sent out phony radio signals to confuse the airplanes. They flew home to Hunter Field [Annotator's Note: Hunter Army Airfield] in Savannah, Georgia. He had ten days leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] to go home and then he got orders to Barksdale Field [Annotator's Note: now Barksdale Air Force Base] in Shreveport, Louisiana. He was to pick up a new A-26 [Annotator's Note: Douglas A-26 Invader multi-role combat aircraft] to fly to Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan] to practice for the invasion of Japan. In Atlanta [Annotator's Note: Atlanta, Georgia], he had his train ticket and he and his bombardier checked their bags. They were at a bar when the bandleader announced that Japan had surrendered. Mr. Truman [Annotator's Note: Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States] had dropped the atomic bombs [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on 6 August 1945 and Nagasaki, Japan on 9 August 1945]. Atlanta went crazy. They were turning over streetcars. Some Master Sergeant from the 101st Airborne [Annotator's Note: 101st Airborne Division] yelled "Geronimo" and jumped off the post office. He forgot he did not have a parachute and was killed. He gave his train tickets to an elderly couple. He stayed in Atlanta for seven days and was AWOL [Annotator's Note: absent without leave]. He went to Seymour Johnson Field [Annotator's Note: now Seymour Johnson Air Force Base] in Goldsboro, North Carolina. Anyone with 85 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] could get in line to get out, which he did. He was told he could not get out and was told to see the Colonel. He told him he wanted to go back to school. He let him get out, but he stayed in the Reserves until 1958. Grugett has not talked about his war experience until now. As he and other veterans have gotten older, they have started talking about it. He wants people to know about it. He did not want to talk about it before because he lost so many friends and lost his youth. He was 19 years old when he was flying his missions. It was a wonderful experience and something that had to happen. The Japanese and the Germans wanted to take over the world. The Japanese were fanatics. The Germans were patriotic and fought to the last man. When the war was over in Germany, there was no man alive who was not in a PW camp [Annotator's Note: prisoner of war camp] between the ages of 12 and 65. We [Annotator's Note: America] killed them all. That is the way you win a war. Grugett wishes politicians would realize that. We [Annotator's Note: America] are still in Afghanistan [Annotator's Note: War in Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom, 2001 to 2014, Operation Freedom's Sentinel, 2015 to 2021] after ten years [Annotator's Note: of the time of this interview] and are still in Iraq [Annotator's Note: Iraq War, 2003 to 2011]. We have not won a war since World War 2. He is proud of his Victory Medal [Annotator's Note: World War 2 Victory Medal]. There have only been two given in this country, for World War 1 and World War 2. He appreciates the World War 2 Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana] and is a Charter Member. Possibly it will teach the young people the horrors of war. If we are going to have them, let us win them. War is catastrophe and needs to be ended as soon as possible with a victory.

George Grugett had read and studied history. He was amazed at what he saw, especially in cities like Rome [Annotator's Note: Rome, Italy as a pilot in the 380th Bombardment Squadron, 310th Bombardment Group, 57th Bombardment Wing, 12th Air Force]. They got rest leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] occasionally. He got to be an expert at getting the flight surgeon to give him leave. He went to Rome, Naples [Annotator's Note: Naples, Italy], Cairo [Annotator's Note: Cairo, Egypt], and Nice, France. He always wanted to see things. Growing up he would ride the trains because of his father's work. He was doing that at five or six years old. He had some idea of what he would see but was flabbergasted with what he really saw. It was beautiful where it was not torn up. The people were mostly glad to see him. He went back there to the town of Fano [Annotator's Note: Fano, Italy] where he had been stationed when the war ended. It has a beautiful beach. They build yachts there now. He met a someone there who took him to their new airport. It was where their old strip was. There were a couple of hundred people waiting to see him, including some television stations. He got a lot of gifts and was made an Honorary Citizen. He was asked to fly up in airplane, but he made excuses to get out of it. When he left Fano, they said thank you for helping them with the Germans. It meant a lot to him.

George Grugett says the B-25 [Annotator's Note: North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber] is a wonderful airplane. North American made the AT-6 [Annotator's Note: North American AT-6 Texan trainer aircraft], the P-51 Mustang [Annotator's Note: North American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft], the B-25, the F-86 Sabre jet [Annotator's Note: North American F-86 Sabre jet fighter aircraft], and one of the reconnaissance planes [Annotator's Note: North American RA-5 Vigilante]. Those planes were the best ever in the military. You cannot afford modern airplanes if you are going to fight a war with them. The B-25 was forgiving. It would not fly itself, but it would bring you back. He came back on one engine from a mission. A 19 year old kid does not have a bit of sense. If you give him an airplane with two big engines and about 14 .50 caliber machine guns [Annotator's Note: Browning ANM2 .50 caliber machine gun] and tell him the enemy is that way, he is in hog heaven [Annotator's Note: slang for happy]. Grugett never thought about being in combat. You never thought you were not coming back. They were going to lose friends, but it was not going to be them. He really wanted to fly. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer asks Grugett what a typical mission through the Brenner Pass, a mountain pass through the Alps mountain range that forms the border between Italy and Austria, would be like.] They could not get above the mountains and flew down the passes. They could sometimes get to 10,000 feet. They did not have oxygen or heat in the airplane. Somehow or another, the Germans got the 88 cannons [Annotator's Note: German 88mm multi-purpose artillery] up on top of the mountains there and would shoot down and up at them at the same time. It was miserable. When you see the flash and smell the flak [Annotator's Note: antiaircraft artillery fire], you know it is "damn close" to you. The first mission he was on, they were crossing the Po Valley [Annotator's Note: also called Po Plain, major geographical feature of Northern Italy]. He was copilot and was thinking the landscape was beautiful. He saw a train on the tracks and saw white steam coming out of it. He saw a P-47 [Annotator's Note: Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft] strafing the train. He heard popcorn popping and turned and saw holes in his airplane. If they were going to bomb, they flew tight formation. They lost several airplanes that ran into each other.

George Grugett was on a mission to Trento [Annotator's Note: Trento, Italy]. They were going into the Brenner Pass [Annotator's Note: a mountain pass through the Alps mountain range that forms the border between Italy and Austria] and the 88s [Annotator's Note: German 88mm multi-purpose artillery] were firing up and down at them. That was his worst mission. He was flying the number two position and suddenly he could see the other ships disappear. One of them had a direct hit in the bomb bay and blew up. He was the only one out of the six that got home. That was probably around his 40th mission. The Germans never gave up. They lost more people after he got over in October or November 1944 than they lost before that. His outfit [Annotator's Note: 380th Bombardment Squadron, 310th Bombardment Group, 57th Bombardment Wing, 12th Air Force] first went into North Africa on D plus one [Annotator's Note: initial operation date plus one day] and then had to leave on D plus seven [Annotator's Note: initial operation date plus seven days] because they had lost so many aircraft. The Germans were winning the war then. Their supplies were finally stopped, and Rommel [Annotator's Note: German Army Generalfeldmarschall, or Field Marshal, Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel] was smart enough to get out of there. They lost a lot of aircraft in the Kasserine Pass [Annotator's Note: Battle of Kasserine Pass, Kasserine, Tunisia, 19 to 24 February 1943]. His outfit went overseas in 1941 to England. The only thing that stopped them from giving up and going home was General Clarke [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General Frederick J. Clarke] opened the southern route by opening the airfield at Ascension Island. Grugett proudly retired from the Army Corps of Engineers. The ground crew had been there from the beginning and were very close. The aircrew would come in and go home. The crew was really close. You tried not to make too many friends outside of your crew, as you did not know if would see someone the next day or not. They had a one record they played by Keely Smith [Annotator's Note: Dorothy Jacqueline Keely; American singer] singing "And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine" [Annotator's Note: popular song and jazz standard written by Stanley Newcomb Kenton, American musician, in 1944]. Grugett knows every word of that. It played 24 hours a day. Bomber pilots were close with their crew chief. Anything he wanted, you got it for him. You depended on him for your life. They would work 24 hours a day for you. His was an old timer from the peacetime Army. He would tell him not to call him "sir", but he did every time.

George Grugett was with the 12th Air Force, 57th Bomb Wing, 310th Bomb Group, 380th Bomb Squadron [Annotator's Note: 380th Bombardment Squadron, 310th Bombardment Group, 57th Bombardment Wing, 12th Air Force]. A bomb wing had four groups. Each group had four squadrons and each squadron had 18 airplanes. They usually had 21 or 22 and had one they could strip one. They would fly down to Palermo [Annotator's Note: Palermo, Italy] and trade war souvenirs for fresh strawberries and beer.

[Annotator's Note: There is a significant audio issue resulting in an unbearable noise that drowns out the conversation throughout this clip.]