Hewitt Brian Gomez was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in January 1925. He recalled that he was playing football at a park with some friends when he was told that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]; he was 16 at the time. At age 18, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and was sworn in at Harding Field in Baton Rouge. However, the military closed the Army Air Corps to start the United States Air Force, so Gomez was discharged and had to enlist again, this time in the Air Force. He was inducted in New Orleans [Annotator's Note: New Orleans, Louisiana] in August 1943 then he was sent to Greensburg, North Carolina for basic training for eight weeks. He then went to a college training detachment at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for three months. Upon completion, he was sent to Nashville, Tennessee where he was tested for placement. He was assigned to Navigation and was sent to Maxwell Field, Alabama, where he trained as an officer. He had a couple of opportunities to go to pilot training school, but because of his height, he was denied. Gomez then went to navigation school for three months. In October 1944, he graduated from navigation school, became second lieutenant, and received his wings. He had a short leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] and within that time he proposed to his girlfriend. He joined a crew in Chatham, Georgia. He convinced his fiance to go to Savannah, Georgia and marry him. They married in December 1944.

Hewitt Brian Gomez was a navigator training with his crew at Chatham Field [Annotator's Note: Chatham, Georgia]. He recalled going through high altitude training and he ended up saving one of his crew member's life by reconnecting the oxygen tube to his mask. The crewman had passed out from the lack of oxygen. He was sent to Havana, Cuba for a week for bombing training. He received his assignment in Massachusetts and then flew to Goose Bay, Labrador. On his way to England, he had a frightening moment when he thought he and his crew would have to bail because they did not have enough gas, but he quickly realized that he read the meter wrong and they made it safely to their destination in Ireland. He was stationed at Harrington Field in Kettering, England. They were given a different assignment than bombing. He was told his group was given a secret mission that was highly dangerous. He had to take an oath of secrecy. His mission was to make secret drops at night in France, Denmark, and Norway. His group was called the "Carpetbaggers" [Annotator's Note: the 801st Bombardment Group (Provisional), later re-designated the 492nd Bombardment Group, was part of the Office of Strategic Services, or OSS, transportation and supply group]. He dropped spies, saboteurs, ammunition, bombs, and equipment to aid the underground to destroy routes of the Germans, including railroads, bridges, and roads. He had a couple of close calls, especially after hitting a tree on one mission to Norway.

On one of Hewitt Brian Gomez's missions he and his crew spotted a German plane and they thought he was going to attack them. However, the plane just flew right past them with out firing. On another mission, Gomez and his crew had to pick up the remains of another flight crew that was shot down. Years later, Gomez befriended the brother of one of the crew members on the crashed plane. He also learned that all his military records were frozen and hidden until the late 1980s.

Hewitt Brian Gomez returned home mid July 1945 for leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time]. After coming out of a movie theater with his wife, he found out that the United States had dropped the atomic bombs on Japan. He was relieved because he already received orders to that he would be flying the Hump [Annotator's Note: aerial supply route over the Himalayan Mountains between India and China] into China. Because he did not have enough points to muster out, he was sent to Colorado Springs [Annotator's Note: Colorado Springs, Colorado] for two months. He remarked that it felt like a vacation because he was not required to do anything but keep up with his flying hours. He was discharged at Barksdale Air Force Base [Annotator's Note: Bossier City, Louisiana] on 6 December 1945. He was recalled to active duty in 1950 to serve in the Korean War but received a six month deferment.

Hewitt Brian Gomez's routine missions were to transport secret agents behind enemy lines to help the resistances in Europe. Also, his missions would include dropping various equipment like ammo [Annotator's Note: ammunition], bicycles, money, and radio equipment to support the cause. He also remarked that some of the missions included rescuing their other crews that were shot down during these missions. Gomez remarks that his missions were so secretive that the agents would board the plane at the very last minute and would not meet with the rest of the crew. They were only known as "Joe" or "Josephine." His crew always flew solo without other accompanying planes and there would be three to 16 missions per night. [Annotator's Note: A telephone rings in background at 1:01:45.000.] On his missions, he had no communication on the target ground, but used special equipment to aid in the navigation. Gomez also remarked that the B-24 [Annotator's Note: Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber] was modified to accommodate a successful mission drop.

After missions they [Annotator's Note: Hewitt Brian Gomez and his fellow crewmen] would have a debriefing about the mission. He was then sent to the mess hall for two shots of cognac and breakfast. He remarked that he was very nervous up until it was time to leave. Navigators were the only ones who knew the location of the drop and would only reveal the location to the crew after they were in the air. Most of his missions took place in France, Denmark, and Norway. He would be allowed to go to London [Annotator's Note: London, England] sometimes while he was stationed at Harrington Field [Annotator's Note: Kettering, England]. Gomez remembered that he had identifications in civilian clothes in case he was shot down and the resistance would help hide them. He recalled the weather being freezing while flying on missions. He was given a winter suit to wear but could not put his gloves on because he needed to use his hands for navigation. [Annotator's Note: The interviewee asks to pause the interview at 1:19:41.000.] Gomez says that the "shot down" rate was high and many of the planes crashed while in training too.

Hewitt Brian Gomez was called [Annotator's Note: called back to active duty] to serve during the Korean War, but he was deferred because he had a family. Gomez recalls that when the war in Europe ended, he and some other officers grabbed flare guns and began firing them in the air. Later, his superior officer came over and told them to turn in the guns and go back to their huts. Gomez later found out that his superior officer had to go to court [Annotator's Note: court martial] for his actions of firing the flare guns. Gomez recalls that his pilot did not like him at first, but he earned his trust after their first mission. He flew a total of seven missions before the war in Europe ended. He aborted one mission during which the crew kept seeing an orange flare and did not know where it was coming from.