Jack Rolfson born in September 1921 in Omaha, Nebraska. He grew up in the city, went to school, and would ride his bike to the airport to watch the planes fly in and out. After high school, he played as a musician in a big band. He was not that good, so he decided to go to college. Some Canadians came to Omaha [Annotator's Note: Omaha, Nebraska] looking for men who wanted to join the RCAF [Annotator's Note: Royal Canadian Air Force]. Rolfson left for Winnipeg, Canada and enlisted in the RCAF. He went through flight training, and then was sent to Toronto, Canada. He was trained as a bomber pilot. Soon after he received his wings, the United States became involved in World War 2 and Rolfson transferred to the Unites States Army Air Force without any complications. He was sent to Moody Field, Georgia where he transferred into a bomber unit. A complication arose when the Army Air Forces realized that he was under 21 years old and was not eligible for an officer rate. They put him up in a hotel for some time until they changed to rules that you did not have to be 21 years old to be an officer. He completed his flight check and received his wings and was commissioned a second lieutenant. He became a copilot on a B-17 [Annotator's Notes: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] with the 427th Bombardment Squadron, 303rd Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force in New Mexico. They left from El Paso, Texas for Kellogg Field in Michigan. They stayed there for two months while the Army built their new B-17s. They flew to Bangor, Maine and then to Scotland. They headed down to Molesworth, England and they were stationed there. One of their first missions was to fly with P-38s [Annotator's Note: Lockheed P-38 Lightening fighter aircraft] from Northern Ireland and directed them to North Africa. Rolsfson remembered this mission as a complete disaster because the weather conditions were not suitable for flying, and they did not have the correct radio equipment. They went out to sea and needed to land, but because they had the wrong radio equipment, no one would talk to them. They landed on a beach somewhere in Ireland. One of the engines on the plane was faulty, so Rolfson left the pilot with the plane, took a bus into Northern Ireland, and stayed in a hotel in Belfast for several weeks while the plane was being repaired. Eventually, he and his crew were able to fly back to Molesworth after a couple of months. His crew continued to run air raids and completed 25 missions by July 1943. He returned to the United States which ended his combat experience in the war. Jack Rolfson decided he wanted to get involved with the military air transport where he ferried planes overseas to hand off to their assigned crews. He really enjoyed this because he flew various kinds of planes. He became an instructor and taught pilots how to fly a C-47 [Annotator's Note: Douglas C-47 Skytrain cargo aircraft]. He then wanted to get out of the service and go into commercial airlines, which he did.

[Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses the interview to adjust the camera.] Jack Rolfson went to work for American Airlines after he was discharged from the military. At the beginning of World War 2, Rolfson was assigned as a copilot to the 303rd Bombardment Group [Annotator's Note: 427th Bombardment Squadron, 303rd Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force] flying B-17Es [Annotator's Notes: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber]. Rolfson remembered two close calls where he could have died. There was an incident when they were flying and the elevator froze and then they went into a spin. Somehow, when they reached about 5,000 feet, they were able to get out of the spin and the elevator began to work again. Another incident was when his crew went to Boise, Idaho, but Rolfson did not really want to go, so another pilot went in his place. The plane went through a heavy storm and split in half. There were only two survivors. In October 1942, Rolfson went overseas to Molesworth, England; the trip took over 11 hours. After he did his 25 missions, he flew home and continued to serve in the military stateside. He was told that he was one of the few original pilots that made it home. His first mission in England was to guide a group of P-38s [Annotator's Note: Lockheed P-38 Lightening fighter aircraft] from Northern Ireland to North Africa. Rolfson remembered that he lived in wooden barracks that had a pot-belly stove. He was cold the whole time. He bought a bicycle to get around the base. He was able to get out to town occasionally. He would sometimes go to a local farmer and get fresh eggs so he could make a hot breakfast. When he went on a mission, they started out early. He recalled that he would return from a mission with at least 50 holes in his plane, mostly from flak [Annotator's Note: antiaircraft artillery fire]. There was a situation that he did not know about on a mission until he was debriefed. His ball turret gunner lost electricity and was freezing to death. The other gunners decided to change positions frequently so no one would freeze for a long period of time.

Jack Rolfson was anxious to fly his first mission. He recalled he could not sleep the night before. At the time he flew in the war, they did not have fighter escorts, so they had to fight the Germans off themselves. He remembered that most of the times he returned with no fuel in his tanks. Rolfson remembered pulling pranks with one of his friends by stealing his candy bars. He would be able to go to London [Annotator's Note: London, England] occasionally. Often, the weather was never great. He recalled it being foggy most missions which was dangerous for flying. On one mission where he did an emergency landing in the Republic of Ireland, the locals treated Rolfson and his crew with great hospitality.

Jack Rolfson remembered there was a time when his squadron [Annotator's Note: 427th Bombardment Squadron, 303rd Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force] was part of a multiple day bombing raid, killing over 300,000 people. He remarked that they never intentionally killed anyone, but always aimed for railroad yards. Unfortunately, they would miss sometimes. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses the interview to switch tapes 0:50:39.000.] Rolfson admits that its hard for him to remember specific missions. They all kind of run together. He does remember one mission when his pilot asked him to take some film of the mission. As they faced German fighters, Rolfson began to take pictures. One fighter got so close to them the he broke the antenna off Rolfson's plane. They would take leave in London [Annotator's Note: London, England]. In July 1943 he completed 25 missions and was eligible to return to the United States. Rolfson remembered everything was new and there were a lot of goof ups during his time serving as a copilot. He recalled that every plane would follow whatever the lead bomber did. When the lead bomber opened his bomb bay, Rolfson would open his bomb bay, and when the lead bomber dropped his bombs, Rolfson would drop his bombs. He remembered Bob Hope [Annotator's Note: born Leslie Townes Hope; American acor and comedian who entertained Allied troops] and the USO [Annotator's Note: United Service Organizations] people did a show [Annotator's Note: while he was stationed in Molesworth, England].

Jack Rolfson had a roommate who would find coal to warm their pot belly stove. He was a mathematician and was always working on formulas that would drive Rolfson crazy. Rolfson had to use outside latrines and had to bathe in bathtubs. After the war, he flew for commercial airlines, married, and had three children. Rolfson remarked that while on missions, he could not distinguish if his crew shot down enemy planes or of another B-17 [Annotator's Notes: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] did. It was hard to tell in real time. He only found out after he was debriefed. He also remarked that it was bad if you got out of formation, because the enemy could easily target you. He remembered seeing German pilots shoot at men who were trying to parachute down when they abandoned their plane. Rolfson carried a bible with him on his missions. During his service, Rolfson received various medals including a Distinguished Flying Cross.

Jack Rolfson did not like the missions where he had to go behind enemy lines. When he was in the service, the Army failed to provide them with the necessary equipment to repair their planes which made it difficult for upcoming missions to be successful. It was not until near the end of his service that replacement crews and new planes arrived. Many men died due to the lack of fighter protection. Weather conditions cost lives as well. Rolfson remembered some planes would crash due to foggy weather. On a mission, planes would take off and circle in the sky until all of the planes were up and could get into formation. The name of the airplanes he flew most of the time were "The Devil Himself" and the "Flak Wolf." Rolfson remembered when the squadron's [Annotator's Note: 427th Bombardment Squadron, 303rd Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force] flight surgeon wanted to go on a mission, so he took him. The surgeon never asked to go again. His group dropped more bombs and shot down more planes than any other group in the 8th Air Force. He was part of the 303rd Bombardment which was also known as the "Hell's Angels." Rolfson was a copilot for different pilots throughout his service. The Army Air Forces thought that he was experienced and would be able to help new pilots. The crew members would change up as well, as some were killed or wounded. No one ever volunteered to fly additional missions.

Jack Rolfson would get leave to London [Annotator's Note: London, England] every now and then. On specific missions to Germany, some of the planes would carry a load of leaflets in the German language that sent propaganda messages to the citizens. The Germans knew what altitude the American planes would fly, so they would fire flak [Annotator's Note: antiaircraft artillery fire] at those altitude. Rolfson recalled that they would see a big black box ahead and as they flew through, it sounded like rain hitting the airplane. The planes would get up to 50 holes due to flak. Rolfson feels that the B-17 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] was a far better combat plane than the B-24 [Annotator's Note: Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber] because it was more stable. The B-17 was electric, while the B-24 was hydraulic which caused more problems. He was there early in the war and so he thinks maybe the kinks had to be figured out. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses the interview at 1:46:03.00.] Rolfson believed that the flak was worse than the German fighters. He did not like flying into a black wall. They had some Spitfires [Annotator's Note: British Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft] to help with the German fighters.

Jack Rolfson saw shellshock [Annotator's Note: also known as post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD] in some of the crewmen after missions. Some of them would drink heavily while other sat around and just stared off into space. Sometimes the surgeon would take men off missions to let them rest or get some help before returning. Rolfson could never sleep before missions. To make light of things, the men would play football in the bar or try to cut another guy's tie off. Rolfson remarked that his son suffered from post traumatic stress disorder due to Agent Orange while fighting in Vietnam. When he returned from a mission, the Red Cross would be there to offer donuts, then he would go into a big hut to be debriefed. On his off time, he did a lot of reading, wrote letters, went to the club, chatted and gossiped with friends, and bicycled around the air base. One time, he left base and got some chicken eggs from a farmer. He was able to have fresh eggs. Anytime he went on leave in London [Annotator's Note: London, England], he would order steak and eggs. The food on the base was okay, but there was a lot. He appreciated that he had a table to eat on and a bed to sleep in.

Jack Rolfson does not recall having any burial services for fallen men in his squadron [Annotator's Note: 427th Bombardment Squadron, 303rd Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force]. He was interviewed by the BBC [Annotator's Note: British Broadcasting Company] on television. He never saw the recording, but the experience was interesting. He recalled listening to the radio and listening to Axis Sally [Annotator's Note: Mildred Elizabeth Gillars] and other propaganda shows. Rolfson originally joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. He was part of the exhibition show. He practiced with rifles and put on shows for the public. He is proud of his life. He had some sad moments in his life, but overall, his life has been joyous. After he completed his 25 missions, he returned home. He went into military transport until the end of the war.