Joseph Krause was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1923. He recalls an enjoyable childhood where he played games, sports and had two paper routes that gave him some spending money. He and a childhood friend named Al Horton shared many activities, and they both had planned on going into the Marine Corps. He had received his initial draft notice, but it was another two years before he received his actual report notice. Still wanting to be a Marine, he and Horton went to downtown Detroit where they discovered the Navy and Marine Corps recruiting office to be closed. They went across the street and enlisted in the Army Air Force. He was assigned to be an aerial gunner. After completing basic training at Sheppard Field, Texas he remained there for aviation mechanic training. Following that, he went to Arizona for gunnery training, during which he flew for the first time in an airplane. He recounts that he was originally put on a B-17 Flying Fortress [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] crew as an assistant mechanic and manned a waist gun, but that was only for his first combat mission. When he landed from that mission, the crew's flight engineer, who also served as the top turret gunner, refused to fly any more, so he became the flight engineer. He speaks very candidly about being scared every time he flew, so much so that later in the war, when he was recruited to fly the B-29 Superfortress [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber], he refused. He was also scared during his training flights, which were in an AT-6 trainer [Annotator's Note: North American AT-6 Texan trainer aircraft]. He describes the air-to-air gunnery training as flying in the back cockpit of the AT-6 and shooting at a sock that was being pulled behind another AT-6.

Joseph Krause was stationed in Washington State while he continued his training to be a B-17 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] aerial gunner. He was assigned to Moses Lake, Washington, where he and a childhood friend, Al Horton, were split up for the first time since they had begun their training together. [Annotator's Note: Elsewhere in the interview, Krause states that Horton was killed on the first bombing raid over Berlin, Germany.] He recalls a tent city with no barracks. After completion, he took a train across the United States to the embarkation port of New York. While on this trip, he received word that his father had passed away in Detroit, Michigan. His companions took up a collection for him and he was granted a three-day pass to attend services. While at home, he decided he wouldn't return to his base, but his mother talked him out of it. He returned to New York where he boarded the Queen Elizabeth to go overseas. He remembers feeling like he'd never return home, particularly after his first mission. He describes that his entire crew was brand-new; the only thing that kept him from quitting was not wanting to embarrass himself or his family. He comments that when they returned from a mission they were offered as much Scotch as they wanted, and that led to he and his buddies sharing all manner of stories. He lost a lot of weight while overseas, both from the stress and fear of the missions and the heavy drinking afterwards, which often caused him to miss his evening meal. On his first mission, he was assigned as a waist gunner and thought he had been hit by flak [Annotator's Note: from the German Fliegerabwehrkanone, "aircraft defense cannon"], but hadn't. He got so sick on the flight that he had to be carried off the airplane. Once he recovered, he was told the the flight engineer, who also operated the top gun turret, refused to fly anymore and so he was appointed to replace him. He didn't want to act scared, so he became the flight engineer. On his second mission, he was in the top gun turret, which he had never learned to operate. On that flight, he again saw heavy flak and comments that "everywhere you looked, you'd see a B-17 explode." His pilot had earlier assembled the crew and told them that he had no desire to fly in the lead position. His intent was to fly in the back part of the formation where he felt he'd have a better chance to maneuver the aircraft. Krause comments that if enemy fighters were attacking in large numbers their plane would stay in the formation; if flak was the bigger threat, his pilot would maneuver the plane towards the back. He recounts that they never suffered any losses on their plane. They did have four crew members killed, but each casualty was while flying with another crew on another airplane. His experiences made him feel like, "it was just a matter of time…" before his plane was shot down.

[Annotator's Note: Joseph Krause served in the US Army Air Forces as a flight engineer and top turret gunner on a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber in the 729th Bombardment Squadron, 452nd Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force and took part in the first daylight bombing raid on Berlin, Germany on 6 March 1944.] Joseph Krause recounts that the purpose of the raid was to demonstrate to the Germans that the Americans could strike their main city. The bomber crews were all eager and excited, but also realized that the Germans would put up a stiff defense. He describes very heavy enemy fighter activity and a lot of flak [Annotator's Note: from the German Fliegerabwehrkanone, "aircraft defense cannon"], so much of both that as the airplane was on the return leg of the mission the crew had no idea how they had survived. Krause discusses that when they first arrived in theater a crew had to complete 25 missions on a tour of duty, but that number was later raised to 30 prior to being lowered back again to 25. He had completed 23 missions when the requirement was raised, so he wound up completing 30. He recalls his last mission was on 29 May 1944 and the target was Leipzig, Germany. He describes an irony that happened to him later in life when he settled in North Carolina. One of his neighbors had served in the ground forces in Europe and had later married a German woman whose mother had shielded her from bombs during the Leipzig raid and had not survived. He offers this as one example of various situations that caused him to remember the war. He comments that air-to-air combat was very personal; he shot down two German fighters and the first one exploded right in front of him. He had a lot of respect for the Luftwaffe [Annotator's Note: German Air Force]. He talks about the ground crews writing messages in chalk on the bombs prior to a mission, and also two Jewish navigators in the Group [Annotator's Note: 452nd Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force] who would not wear their parachute harnesses. They felt that were they to bail out and be captured, they would be beaten. He describes a mission to Bruex, Czechoslovakia [Annotator's Note: known today as Most, Czech Republic] as one of the longest-duration flights he made; it was over 11 hours. The formation had significant fighter opposition; his crew alone shot down five Messerschmitts. They seldom saw friendly fighter escorts, especially when on long-range missions to Poland or Czechoslovakia. It was during one such mission where they were over the North Sea and encountered German Ju-88 aircraft [Annotator's Note: German Junkers Ju-88 twin-engined multi-purpose aircraft]. The planes were armed with some kind of rocket that when fired produced a lethal fireball. If it struck the wing of a bomber, it would cause it to explode. In terms of life back on the air base, he comments that the aircrew didn't interact much with the other people on the base. He and his fellow crew members were either flying, briefing or preparing for the next mission.

Joseph Krause recalls that he didn't keep his flight log book up to date while he flew the requisite 30 missions to complete his tour of duty. He didn't want to be shot down and have his family feel bad were they to have it sent to them. He comments that when other aircrew were shot down, it was their clean underwear and socks that were most sought after. He feels that it was fear of shame that kept him flying, otherwise he would have quit. As far as the B-17 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] that he flew, he discusses the rivalry between B-17 and B-24 [Annotator's Note: Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber] crews; he tells an amusing anecdote about the "B-24 being the crate that the B-17 came in…" He remembers the aircraft as sluggish on the ground, but smooth in the air. He feels that 60 percent of the accidents were caused by lack of experience. If the pilot and copilot were able to remain cool regardless of the circumstances, it was better for all. He describes his flight clothing and mentions that at first they weren't issued electrically-heated flight gear [Annotator's Note: to protect against the cold temperatures at the altitude at which they flew], but even later when they had such gear he never wore it because he found it would short out from sweating and cause blisters. He would wear fleece-lined jackets and a variety of other clothes to stay warm; each crew member wore whatever he felt necessary for the conditions. Krause's last mission, on 29 May 1944, was uneventful; since it was both he and the pilot's last, they buzzed the tower upon their return. He was very happy when they landed. He learned the following day that the airplane had suffered flak [Annotator's Note: from the German Fliegerabwehrkanone, "aircraft defense cannon"] damage and that a wing spar had broken; the wing very easily could have snapped off during these maneuvers, but didn't. He remembers very little after this last flight until he was on a ship bound for the United States. He celebrated his survival more than once and took care to avoid any officers on the base, lest he be put with another crew to fill a vacancy.

Joseph Krause describes the medical conditions from which he suffers, some of which he attributes to his military service as a B-17 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] crew member. Following his return from the war, he worked for a short time before starting his own heating and cooling business. Eventually, he was unable to work. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but underwent treatment that alleviated some of his symptoms. He doesn't share the view of many of his contemporaries that it's important to learn about the war. He feels that each generation has its own experiences and while museums are important to maintain a record of what happened, he feels as though remembrance of any conflict has been over-politicized. He briefly discusses his children and closes by commenting that while he may be entitled to more government assistance as a result of his condition, it really wouldn't change anything as it relates to his mobility or ability to get out and do things.