Lawrence Eustis was born in March 1921 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was one of nine children. 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], his father, a civil engineer, had a difficult time finding work. His brothers had a newspaper business that was started by the oldest brother. When the oldest brother went to college, he gave the business to the next brother, and so on. Eustis gave all his earned money to his mother so she could buy groceries. The neighborhoods in New Orleans were mixed with wealthy and poor, and Eustis’ rich neighbors were very kind to the poor. For fun, he played a lot of group activities like badminton, tennis and football at Audubon Park. Eustis noticed a man watching them, and one day he showed up with a bunch of uniforms for Eustis and his friends. That man was Tad Gormley [Annotator’s Note: Francis Thomas "Tad" Gormley, an American athletic trainer, coach and official]. Gormley helped organize all the sandlot groups around the city to play against each other. Eustis made a lot of friends around the city, and he never felt disadvantaged during the Great Depression. He started at Tulane University [Annotator’s Note: New Orleans, Louisiana] in 1939 after his brother sent money to pay for his tuition. He was drafted into service before he finished graduating from college. He told the draft board that he already applied for photo lab commander cadet training. They agreed that if he was accepted for cadet training before they drafted him, he could receive a deferment to finish college. However, the letter did not come in time and he was drafted. After completing his basic training, Eustis was sent to photo school at Lowry Field in Denver, Colorado. In November 1942, Eustis completed his photo school and was sent to March Field, California where he was assigned to the 2nd Photo Mapping Squadron as a lab technician. The 2nd was in the process of photo mapping South America and sent the film back to the United States for processing. Eustis had applied for a cadet posting in the photo lab commander’s school. He was quite surprised when first he got a letter from the Army Air Force declining his application for communication school since he had not applied for it, then he got word that he was being sent to cook and baker school. When he heard this, Eustis stormed into his commanding officer’s office and started yelling about it. The orders to cook and baker school were soon rescinded.

Lawrence Eustis was at March Field, California when he was assigned to the 2nd Photo Mapping Squadron as a lab technician. One afternoon, Eustis was informed that a board of three colonels would be visiting the base to speak with soldiers who thought that they would make good officers. Eustis signed up, had his meeting, and was soon on his way back to St. Petersburg, Florida for another round of basic training after which he continued to Yale University for photo lab commanders’ school. On 11 August 1943, Eustis completed his training and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Air Corps reserve. He immediately received orders to report to Pratt, Kansas where he was to take command of the 11th Photo Lab, which was to be attached to the 40th Bombardment Group. In the 11th Photo Lab, Eustis had a group of 21 enlisted men under him, of which four were sergeants who were to help him lead the unit. Many of the men in his unit were older than he was. The master sergeant he was assigned was in his forties and had been in the Army longer than Eustis had been alive. After B-29 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber] training stateside, the 40th Bomb Group deployed to India. His commander was General LeMay [Annotator's Note: US Army Air Forces then US Air Force General Curtis Emerson LeMay; Fifth Chief of Staff of the US Air Force]. LeMay made every effort for all the bomber groups to be efficient because it cost a lot of money every time the B-29s went on a mission. Several of his brothers also served in the military, and one of his brothers, Ross, was an executive officer on the hospital ship USS Comfort [Annotator’s Note: USS Comfort (AH-6)]. The Comfort was hit by kamikaze planes, so Eustis received permission to go to Guam [Annotator’s Note: Guam, Mariana Islands] and visit his brother. He reunited with him and another brother which was a memorable experience. Eustis was a student at Tulane [Annotator’s Note: Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana] when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] in December of 1941. He was shocked by the event, but continued with social activities. Finishing school was very important to him before he went into the service, but he was a prime candidate for being drafted.

Lawrence Eustis was drafted into the Army Air Corps on 20 July 1942 and sent to Alexandria, Louisiana for his processing, then sent to St. Petersburg, Florida for basic training. In November 1942, Eustis completed his photo schooling and was sent to March Field, California where he was assigned to the 2nd Photo Mapping Squadron as a lab technician. The 2nd was in the process of photo mapping South America and sent the film back to the United States for processing. After completing his basic training, Eustis was sent to photo school at Lowry Field [Annotator’s Note: in Denver, Colorado]. He got word that he was being sent to cook and baker school. When he heard this, Eustis stormed into his commanding officer’s office and started yelling about it. The orders to cook and baker school were soon rescinded. One afternoon, Eustis was informed that a board of three colonels would be visiting the base to speak with soldiers who thought that they would make good officers. Eustis signed up, had his meeting, and was soon on his way back to St. Petersburg, Florida for another round of basic training after which he continued to Yale University [Annotator’s Note: in New Haven, Connecticut] for photo lab commanders’ school. On 11 August 1943, Eustis completed his training and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Army Corps reserve. He immediately received orders to report to Pratt, Kansas where he was to take command of the 11th Photo Lab which was to be attached to the 40th Bombardment Group which flew B-29s [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber]. In the 11th Photo Lab, Eustis had a group of 21 enlisted men under him, of which four were sergeants who were to help him lead the unit. Many of the men in his unit were older than he was. The Master Sergeant he was assigned was in his forties and had been in the army longer than Eustis had been alive. His group was responsible for anything photo related.

Lawrence Eustis was commander of the 11th Photo Lab which was to be attached to the 40th Bombardment Group which flew B-29s [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber] out of Pratt, Kansas. After B-29 training Stateside, the 40th Bomb Group deployed to India. In January 1944, Eustis and his 11th Photo Lab traveled to India by ship. The ship pulled into Bombay [Annotator’s Note: Bombay, India] and the 5,000 men aboard made their way ashore. They then boarded a train which took them across the country to Calcutta [Annotator’s Note: Calcutta, or Kolkata, India]. In February or March 1944, Eustis arrived at his new duty station. To Eustis, the rail system in India was chaotic to say the least. There seemed to be no ticket system. If a person could find a place to sit, stand, or hang onto, they did so until they reached their destination. Living conditions on base were sparse at best. He slept on double bunks made from rope, and mattresses were stuffed with corn shucks. He and his men lived in thatch-roofed huts. One of Eustis’ jobs was to drive to Calcutta once a month to pick up a load of photo paper and the chemicals used to develop it. The lab was unable to build up a stock of those items because of the heat and humidity in India. [Annotator’s Note: Video break at 0:58:36.000.] For entertainment, Eustis would sometimes take a truck and go out exploring the countryside. The food was terrible in Calcutta, and in China he ate cabbage, pork, peanuts, and citrus. He thought the Chinese people were happier than the Indian people. The 40th Bombardment Group with Eustis’ 11th Photo Lab in tow transferred their operations from the CBI [Annotator’s Note: China-Burma-India Theater of Operations] to the island of Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands. There were nurses there. Even though there were rules forbidding it, the men fraternized with the American girls anyway.

Lawrence Eustis was commander of the 11th Photo Lab which was to attached to the 40th Bombardment Group which flew B-29s [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber]. In March 1945, the 40th Bombardment Group with Eustis’ 11th Photo Lab in tow transferred their operations from the CBI [Annotator’s Note: China-Burma-India Theater of Operations] to the island of Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands. At first the men slept in tents with sand floors, but as time passed their conditions improved. Tinian was different than the base Eustis was at in India. The prediction of weather was very primitive during the war. His crew was able to spot a Japanese dry dock in Singapore. They were able to destroy a heavy cruiser when they bombed the dry dock. His unit received the Presidential Unit Citation for this mission. Between bombing missions, the 40th Bomb Group planes were used to ferry supplies from India to advanced bases in China. Eustis had personnel stationed at these advanced bases and occasionally joined the flights to them. To Eustis, flying over the Himalayas was awesome. The scenery was beautiful, even if the trips were dangerous. After the Japanese captured the Burmese city of Myitkyina [Annotator’s Note: Myitkyina, Myanmar] and its airfield, the low altitude route from India into China was cut off. Any planes flying that route risked coming under fire by Japanese gunners on the ground and planes in the air. Even though the conditions in India were rustic, there were things that benefitted the lab. In India, there were technical representatives from the Fairchild Camera Company who were available to inspect and repair any of the photo lab’s cameras. Eustis lost two of his men in action overseas. Having such a small outfit, losing two was a big deal and it hurt. He had one guy named Art, who had to ditch his plane on a mission and died on impact with the water.

Lawrence Eustis was commander of the 11th Photo Lab which was attached to the 40th Bombardment Group which flew B-29s [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber]. In March 1945, the 40th Bombardment Group with Eustis’ 11th Photo Lab in tow transferred their operations from the CBI [Annotator’s Note: China-Burma-India Theater of Operations] to the island of Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands. Eustis lost two of his men in action overseas. Having such a small outfit, losing two was a big deal and it hurt. To Eustis, flying over the Himalayas was awesome. The scenery was beautiful even if the trips were dangerous. He was amazed by the Chinese that lived in the Himalayas. Eustis went on a mission when his plane was shot up. He took his oxygen mask off to grab the camera. The next thing he knew, he woke up to a crew mate putting an oxygen mask on him. One thing Eustis noticed while serving in the Pacific was that Japanese Navy anti-aircraft gunners were better than the Japanese Army gunners in the CBI. He wanted to join the Army Air Corps because he wanted to fly. He flew with his friends in private planes before he joined the military.

Lawrence Eustis was on Tinian [Annotator’s Note: Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands] when he heard about VE-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945]. He does not recall exactly when he learned of the use of the atomic bombs [Annotator's Note: nuclear weapons dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 6 and 9 August 1945] or of the Japanese surrender [Annotator's Note: Victory Over Japan Day, 15 August 1945], but is sure he and his men had a few drinks. He gives a lot of credit to President Harry Truman [Annotator's Note: Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States] and feels that it took a lot of guts for Truman to order the use of the bombs. When the Enola Gay [Annotator’s Note: The Enola Gay was the Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber which dropped the first atomic bomb in warfare on 6 August 1945 over Hiroshima, Japan] was on Tinian, it was heavily guarded, and he could not get near it. On 2 September 1945, every plane that could be put in the sky was used to fly over the battleship USS Missouri (BB-63). They were to act as a show of force to the Japanese. The planes would fly straight over the ships then make a long loop and come around again. This was done to make it seem like there were many more planes than there actually were. Eustis flew over the Missouri three times that morning. In the last week of October 1945, Eustis left Tinian to return to the United States. He took a flight to Kwajalein [Annotator’s Note: Kwajalein, Marshall Islands] and from there to Hawaii then on to America. Upon arrival in the United States, Eustis was separated from active duty as a captain, but volunteered for the United States Air Force Reserves retiring in 1982 with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Eustis’ last command was a reserve unit in New Orleans [Annotator’s Note: New Orleans, Louisiana].

Lawrence Eustis did not use the G.I. Bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment] to his benefit when he went to Tulane University [Annotator’s Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana]. He found a job on campus and eventually met his future wife. Eustis’ most memorable experience of World War 2 was being a member of one of the first B-29 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber] units to go overseas. He thoroughly enjoyed his experience.