Paul Hissey was born in 1922 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. His father was a Navy man who served in World War 1. His family moved to San Pedro, California when he was 18 months old after his father retired from the Navy. Hissey can recall the American morale during the Great Depression, mostly from the music that was playing. He remembered that he did not waste anything. He did not have a lot but made his own toys and found ways to entertain himself and his friends. He learned to be independent and make do. He started to cut lawns for money and then go to the movies. Hissey graduated from high school and went to Berkeley [Annotator's Note: University of California, Berkeley in Berkeley, California] for three semesters and left in 1941 when the war began. He remembered hearing about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 Decemebr 1941] by mouth. To Hissey, the thought of going to war sounded like an adventure. His friend from the shipyard was keen on taking the test to become a pilot, so Hissey drove him over to an Army Air Corps base for him to apply. A lieutenant convinced Hissey to also take the exam. Hissey passed and his friend did not. He then talked with his father and convinced him that joining the Army Air Corps would be a better opportunity for him than waiting to be drafted. He was sent to Texas, by train, for basic training. He can remember all the boys were so excited about their adventure, while the parents looked frightened about the future of their children.

Paul Hissey was sent to Northern Texas for basic training for six weeks. He remembered the terrain to be very flat. He learned how to march, use tools, and go though obstacle courses. Hissey was sent to Oklahoma Baptist University [Annotator's Note: Chickasha, Oklahoma] for nine weeks of classroom training. He was then sent to San Antonia, Texas and was put through physical and mental tests for five weeks. After a year of training, Hissey selected to go into fighter training and was sent to primary training school and got 30 hours of flying, along with flying solo for the first time. He was sent to Coffeyville, Kansas for nine weeks and flew bigger and more complex airplanes. His last advanced training, he was sent to Victoria Field [Annotator's Note: Victoria, Texas] on the Gulf Coast and upon completion, Hissey became a second lieutenant and received his wings. He was sent out to California and waited a while before he was sent to Moses Lake, Washington where he flew an actual fighter plane used in combat. He was sent to Ontario, California and was told he would be assigned to flying P-38s [Annotator's Note: Lockheed P-38 Lighting fighter aircraft] and trained on them and soon was shipped to Hamilton Field in San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California] to wait for orders. He thought he would be going to the Pacific, but the Army put him on a train to New York City [Annotator's Note: New York, New York] where he boarded the Queen Elizabeth with 16,000 other service men. He was put in a stateroom with nine other men. It took only four days to cross the Atlantic then they docked in Scotland and took a bus into Stone, England. He remembered the weather to be wet, cold, and damp in the United Kingdom. He received more flight training to get accustomed to flying in Europe. He was sent to Paris [Annotator's Note: Paris, France] where he was assigned to a squadron [Annotator's Note: 429th Fighter Squadron, 474th Fighter Group, 9th Air Force] which was stationed in Flavion, Belgium. He was stationed at that airstrip until the end of the war.

Paul Hissey flew P-38s [Annotator's Note: Lockheed P-38 Lighting fighter aircraft] during his time in Europe. He thought it was the best airplane in the Army Air Forces. Hissey describes a P-38 by stating it was a two-engine plane and classified as a fighter bomber. It could escort, fly low, and shoot at trucks, trains, and other machines. He thought it was a very versatile aircraft. Hissey thought it odd to be shooting at someone. On his first mission, he flew on the wing of an experienced pilot. He was scared during the mission, but when he returned, he felt alive. He remembers getting along with most of the pilots and had a camaraderie like a sports team. One memorable mission was when he was flying over the Autobahn in Germany and saw a motorcyclist. He decided to shoot over his head and scare him. When Hissey came back around to shoot over his head again, the motorcyclist shot at him with a rifle and hit his engine. Hissey had to fly home on one engine, while his best friend covered him. Hissey remarked that his best friend, Dabby [Annotator's Note: cannot verify identity], was fearless during the war and knew that he would be returning home. Hissey and Dabby remained close friends after the war. The Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945] came within five miles of their airbase [Annotator's Note: at Flavion, Belgium] and he and his group [Annotator's Note: 429th Fighter Squadron, 474th Fighter Group, 9th Air Force] were prepared to move the airplanes out of the way. After the Germans retreated back, Hissey's group moved onto a German airbase in Euskirchen, Germany.

Paul Hissey remembered when the war ended all the fighter planes were destroyed because they did not want them to fall into the hands of the Russians. During the occupation, his squadron [Annotator's Note: 429th Fighter Squadron, 474th Fighter Group, 9th Air Force] was disbanded, and he was assigned to a transport unit flying DC-2s [Annotator's Note: Douglas DC-2 transport aircraft] for about four months. Around winter 1945, Hissey remembers it was very difficult to find someone who could write orders for him to get back to the United States. He finally found a lieutenant who cut orders for him and his friend, Dabby [Annotator's Note: unable to verify identity], to return home [Annotator's Note: The interviewer stops the interview to change tapes at 0:51:14:000.] They went to France and got on a boat that brought them to New York [Annotator's Note: New York, New York]. They returned on a Kaiser ship and he could not believe how shoddy the condition of the ship was. They ran into an Atlantic storm as well. He was more frightened on this ship than he was flying combat missions. They docked in New York Harbor on 3 January 1946. He remembered it was a wonderful feeling seeing the Statue of Liberty. He was sent to Fort Dix, New Jersey from where he took a DC-4 [Annotator’s Notes: Douglas DC-4 transport aircraft] back to the West Coast. When he landed, he was taken to Fort MacArthur in San Pedro [Annotator's Note: San Pedro, California] by bus. He was discharged a couple of days later. He used the G.I. Bill and took classes at UCLA [Annotator's Note: University of California Los Angeles] where he majored in economics. Later he went back to school and got a teacher's certificate and taught elementary school.

Paul Hissey was a replacement pilot for the squadron [Annotator's Note: 429th Fighter Squadron, 474th Fighter Group, 9th Air Force] and by the time they got into combat, there was not much "plane to plane" combat. His missions were to support the ground troops during combat. [Annotator's Note: The interviewee shuffles around looking for his glasses at 1:03:50:000.] He remarked that was fired at mostly from ground because he did a lot of strafing. He was hit a few times but nothing significant. He was trained in different maneuvers to avoid getting hit, but it was mostly luck. During downtime, he would take a truck ride to the base and write to family. They had three meals a day. He was not required to do any other duty but fly a plane. They could go into town at night. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer gets off topic at 1:10:50:000.] After the war, Hissey married twice. His First wife died, and then he remarried five years later. Hissey recalled that his mother convinced his girlfriend at the time to sign up for the WACs [Annotator's Note: Women's Army Corps] and met some other guy. Hissey received a "Dear John" letter from her. Hissey heard rumors of Adolf Hitler's [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] atrocities but did not know for sure until immediately after the war. There was one pilot he knew who was shot down and taken to a concentration camp.

Paul Hissey remembered flying over German towns that had been bombed while he was serving on occupation duty. He recalled there was tremendous destruction. Hissey was not interested in what was going on in the Pacific and only cared about girls. He does not recall celebrating V-E Day [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945]. Hissey's most memorable experience was when he almost flew into a forest of trees while trying to destroy a truck. Hissey decided to fight in World War 2 because that is what everyone else was doing. He remarked, unless the military did not take you, you went to fight.

Paul Hissey believes that World War 2 forced him to grow up. He was also able to go back to school. His friendships from World War 2 meant a lot to him and means a great deal more today. Hissey believed that the war lifted the country out of the Great Depression and really helped the middle class. Hissey thinks it's important to have institutions like The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana], but he is not a museum person. He believes that it is important to teach about World War 2, but it also depends on the context of how its taught. He thought the idea about the atomic bombs was scary.