Roland Dullnig was born in December 1921 in San Antonio [Annotator’s Note: San Antonio, Texas]. [Annotator’s Note: Police siren can be heard in background at 0:00:30.000.] As a kid, he had a good friendship with one boy. He rode a bicycle to school and to his work at a print shop. He grew up with two siblings and his mother stayed home to take care of them while his father worked as a firefighter. He would take his father’s lunches to him on his bicycle. His father often gave him rides on the fire engine to the nearby baseball field. Dullnig was unaware of the rising hostilities in Europe and Asia. While he was in high school, he took printing classes and after school he worked at a printing shop. Dullnig was hanging out with some school friends when he heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. He does not recall his reaction to the event. Knowing his draft number would soon be called, Dullnig volunteered for service with the Army Air Force. Before he enlisted, he went out to California to work at a plane plant. He drilled holes in the sheet metal and sanded the holes to make them smooth.

After enlisting in the Army Air Corps, Roland Dullnig attended basic training and aircraft mechanic school at a base in northern Texas before joining his squadron [Annotator’s Note: the 668th Bombardment Squadron, eventually attached to the 416th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force]. The 668th was sent to California and then to Oklahoma City [Annotator’s Note: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma] for advanced training. While in training in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Dullnig was issued his tools and coated them in Cosmoline [Annotator's Note: a petroleum-based corrosion inhibitor] before flying to New York to await deployment overseas. He boarded a ship [Annotator’s Note: in January 1944] and crossed the Atlantic, arriving in Scotland. While on the ship, all the men were gambling. When he landed in Scotland, he was transported to England by bus. During pre-flights, as a crew chief, he assisted the pilots in checking all the equipment, including the engines and gas tanks, to make sure everything was in working order.

Roland Dullnig [Annotator’s Note: serving with the 668th Bombardment Squadron, 416th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force stationed in Essex, England] served as a crew chief and maintained the planes while they were grounded at the base. When not maintaining planes, he would often conduct inspection flights with the pilots. Sometimes, he had to go on a flying inspection. He would know when the pilot brought two parachutes out. He worked on the A-20 [Annotator’s Note: Douglas A-20 Havoc] and the A-26 [Annotator’s Note: Douglas A-26 Invader]. Pilots tested the planes in the air by switching engines on and off. Dullnig saw the impact that the V-2 rocket [Annotator's Note: German Vergeltungswaffe 2, or Retribution Weapon 2, ballistic missile] had on London [Annotator’s Note: London, England] while visiting the city on leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time]. Many Londoners spent their nights huddled in the city's underground train stations. He would hear it coming, and then it would go silent before an explosion. Shortly after the invasion of Normandy [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944], Dullnig’s unit moved to France for the remainder of the war.

Shortly after the invasion of Normandy [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944], Roland Dullnig’s squadron [Annotator’s Note: the 668th Bombardment Squadron, 416th Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force] moved to France for the remainder of the war. Some of the planes had to ditch in the English Channel. Some planes returned from missions totaled and had to be scrapped. Not long after, a new plane would be issued. He talked about a plane that was trying to climb in the air and then blew up. The commanders cancelled the mission for the day. Dullnig spent several weeks in Copenhagen [Annotator’s Note: Copenhagen, Denmark] while stationed in France. He ate very well and the locals were very nice to the Americans. He stayed at a family’s house or in officers’ quarters. [Annotator’s Note: Video break at 0:55:02.000.] While stationed in France, Dullnig continued to work as a crew chief and maintained the planes of the squadron. Most planes were lost due to flak [Annotator's Note: antiaircraft artillery fire]. On VE-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945], Dullnig celebrated in Paris [Annotator’s Note: Paris, France]. Pilots bragged about flying beneath the Eiffel Tower [Annotator’s Note: an iconic wrought-iron lattice tower in Paris, France].

After war in Europe ended, Roland Dullnig had to wait until he earned enough points to return home [Annotator's Note: a point system was devised based on a number of factors that determined when American servicemen serving overseas could return home]. He was discharged [Annotator’s Note: in January 1946] with the rank of T/Sgt [Annotator’s Note: technical sergeant] and went back to work in the printing trade.

Roland Dullnig’s most memorable experience of World War 2 was when he was in Lake Charles [Annotator’s Note: Lake Charles, Louisiana] and went up in a plane for an inspection. One of the engines did not turn back on and the pilot had to work the controls to fly the plane straight. The planes flew over the town and somehow the pilot was able to land on the runway. He later learned that the carburetor malfunctioned. After he got out of the service, Dullnig forgot about his experiences in World War 2, except when he went reunions. He is glad that he had the experience of serving his country. He thinks America is doing a lot of good things for World War 2 veterans. Dullnig believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and that we should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations.