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"The prior mentioned were my permanent stations; each of about.10 to approximately 20 weeks duration. I was also sent all over the place on what was called TDY ( Temporary Duty). Too many to mention, too easy to forget. I volunteered in the Summer of '42 right after high-school graduation in San Francisco, but my mother wouldn't sign because I was only 17 years old. But on Sept 8,1942, I was able to enlist because I was now 18 and did not need my Mom's permission, so away I went. She was not particularly thrilled with the idea." "I officially entered the Air Corps in Oct.1942 and was sworn in at Hamilton Field in Novato, California. Then I got stuck with all the medical delays ( couldn't breathe properly....rotten septums from repeated blows to the nose from sports)" "I was honorably discharged in May of 1946. 3 1/2 years...42 months that changed my life forever, and I believe, for the better." "Friendships formed in war can be likened to taking raw iron and running it through the fiery forge and the iron emerges as tempered steel and no longer brittle iron." " I ended up being an aircraft commander of 26's because I was lucky enough to complete a 15 week "transition course" in the plane, rather than starting as a co-pilot, build up time, and eventually slide over from the "idiots seat" into the Pilot's seat." I was also an instructor with the Free French Forces,. I was never a hero. I was fiercely proud of my wings and my uniform. Gratefully I never directly killed any civilians; and from the moment when I enlisted at the age of 18, in Oct. of 1942, shortly after my eighteenth birthday; I volunteered for everything and anything that the Air Corps would offer......except for ^%%#@#$$ Glider Pilot Training." "I wasn't THAT gung-ho!!!" Keep Going |
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