| Description | His experiences as a B-17 pilot and a prisoner-of-war in the European Theater during World War II. Enlistment in the Air National Guard (154th Observation Squadron), 1939; enlistment in the Aviation Cadet Program, 1942; pre-flight training, Maxwell Field, Alabama, 1942; primary flight training, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 1942; basic flight training, Newport, Arkansas, 1942; advanced flight training, Blytheville, Arkansas, 1942-43; transition to B-17s, Sebring, Florida, 1943; formation of his combat crew, Pyote, Texas, 1943; additional combat crew training, Dalhart, Texas, 1943; journey from Grand Island, Nebraska, to the British Isles, 1943; assignment to the 533rd Bomb Squadron, 1944; his first mission, January 30, 1944; his detailed description of the mission when his plane was shot down, May 19, 1944; hospitalization for battle wounds; transfer to the interrogation center at Dulag Luft; Stalag Luft III, Sagan, Germany, 1944-45; evacuation from Stalag Luft III and march to Stalag VII-A, Moosburg, Germany, 1945; liberation. |
