DRAKE, Edward J. (b. 1924) | Oral History

DRAKE, Edward J. (b. 1924)

Oral Histories

Attorney. His experiences as a B-17 pilot in the European Theater during World War II. His youth and education in Dallas, Texas; matriculation to the University of Texas, 1941; enlistment in the Aviation Cadet Program, December, 1941; basic training, Sheppard Field, Wichita Falls, Texas, 1943; pre-flight training and college preparatory program, Stevens Point State Teachers College, Wisconsin, 1943; advanced basic training, Santa Ana Army Air Field, California, 1943; primary flight training, Blythe, California, 1943; basic flight training, Lemoore, California, 1943; advanced flight training, La Junta, Colorado, 1943-44; B-17 transition training, Hobbs, New Mexico, 1944; crew formation, MacDill Field, Florida, 1944; crew training, Gulfport, Mississippi, 1944; flight from Gander, Newfoundland, to Prestwick, Scotland, December, 1944; assignment to the 91st Bomb Group, Bassingbourn, England, January, 1945; his description of the routine for a typical mission; his description of formation flying; his description of flying through enemy flak; rest and relaxation on-base and in London; bombing of transportation facilities during and after the Ardennes Offensive, January-February, 1945; area bombing mission to Berlin, February 7, 1945; mission to Prague, Czechoslovakia, and his plane being hit and crash-landing in Belgium, February 14, 1945; linking up with American troops and return to England; recuperation from a collapsed lung; his return to combat for three more missions; his return to the crash site of his plane fifty-seven years later.
Date of Interview: October 16, 2002 to October 27, 2002

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