OH 1364 | Oral History

OH 1364

Airline pilot. His experiences as a fighter pilot in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Enlistment in the Aviation Cadet Program, 1942; influence of Charles Lindbergh’s non-stop Atlantic flight on his goal to become a pilot; basic training, Santa Ana, California, 1942; primary flight training, Dos Palos, California, 1942; basic flight training, Marana, Arizona, 1942; advanced flight training, Williams Field, Arizona, 1942-43; basic and advanced night fighter training, Orlando and Kissimmee, Florida, 1943; assignment to the 419th Night Fighter Squadron, 1943; assignment to the 18th Fighter Group, Guadalcanal, 1943; living conditions on Guadalcanal; searchlight and intruder missions while flying the P-38; his strafing of a Japanese patrol along the coast of Bougainville; his “kill” of a Japanese Betty bomber on New Year’s Eve, 1944; his transition to the P-61; Japanese ground attacks against his airbase on Bougainville; his description of the flying characteristics of the P-61; his promotion to squadron commander while in the Philippines, 1944; night reconnaissance and intruder missions in the Philippines, 1944-45; postwar career.

About this Oral History

Physical Description 137 pp. plus documents (1 pp.)
Terms of Use Open
Interviewer(s) Ronald E. Marcello
Date of Interview August 28, 2000

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