| Description | Civil engineer. His experiences as a PBJ (B-25) co-pilot in the Southwest Pacific Theater during World War II. His early interest in aviation; enlistment in the Navy, April, 1942; and primary and secondary flight training through the Civilian Pilot Training Program, Minneapolis, Minnesota; pre-flight training, Iowa City, Iowa, 1942; designation as an Aviation Cadet; basic flight training, Minneapolis, 1942-43; advanced flight training, Corpus Christi, Texas, 1943; transition to multi-engine planes at Corpus Christi and his transfer to the Marine Corps, 1943; navigation school, Hollywood, Florida, 1943; transfer to Cherry Point, North Carolina, and assignment to VMB-433, September, 1943; crew formation and PBJ training at Cherry Point; advanced training, El Centro, California, January, 1944; his personal views on combat and the Japanese; stationing to Green Island, July, 1944; “night heckling” missions to Rabaul; assignment to Emirau; living conditions on Emirau; skip-bombing, strafing, and night bombing missions; rest and relaxation in Australia; rotation back to the States, May, 1945; his postwar career. |
