muff528 3 #1 June 18, 2012 Happy Fathers' Day all you Dads! Edit: I tried to attach as a text file but formatting was not good. Disregard if not interested. We seem to hear of stories of aircrews after they are in the theater of operations but seldom hear of how they got there. So here's an excerpt transcribed from Dad's WW2 diary attached. (Probably written sometime after returning home.) I'm including in this thread as a sort of Fathers' Day tribute. On the morning of Nov. 5, 1942 I left my home at Plant City, Fla. to go to Sebring, Fla. to enlist in the Air Corps at Hendricks Field. I remained at Hendricks Field until the following Saturday when I was sent to the reception center at Camp Blanding, Starke, Fla. where I was sworn into the army on Nov. 9, 1942. Immediately I found myself undergoing the so-called processing, which I have found to be the worst part of the whole business. That lasted about a week and I went from there to Spence Field, Moultrie, Ga. where I was to receive my basic training. I was there only three days when I was sent back to Hendricks Field, the base where I had enlisted in the fist place. At Hendricks I had what was supposed to be my basic training and I also began my career as an airplane mechanic there. I completed successfully a course in B-17 specialist mechanic and it was there I had the 1st opportunity to do what I had looked forward to all my life, to fly. After that first time I was convinced more than ever that that's what I wanted to do so while I was there I put in a few hours both as mechanic and just passenger - just for the pleasure. When I really began to like the place and the work I was sent to Airplane Mechanics School in Miami, Fla. on Jan. 16, 1943. The main reason why I liked Hendricks was that it was only about 80 miles from home. Well anyway I went to Miami where I spent the next 4 1/2 months at the Embry-Riddle School of Aviation. I graduated from there on May 1, 1943 and was sent to Baer Field, Ft. Wayne, Indiana where I joined the Troop Carriers Command. I was assigned to the 52nd Troop Carrier Squadron and I left Ft. Wayne May 17, 1943 to join the Squadron at Lawson Field, Ft. Benning, Georgia. While at Lawson I had my first furlough, only 5 days. I remained there until June 5, 1943 when the Squadron moved to Grenada, Mississippi. A few days after I arrived at Grenada Army Air Base I went to Evansville, Indiana where the Squadron was on maneuvers. After the maneuvers were over I went back to Grenada and went to work on the line again. The rest of the time I spent at Grenada I shall never forget, for I spent many hours flying, including a trip home by plane one weekend. When I was at Miami I had taken the examination for Aviation Cadet and successfully passed it. And it was while at Grenada, Miss. that the Cadet orders caught up with me. I was transferred out of the 52nd T.C. Sqd. and was sent to Miami Beach, which at this time is a replacemen center for Cadets. After two weeks at Miami Beach, I was sent to the 72nd College Training Detachment at St. Cloud, Minnesota. What a deal this C.T.D. but I knew it wouldn't last forever. After three short months I went to Santa Ana, Calif. for pre-flight. What a brain-wrecking deal that was but that too came to an end and at last I went to primary flying school at Ryan Field, Tucson, Arizona. There, after I had received 38 hours instruction, soloed and everything to make me think I was well on my way to the goal, the worst happened. Partly due to my neglect and partly to the fact that the Army had all the pilots it wanted at that time I was eliminated. Well I went to gunnery school from there like a bird who just had it's wings clipped. What a miserable place this Kingman, Arizona. And there I stayed for about 10 weeks, eating, drinking and breathing dust. I finally got through and received a substitute for the wings I wanted - Yes, a great big pair of silver gunners wings. When I left Kingman I was sent to Plant Park in Tampa and also had a week at home before going there. It was here at Plant Park, near my own home town that I met my crew. Well we were crewed up and a better crew could be found nowhere else in the air forces. We were sent to Gulfport, Miss. for training and while there, for being one of the eight outstanding crews, we won a trip to Cuba where we all had the time of our lives. Well training finally came to an end and we were sent to a staging area at Hunter Field, Savannah, Ga. to await shipment overseas. We were given a brand new B-17 and on the morning of Dec. 15 took off for (illegible) in Manchester, New Hampshire. We stayed there overnight and left for Goose Bay, Labrador where (illegible) had a little mishap in landing and we spent two weeks in that Ice Box. Those two weeks included Xmas and New Years day 1945. We finally got away from Labrador and landed at Meeks Field in Iceland 12 hours later. There we stayed for three days when we took off for Valley, Wales, landing in Valley 5 hours later. The next day the pilot, the co-pilot, and I flew to Belfast in Northern Ireland to take a new B-17 to a modification center at a place near Belfast called Langford Lodge. We took a boat from there to Scotland and train from there to Stoke-on-Trent in England to join the rest of our crew. After a few days at Stoke we were assigned to the 452nd Bomb Group at Attleborough, near Norwich, Norfolk County, England. (Station 142, Deopham Green). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oldwomanc6 60 #2 June 18, 2012 Quote Happy Fathers' Day all you Dads! Excerpt transcribed from Dad's WW2 diary attached. (Probably written sometime after returning home.) Boy, I thought I was bad at this techno stuff, (and Sparky can attest), but I look forward to the diary reading Happy Father's day!lisa WSCR 594 FB 1023 CBDB 9 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BIGUN 1,488 #3 June 18, 2012 Thank you. I never tire of the WWII guy's stories. Perhaps you'll consider a blog? KeithNobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oldwomanc6 60 #4 June 18, 2012 Thanks, and if you have more, I will be glad to read them. This stuff should be put out there for all to see. My Father in law came in on the first wave on Normandy and was taken prisoner w/in a few weeks, but never talked about it . It wasn't till after he passed and mrowc6 and I went to a reunion of the POW camp he was held at, that we had a clue how horrendous it really was. I wish he had talked or written about it, so that it wouldn't be forgotten. lisa WSCR 594 FB 1023 CBDB 9 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
