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In 1995, seven of the original ten members of our B24 combat crew met in Colorado Springs to recognize the 50^th anniversary of our return from England at the end of WWII in Europe. Being together again, especially with all seven wives present, led to many discussions. Most revealing was how little those three or so years of active duty that had such a tremendous impact on our lives and those of others, had been talked about during the past fifty years.

This was compounded for me, since I was the only one that had been called back during the Korean conflict and served during the early years of the Cold War. This fact also led to many questions from others in the original crew about how things had changed with the new Air Force.

After returning to Indianapolis, I decided it might be a good idea to put some events down on paper. I started several times but would end up discarding what I had written. In 1998, Joyce suggested that I again consider writing about the military portion of the eight years. Madeleine and Bill supported the idea. They remarked that this was a part of my life they now realized they had never really known much about, even though it, notably, had a significant impact on my life, and in turn on their lives.  So, I decided to give it a try again.  

After passing the mental portion, but failing the physical portion (underweight) of tests for the Army Air Corps aviation cadet program, I was wide open for the draft if I could not gain weight quickly. My draft number came up in March 1943 and that was the beginning of the first tour of duty. What turned out to be many long trips to many strange places began with a 110-mile trip to Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis Indiana. This was the start of turning a 19-year old into an adult in a hurry.  

Classification (Best suited assignment)

Fort Ben was, at that time, a classification center where draftees were subjected to a series of tests to determine their best-suited assignment. Ironically, as a draftee, it was now determined that I should be sent to the Army Air Corps for further testing and assignment. Perhaps this was the first instance of how luck, or being in the right place at the right time, would influence my future military service.

Boot Training/Testing

The next move was to Tent City in St. Petersburg, Florida. This was intended to be boot training, testing and further classification. The conditions at Tent City were so bad that the city demanded something be done or have it closed. It was, in fact. closed.

Our next home was in the Jack Tarr Hotel at Clearwater Beach. Not quite the picture of military service - staying in a resort hotel and training on the beach. However, there was much testing and primary military training to complete, so it wasn't all peaches and cream.

The test results gave me the choice of Cryptography school or Radio Operator/Mechanical (ROM) School. There is that touch of luck again. ROM school would now give me a chance to fly. There was never any doubt about my choice.

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