The following
excerpt is taken from words written by Dad in a journal that was titled, “My
Life in the Service”. “My career
started in the year 1942. I was sent to an induction center, there they stripped
me of my civilian clothes and naturally to my disgust my brand-new uniform
didn’t fit so well. From here, I went to basic training, a
very mild 4 weeks, this took place at Miami Beach, Florida. Hot?
Cripes? From Florida I went to gunnery
school at Tyndall Field, Panama City,
Florida. After five weeks of
struggle I came out a Sergeant. From
here I went to Armament school in Denver, Colorado. I spent 3 months out there
learning about guns, guns and more guns.”
Stations and
Transfers
1942, Fargo,
ND induction center Dad enlisted on October
26, 1942 at Fort Snelling,
MN His Army serial number was 17154378.
He was 5foot 7.5 inches tall. He
was an Aerial Gunner and Pilot. He was
in the military for 2 years and 23 days.
Fort
Snelling, Minneapolis, MN
Miami
Beach, FL Basic Training………..
Tyndall
Field, Panama City Beach, FL this was Gunnery School 1 He graduated as a Sergeant.
Lowry
Field, Denver, CO
this was Armament School
New
Cumberland AAb, Harrisburg, PA
AAB, Ft. Devens, Mass this is where Dad did his Piper Cub
training………
AAB, Reading,
PA
BTC #10
Greensboro, NC
C.T.D. Kent State University, Kent, OH
SAACC, San Antonio,
TX was completed in October of
1943. Dad was in Preflight Group M Squadron P/A
Primary
Flight School, Tulsa, OK Completed in March of
1944. Class of 44-1, U.S. Army Air Cadets, 2565 Base Unit, Tulsa,
Oklahoma, May, 1944
Spartan School of Aeronautics.
Basic Flight
School, Greenville, TX Completed in May of 1944
Advanced
Flight School, Eagle Pass, TX Completed in August of 1944
Boca Raton,
Florida
Eagle Pass,
TX
Lincoln, NE
Blytheville,
Arkansas AAB
T.C.C. Pope Field, Ft. Bragg, NC
SLAAB Salt Lake City, UT
Dad received
an Honorable Discharge on November
19, 1944. He was discharged from the 2516th AAF
BU (PS A SE) EPAAF at Eagle Pass, Texas
Dad accepted the inevitability of death with integrity. He told me in March of 2011 that dying was a
natural extension of birth, that it was part and parcel, that they went
together and that he looked forward to seeing my Mom, Betty, in heaven.