World War II

My first period of service in the Navy came with the advent of World War II. I was accepted as a naval aviation cadet in the V-12a program on April 11, 1943 (see my telegram home). As part of my education I studied engineering and drilled with my fellow cadets for three semesters at Colorado College during 1943 and 1944. We spent some time at the Alameda Air Station, in the Bay Area, while waiting for berths to open up in Preflight at St. Mary’s College, Moraga, Calif. This happened at the end of 1944. I thought I did well in Pre-Flight. I won a regimental wrestling championship and met George Nissen, our tumbling and gymnastics coach there.

I reported to Ottumwa, Iowa, for Primary Flight training the summer of 1945 and finally got into the cockpit. My classmates and I had logged only a few hours in the Stearman N2S “Yellow Peril” trainer (so called for its yellow paint and perilously young pilots) when the Bomb was dropped in August. I was demobilized in November 1945.