Growing Up and Enlistment

The narrator grew up in pre-WWII days loving aircraft; in his case, model aircraft and stories of flying. While he's in college, World War II begins. Not relishing the idea of becoming an Infantryman, he signs up for the Army's Aviation Cadet program as a desirable alternative to being drafted. Approximately a year later (April 1943), the Army calls him to active duty for training as an air crewman. When he leaves Birmingham-Southern College, it's into a different lifestyle, that of an Army trainee. You follow him as he tells of his more memorable moments in training.

Basic Training at Keesler Army Air Base

First is the inevitable Basic Training at Keesler Army Air Base in Biloxi, Mississippi. At Keesler, there are the basic military things to learn and drill, Kitchen Police (KP), physical examinations by the medics, and the all-important physical training (PT).

College Training Detachment and Classification

From Keesler, he goes to the College Training Detachment at the University of Tennessee. The CTDs, located at many colleges and universities, are mostly a holding operation for prospective aircrew trainees, where they wait their turn for actual flying training. The only meaningful activity is the continuation and increased emphasis on physical conditioning in the PT classes. Next, there is a month in the Classification Center in Nashville, Tennessee, where he is identified as being either a prospective Pilot trainee or Navigator trainee.

Pre-Flight Training at Maxwell Army Air Base

At Maxwell Army Air Base in Montgomery, Alabama, the narrator spends two months in Pre-Flight training. This is his introduction to life as an Aviation Cadet. He describes the frequent inspections, formal military parade ceremonies, and life in the wartime Cadet program. As this phase ends, he and his fellow Cadets leave to go into actual flight training.

Flight Training at Carlstrom Army Air Base

Flight training begins at Carlstrom AB in Arcadia, Florida. He talks about the training aircraft—the Stearman biplane—and what a trainee does in learning to fly it. After his solo flight, he is reclassified as a Navigator trainee. Pilot training ends for him, and Navigator training begins.

Aerial Gunnery Training at Buckingham Army Air Base

Before Navigation school, there must be training in aerial gunnery, since Navigators on bombers also act as gunners. Gunnery instruction is at Buckingham AAB in Fort Myers, Florida. There, he spends what seemed like endless hours in class memorizing the parts of the air-cooled machine gun. Much of the firing practice involves skeet shooting—sometimes conventional skeet shooting and later shooting skeet from the back of a moving truck. The practice-firing of machine guns in the air from a B-17 bomber completes the training.

Navigation School in Coral Gables

Navigation School in Coral Gables, Florida, is a joint venture of several independent entities. The University of Miami provides the physical facilities. The Embry-Riddle Co. provides housekeeping services. Pan American Airways, a pioneer in over-water air navigation, provides classroom instruction and instructors for in-flight training. The Army Air Corps maintains military control and instruction for the cadets. The narrator shares insights about aerial navigation (in very non-technical language) and experiences flying in Pan American's vintage flying boats. Upon completion, the Cadets receive their aeronautical ratings as Navigators and are commissioned as Army Second Lieutenants or Flight Officers.

Personal Life and Additional Training

The narrator recounts meeting Estelle, the woman who becomes his wife, in a marriage that disproves the notion that wartime romances are not permanent— their marriage lasts over forty-nine years and ends only with her death.

Further Training and B-29 Preparation

A short period of radar training in Boca Raton, Florida, and a month in a crew-assembling pool in Lincoln, Nebraska, lead into B-29 training at the Air Base in Pyote, Texas. The colorful nickname for the base is Rattlesnake Bomber Base. The narrative continues with details of the training and operations at this base.