Oral History Interview with Frederick A. Moore, October 16, 2007 All Tracks

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Fred Moore. Moore entered the Army Air Force as an Aviation Cadet in March 1943. He was sent to Nashville, Tennessee for classification (pilot, navigator or bombardier training) and uniforms. Moore was selected for pilot training and was sent to Santa Ana, California for pre-flight training and Tulare, California for primary flight training. From there he went to Chico, California for basic flight training and to Stockton, California for advanced training. He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in February 1944 at Stockton. Moore was selected for B-25 training (transition) and went to Mather Field. Afterwards, he was sent to Louisville, Kentucky where he was given minimal C-47 instruction. They were then flown to Morrison Field, West Palm Beach, Florida where he was issued a brand-new C-47, got a crew and received sealed orders. They were told they were going overseas but not told where...90 C-47s were going to India. They ended up in Sylhet (eastern India). It took them two weeks to get there. Moore's class had been picked out of B-25 training and thrown into C-47s because Churchill had asked Roosevelt for help; the Japanese had invaded India. They supplied the British base at Imphal and were transferred down to Northern Burma where they supplied the English, Chinese and eventually American Infantry; right where the fighting was going on. During this time, they supplied Merrill's Marauders and the Mars Task Force. He was part of the 9th Combat Cargo Squadron, 3rd Group. The farthest south they got was just north of Mandalay and the farthest southeast was a place called Loiwing which is at the extreme southwest corner of China. After thirteen months, 285 missions and 840 combat hours, Moore was sent home in May 1945 and got out in June. After the war he spent 34 years with the Federal Aviation Administration as an air traffic controller.

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