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Interviewer:
Veteran:
Interviewer:
Veteran:
in Amarillo teaching classes there in engine operations... They sent me on a train
back to Randolph Field in San Antonio, and released me from there. When I got
to San Antonio, there was a female officer that was taking all the information,
and when she got down to the end of it, and said, "I'm sorry, but you don't have
enough points." I said, "Why don't I have enough points?" She said, "You
didn't do this, and this, and this." I said, "Wait just a minute. I've got the
American Defense medal, which you haven't counted..." She said, "You really
got it." I said, "Sure enough. Just look in the records." When I came back from
overseas, they'd lost all of my records, and I was on partial pay... because there
was no records at home, so that was quite a hassle. I was terminated at the end of
about 33 months. That was the time that Germany had already surrendered, and
so had Japan. September of 1945.
What were your feelings about the war, now that you had been there and it was
over with?
I think it was necessary. I had heard something awhile back when an American
was talking to people over there, and those people spoke about three or four
languages. This man sat there for a few minutes and said, "Well, if it hadn't been
for us, you'd a been speaking German." So, I think it was necessary. I think
we'd have been a fool to let those people rule the world. We had to stop it.
Can you tell me about the different awards or medals that you received and what
you received them for?
The main one was the Distinguished Flying Cross, and that was for fulfilling my
25 missions. Before that we got the Air Medal, and that was for each 5 missions,
and I got three Oak Leaf Clusters. Also, I got the Theatre of Operations medal,
which was for the European Theatre, and I got three battle stars for it. And then,
of course, I got the Good Conduct medal. It took me about a year and a half to
get that, and most people got it in six months, but I didn't. I had too many
problems with this barracks officers. Anyway, I had the American Defense
medal, and also these commemorative medals.
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