[303rd-Talk] Re: The Mighty Eighth

[Tooley, Dave]

Scotty,
I have just finished John Steinbeck's (yes THE John S.) book Bombs Away.
It was a book written in 1942 to inform potential flyboys and their
families what to expect as a bomber crew member.  Included cadet
selection, training, etc.  

No one was drafted or enlisted to the Air Corps.  You were drafted or
enlisted in the Army.  Then you could take the tests to see if you
qualified for some position.  You did not have to take the tests.  

Of course, some guys wanted to go join the Air Corps, so they
'volunteered'.  All that meant was that they asked to take the tests to
see where or if they fit in.  But again they were first drafted or
enlisted in the Army.  

Anyone not qualified for pilot, nav, bombardier, radio, engineer or
gunner, generally was 'returned' to the Army.

Hope I made sense.  

__________________________________________________
Dave 

-----Original Message-----
From: 303rd-talk-bounces at 303rdBG.com
[mailto:303rd-talk-bounces at 303rdBG.com] On Behalf Of Gordon Walker
Sent: Friday, January 05, 2007 12:05 AM
To: 303rd-talk at 303rdBG.com
Subject: [303rd-Talk] Re: The Mighty Eighth

Hello All,

I just helped my wife unload the groceries from the car and on the front
seat, I noticed several packages for me, namely two books that I had
ordered re: WW2.  One is "Time Out for War" by Ed C. Cury and the other,
"The Mighty Eighth" by Gerald Astor.  Both of the books deal with the
8th Air Force and although I have not yet had time to read either, I did
manage to read the Preface of The Mighty Eighth and one of the very
first things that struck me was that it said all of those who flew
combat were volunteers.  Can someone clarify that for me?  Does this
mean just the pilots or did every member of the bomber crews volunteer?
Also, would I be correct in assuming that many were drafted into the
service and then volunteered for combat ?

Scotty
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