In
Primary I flew 60 hours, in Basic 72 hours, and in Advanced 97 hours
for a total of 220 hours. There were about 250 of us in the class and
by that time we had become acquainted with most everyone and close
friends with many. We went all the way through combat with some of
those same follows.
After our final flight with the commanding officer we were ready for
graduation. We then filled out forms giving our preference for the
type of flying we wanted. Just before graduation they put on an
airshow for our benefit. Little stunt planes would fly straight up and
all types of fighter planes did acrobatics and speed. Naturally we
almost all wanted to get into single engine fighters so that is what
we had listed on the forms. I don't remember much about graduation
except many of the fellows had their parents there. We were now second
lieutenants in the Army Air Force which was a wartime addition to the
regular U.S. Air Force.
We received $250 in $50 bills to purchase our new officers uniforms,
lieutenants gold bars and our silver wings. We bought these clothes
on the base and they were of wonderful material. After the war I wore
the pants and shirts for years, and after they were too old, I wore
the pants for hunting as they were very warm and wore like iron. I
still have one of the wool shirts. We graduated at Napier Field on
May 28, 1943 and waited nervously to see the notice on the bulletin
board telling us where we would go next.
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