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Collections of Collections

Collections, Contributions, View Items No Responses »

Aug 262012

I added a new feature I call Collections to the site. These are groups of various and different items that are related in some way. For instance, a Collection can contain all the items contributed from one veteran’s collection. So even though items have different subject matter or come from different air fields, they are still grouped together as a collection.

While you view the list of items, you’ll see a View Collection indication on some items. This means an item is part of a collection. Click it to view a list of all items in the collection.

You can also browse the collections available. Choose Browse the Collection in the Choose an Action drop-down box. Then choose Collections in the Browse drop-down box. You’ll then be able to select one of the available collections. More collections will be added.

Or, choose Summarize under Choose an Action, then Collections to see more information about each collection.

The Collections feature within the AAF Collection is yet another way to view relationships between items. It may lead you to some interesting discoveries.

Carlsbad Army Air Field

History, Recommended Sites 2 Responses »

Nov 282011

I encourage you to visit the Carlsbad Army Air Field community page on Facebook. It has a great collection of photographs and artifacts.

See it at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Carlsbad-Army-Airfield/228078510552049

Seventy Years Since Pearl Harbor

Highlighted Item, Keep 'em Flying No Responses »

Nov 152011

The seventieth anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is this year. I found a poignant reminder of that tragedy in an item recently added to the AAF Collection.

The Gig Sheet is a class book for advanced pilot training at Kelly Field, Texas. Class 41-F graduated on August 15, 1941 just three months before the United States entered the war.

Malrait Memorial Site

History, Keep 'em Flying, Recommended Sites 1 Response »

Oct 242011

Thieme Crew

I encourage you to visit the Gilbert Malrait and Thieme Crew memorial site at www.2ltmalrait-gilbert.net. It gives an account of a B-24 combat air crew, most of whom were killed in action on April 4, 1944. What makes this site unique is the background and personal history of each crew member. There are lots of photographs and documentation.

Army Air Corps

History 4 Responses »

Sep 012011

When I started the AAF Collection I was confused over the terms Army Air Corps versus Army Air Forces. My father often spoke of his service in the Air Corps, but the material I found all seemed to refer to the Air Forces. I researched the question and uncovered the following history of the Army Air Forces.

Airplanes were a small part of the Signal Corps at the close of World War I. In that war, they were used chiefly for aerial reconnaissance in support of ground troops. A total of 600 American airmen were killed and 340 planes lost. US planes dropped only 138 tons of bombs.¹

Citations

Geoffrey Perret, Winged Victory: The Army Air Forces in World War II. New York: Random House, 1993, pp. 5 and 7.

Clyde O. Primrose, Jr.

Keep 'em Flying No Responses »

Sep 012011

Clyde O. Primrose, Jr.

Clyde O. Primrose, Jr.
(1923-1944)

Clyde Odis Primrose, Jr. was a young lad of 19 when he entered the United States Army in 1942. He had grown up on a farm near Hemphill, Texas, the oldest of what would eventually be eleven children his mother and father would rear. The family had no electricity or running water, but they had each other and a wonderful work ethic. From the first time he saw an airplane in the sky as a young child, he wanted to fly. As did thousands of others, Odis answered his nation’s call and joined the Army, with only a dream that he could somehow make it through cadet training, mechanics training, flight school, and advanced training and become a pilot. By sheer hard work and determination, he competed with college educated men, and did indeed become a flight cadet, earn his wings, and eventually see service as a co-pilot on a B-24 heavy bomber.

James Carl Nelson

Keep 'em Flying No Responses »

Sep 012011

James Carl Nelson

James Carl Nelson
(1925-1965)

My father was originally from Conneaut, Ohio. He wrote his mother letters during his training in the AAF which she kept and passed down to me. He joined the Army Air Forces in November, 1943 and attended basic training at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. He was tested for aptitude during the basic and selected for aviation cadet training. He did this at Akron University starting in January 1944. This was the Third College Training Detachment.

After completing courses there he was transferred to the pre-flight instruction at the East Central College in Ada, Oklahoma, in April 1944, as part of the 2579th AAF BU, class 44-C-1. He then started learning how to fly in the trainers. He was selected to be a navigator rather than a pilot, and then assigned to Group 1, Squadron 86, class 45-C at the S.A.A.C.C – San Antonio, Texas in August 1944. He seemed to prefer the navigator role more than the pilot since it suited his technical nature.

Eugene A. LaScotte

Keep 'em Flying No Responses »

Sep 012011

Eugene A. “Scotty” LaScotte

Eugene A. “Scotty” LaScotte
(1921-2001)

On June 22, 1942, Eugene and his two brothers each enlisted with high hopes of becoming pilots. On December 31, 1942 Eugene was called up and he entered into active service. He gave it his best shot in preflight school but unfortunately, “washed” out.

He was then transferred to a gunnery school where he completed his training on the .50 caliber machine gun. Not being a very tall person–only five feet eight inches–he was found to be best suited for the nose-gunner position in a B-24.

The new crew that he joined was formed in Fairmont, Nebraska on September 20, 1943. Eugene was now a member of the 15th Air Force, 485th Bomb Group / 828th Bomb Squadron.

John E. Voisin

Keep 'em Flying No Responses »

Sep 012011

John E. “Jack” Voisin

John E. “Jack” Voisin
(1925-1994)

Jack Voisin had wanted to fly since he was a youngster in Michigan. He entered the Army Air Forces in August 1943 shortly after turning eighteen. He underwent basic training at Basic Training Center #4 in Miami Beach, Florida. He was then assigned to the 39th College Training Detachment at Clinton, South Carolina for five months.

Starting in April 1944 he underwent preflight training which lasted six months at Santa Ana, California. He was assigned to be a navigator. He earned his flexible gunnery wings at Kingman, Arizona (November 1944) and his navigator wings at San Marcos, Texas, where he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant (April 1945).

Portable Document Format

Portable Document Format No Responses »

Sep 012011

The documents in the AAF Collection are in an electronic format known as Portable Document Format (PDF). You need the Adobe Reader program to view them. You probably already have that program on your computer. If not, you can obtain it directly from Adobe

As an alternative, another good reader program is Foxit. It is smaller and faster than Adobe Reader.

Most documents are large and may take considerable time to download depending on the speed of your Internet connection.

Older Entries Newer Entries

Clyde O. Primrose, Jr. (1923-1944)

James Carl Nelson (1925-1965)

Eugene A. “Scotty” LaScotte (1921-2001)

John E. “Jack” Voisin (1925-1994)

Clyde O. Primrose, Jr.
(1923-1944)

James Carl Nelson
(1925-1965)

Eugene A. “Scotty” LaScotte
(1921-2001)

John E. “Jack” Voisin
(1925-1994)