[1] LARRY GOLDSTEIN (17-Dec-2010 04:48 PM)

I arrived in Chicago November 1942 from Miamai Beach basic training in USAAF. At first our unit was quartered in the Congress Hotel then moved to the Stevens Hotel to attend Radio Operator/Mechanics school. It was brutally cold winter. Radio mechanics were taught in a Labratory in the Stevens basement and morse code in the Colisiuem about 1 to 2 miles away from the Stevens.
We attended school 6 hours per day, 3 on mechanics and 3 on code, 6 days a week. There were 2 shifts early and late, the late shift ending at 12 midnght. The City of Chicago was very accomatating to the GI's . every thing free. The old opera house across the street was converted to a Service center for GI's, free food, bowling and activities. Graduated in March 1943 , premoted to Corporal and my class was sent to Boca Raton Radar school.
From there to combat crew training, overseas to fly 25 combat missions as radio operator on a B-17.

[2] Mike Voisin (17-Dec-2010 08:29 PM)

Larry, thank you for your service!!

[3] Larry (18-Dec-2010 04:12 PM)

This was dad's first duty station. He was sent here following boot camp at St. Pete.,FL, to attend the Radio Operator/Radio Mechanic's Course. He was probably there about a month or so when this site closed and relocated all the students to Sioux Falls, SD to complete their training. He graduated in Sep. '43, then sent to Truax Field, Madison, WI, for Control Tower School. From there he went to Harlingen AAF where he worked the B-24 flight line as a RO/RM. He also rotated periodically to Padre Island where Gunnery School was conducted and worked the Control Tower plus would fill in on training flights that didn't have a RO available. All this time dad was a PFC, but would later be promoted to Corporal while serving aboard a AAF Crash Boat off Rey Island, Panama at the end of the war.

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