Jay Gainer Bachman I had the privilege of being a student at Weber Junior College during the period of September 1939 through June 1941. The institution met my personal academic requirements in a splendid way and provided a social atmosphere that was exciting and uplifting. During the period, I was a member of Excelsior and the Weber Club (having lettered in swimming). I attribute a portion of the success in my life to the excellence of the faculty, staff and motivation engendered by my fellow students. Like many of my contemporaries, I deferred further formal education after the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor on 7 December, 1941. Within a year, I was serving my country as an infantry soldier at Camp Blanding, Florida. Upon completion of basic training, I was promoted to squad leader in the Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon of the 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry (Old Hickory) Division. Our mission was to precede the advance of the regiment three to five miles, make first contact with the enemy, determine their deployment and armament, take prisoners if possible, and report back. In early 1943, we were combat ready and ready to go. Leaves were authorized and after a short visit home to Eden, I expected to be sent to a theatre of war. However, upon my return to Camp Blanding, I found my name on the bulletin board as one who was eligible for pilot training in the Army Air Corps. So I said goodbye to my squad and started an exciting adventure as a combat pilot that would last for more than thirty years, spanning WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. Upon completion of pilot training in Florida, Alabama, and Indiana, I won my coveted silver pilot wings and gold bar commission and was assigned to the first pilot B-1 7 Transition School at Hendricks Army Air Field, Florida. What a thrill it was to be the pilot of a combat aircraft at last! The B-1 7 met so many of my earlier fantasies of what I thought it would be like to be a 'wild blue yonder guy.' It was perhaps a little short of what a fighter pilot would experience but, for the time being, it would do very well. At 30,000 feet, I was breathing pure oxygen from a mask to stay alive; plugged into an electrical flying suit to stay warm; pulling contrails so beautiful that it would almost make you weep; sweating to stay in formation with other B-17s for mutual support while the turbo superchargers were running away; appreciating the curvature of the earth out in the distance and being amazed at the engineering and magnificence of an 'engine of war' that had transformed me from an earthbound farm boy from Eden, to a genuine aviator at last! It is difficult to express how much I am indebted to those who taught me so well and so patiently in that important transition in my life. These were the days of the thousand plane raids and heartbreaking losses over targets in Europe, so I expected to go to a base in England as a replacement B-17 aircraft commander, as so many of my contemporaries were doing. However, my name came up as a B-29 pilot destined to fly my combat missions in the Pacific Theatre from a small island in the Mariana's called Saipan (located about 1,500 miles south of the principal targets in Japan). Our crew of eleven was assigned to the 869th Bomb Squadron, 497th Bomb Group, and 73rd Bomb Wing. We flew our ten to fourteen hour 3,000 mile round trip missions, every third day. This schedule was coordinated with the other Bomb Wings stationed at Tinian and Guam. I found combat to meet the essence of the oft-quoted phrase 'long hours of monotony interspersed by short periods of great fright.' Also, one of the greatest emotions in life is 'to be shot at and missed.' Prayer and the Holy Scriptures (particularly the Book of Mormon) broughtand have continued to bringa lot of balance and control to the stress in my life. Upon completion of our fifth mission, we were all promoted one grade and awarded the Air Medal. The atomic bombs went down shortly thereafter, and we only racked up two more combat missions before World War II was over (really over)! On the 2nd of September 1945, our crew, along with 465 other B-29 combat crews, flew over the Battleship Missouri while it was anchored in Tokyo Bay. It was here that General Douglas MacArthur was presiding over the surrender ceremony. The ground observers said that as our formation approached, the sky was darkened, the noise deafening and the representatives of the Emperor of 2 Japan seemed emotionally moved because of the sight and sound. For me, the emotion of the moment was almost indescribable and the euphoria of the event lifted me to the highest spiritual level yet experienced in my life. To be on the scene of what has been described as the most significant event in the 20th century as a twenty-three-year old B-29 pilot from Eden, Utah, could only be providential! The stunning perspective of the Pacific Fleet surrounding the Battleship Missouri; the significance of the moment; the view of the B-29 armada and other aircraft (I couldn't see the beginning of the formation ahead and our tail gunner said he couldn't see the end of aircraft behind); all this led to an overwhelming impression that I had found my calling in life: to be an integral part of this magnificent display, showing the might of our great nation for the rest of my life; that I literally wanted to be a 'Defender of the Peace' which had been so hard won and which had called upon so many to give their all. I liked the bombardment combat crew concept of aerial warfare and mission accomplishment. Each individual highly skilled in his aeronautical specialty and uniquely individualistic in personality and character brought something of intrinsic value to the integrity of the aircrew. Some would call it esprit de corps, but to me it was simply complete dedication and devotion to the mission, whatever it may be. Integrity not only meant the skill and strength of the crew but the uncompromising adherence to the highest moral and ethical code: service before self and excellence in every endeavour. The result was a synergism that was greater than the sum of its parts and hopefully a never ending source of energy and strength from which each individual could draw. In my opinion, it was crew integrity that got us through! Our combat crew disbanded in October 1945 and everyone but me went back to their civilian pursuits. I stayed in the Mariana Islands until September 1946 and then returned home with two objectives in mind: to find a beautiful young woman who would like to share the adventure of my life (she ended up being Nedra Butler, and she and our four children have done that sharing for more years than she would like to admit!); and get a degree from the University of Utah before taking up my chosen profession as a regular officer in the United States Air Force. My service was continuous from 1948 until 1975. ...Fate gave me the distinction of being the first native-born Utah pilot to fly non-stop around the world. In summary, if given the opportunity to serve again, I'd do it gladly and try to do it better. In memory of those with whom my family and I served from 1942 through 1975, may God bless you all. Harold W. Badger I graduated from Weber College in 1939. I enlisted in the Army Air Corps on the 17th of July 1940. I attended OCS (Officer Candidates School) and graduated as a second lieutenant. After attending Air Force schools, I was assigned to the European Theater of Operations with the Ninth Air Force, flying combat as a squadron gunnery officer in the 386th Bomb Group. Our main targets were bridges and railroad marshalling yards. We supported General Patton's Army in his rapid push across Europe. Many times, General Patton would overrun our target so we would have to cancel our mission and reschedule it. One mission I remember is when our target was a railroad marshalling yard. After we bombed our target, we peeled off individually and descended to a low level to strike any target of opportunity. We located a train, just sitting on the tracks. We just took it out. Fog was so thick during the Battle of the Bulge; our missions could not be flown. Fog cleared out Christmas day; we flew two missions in support of the ground troops. We were able to help them break out of Bastogne. 3