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Music: "Somewhere In Time"

AVIATION DAYS
Come back with me to a moment in time SO RARE ... and soon to be forgotten forever ...... AS TIME GOES BY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
by courtesy of Dave's War Birds
Hello. My name is John Christian. I have a story, some pictures, and some music to share with you. Do you like remembering things of the past that stand in sharp (and often mellow) contrast with things of today? Things that were and are nevermore to be? I do. If you do, too, then maybe you will enjoy these memories of a World War II Army Air Corps aviation cadet and pilot.

I saw on TV, some time ago, a brief announcement by Tom Hanks about the establishment of a memorial for World War II veterans, such as the one for the Viet Nam War veterans. There was a groundbreaking ceremony for a WWII memorial on 11 November 1999. Tom Hanks offered the information that we World War Two veterans were, at that time, dying off at the rate of a thousand of us a day.

Yes. We are dwindling down. And, as we one-by-one fade away out of this life into the hereafter, we are taking this treasury of memories with us. Memories ... wonderful memories ... fading into oblivion.

In a way, I guess, I'm offering this as a kind of memorial for just one small segment of the many parts of the WWII peace struggle in which many of my friends served. God bless you all, where ever you are now!

Aviation Cadets of the US Army Air Corps

This is a picture of me in the US Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet uniform. The insignia we wore was the propeller and wings that you see on the hat and on the coat lapels. There was also a unique patch worn on the forearm of the right sleeve that identified us as US Army Air Corps Aviation Cadets. This can be seen in one of the pictures below.

There were normally five stages in the Aviation Cadet pilot training program:

(1) Classification
(2) Pre-Flight
(3) Primary Pilot Training
(4) Basic Pilot Training
(5) Advance Pilot Training.

The Classification stage was where we were examined and tested mentally and physically (psycho-motor exams) for a wide range of attributes. The outcome was that we received three ratings, each on a scale from zero to nine, as to our suitability for service as a Bombadier, as a Navigator, and as a Pilot. Then we waited (about two months) for the next opening to go to the Pre-Flight stage. While we waited, we were kept busy with physical training, guard duty, K-P (working in the kitchen and the mess hall from before dawn until after dark), and other duties as assigned.

The Pre-Flight stage was months of special training classes on a variety of military subjects and skills training to prepare us for both the pilot training and for wartime combat service after we would graduate.

After Pre-Flight came the three progressive stages for flight and ground school pilot training:

Primary
This is the Fairchild PT-19, Cornell, that we flew in Primary flight training. Picture by courtesy of Dave's War Birds
Basic
This is the Vultee BT-13, Valiant, that we flew in Basic flight training. Picture by courtesy of Dave's War Birds
Advance
This is the North American AT-6, Texan, that we flew in Advance flight training. Picture by courtesy of Dave's War Birds

These two pictures were included here because of the unusual fact that they were sidewalk photographs that NOTICE THE AVIATION CADET PATCH ON THE LOWER RIGHT SLEVES. Pre-Flight courses developed knowledge, skills, and familiarizations such as air and sea craft instant recognition, meterology, morse code, navigation, etc. ~~~ December 1943. Our work at the Central Instructors School polished our understanding and practice concerning the Air Training Command, instruction methodology, and flight performance. ~~~ December 1944. were taken, one year apart, in the exact same location in San Antonio, Texas. Sidewalk photographs are taken by a commercial photographer of people walking by. A copy is given to the person, who is then asked to buy other copies of it.

The first of these two were taken in December of 1943 of me and my fellow-Cadet, Fred Chincholl, in "Pre-Flight" training at the San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center.

The second photo was taken in December 1944 when Lt. Larry Hume and I were attending the "Central Instructors School" at Randolph Field shortly after graduation from the Aviation Cadet program. From there we were assigned as Flight Instructors and sent our separate ways.


US Army Air Corps 2nd Lt. Pilot Insignia
(These are actual insignia that I wore during World War II.)


Here's How It Got Started

I was sent to "Radio School" at Sioux Falls, SD. While there I took the "Aviation Cadet Examination". I was soon sent to a special detachment at Miami Beach, FL, for about a week of rigorous dawn-to-dark disciplinary training, duties, and observation. Then a number of us were marched in the middle of the night to a warehouse where we were given a written test of problems to solve.

A few days later I was put on a train and sent to the "Aviation Cadet Detachment" at Stillwater, Oklahoma, for special accelerated courses at Oklahoma A&M College and for ten hours of aircraft pilot training. After that we Aviation Cadets were then sent to the "Classification" stage at SAACC (San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center).

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