A World In Chaos

Preparing For A Military Career

The Aviation Cadet Program no longer exists. It began a few years before WWII to provide pilots for the fledgling Army Air Corps. Entrance standards were very high. Two years of college, unmarried, difficult physical exam including 20/20 vision. These were the requiremens I had to meet. As the war progressed, some of the requirements were relaxed , except for the physical exam. All Cadets were volunteers, must be 21 years old to be Commissioned 2nd Lts. Army Air Corps (Reserve) and rated military pilots upon successful completion of the program. As the war progressed, some Cadets graduated before they were twenty-one and were Commissioned Flight Officers. Upon reaching their twenty-first birthday, they were automatically promoted to 2nd Lt. As such we received a $500.00 bonus for each year of active duty. Because the military pilot occupation was considered hazardous duty (and so remains to`day), we received an additional fifty percent of base pay. If my memory is correct, base pay plus flight pay came to $275.00/ month for a new 2nd Looie. It is natural ,then, that we considered ourselves a tad above the common herd. A bit of cockiness was normal for a fighter pilot. Dressed in our forest green,form-fitting, belted blouse over our gaberdine "pinks"(not really pink,but between a tan and light grey trousers) and shining silver wings prominent over our left breast pocket, we cut a wide swath among the local social circles. I arrived January 7,1942 ,in Santa Fe for my physical examination very apprehensive that I would be under weight and flunk the physical. I was 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighed about 150 pounds. A classmate who was much shorter was also worried about his weight. We spent the night in SantaFe before the physicals began. At breakfast, we had a flash of inspiration; eat as much dry cereal laced with pure cream and stuff ourselves with all the bananas we could eat. That should take care of the weight problem. We each met the weight minimums. I flunked the heart exam! Apprehension, plus all those bananas, apparently caused my pulse to race as though searching for an exit from my breast. But I was a warm body and the examiners were not going to let me get away. I was placed in an isolated room, on a gurney, told to lie quitely until my pulse normalized. It did, but each time the door knob turned--off to the races,again. I was sworn in as an Aviation Cadet Jan.8 , 1942, with a waiver requiring I be re-tested during Preflight Training (boot camp) at Lackland Field,San Antonia,Tx. My military career was getting off to a rocky start, but I calmly whizzed through the heart waiver shortly after arriving at Lackland. From Lackland, my class went for Primary flight training at Pine Bluff,Ark--Basic flight training at Sherman-Dennison Tx---Advanced training back to San Antonio , graduating from Brooks Field, Sept. 6, 1942, Class 42-H. Serious training for combat in high performance aircraft was about to begin. But----------- Before combat training could begin,I was selected to stay at Brooks Fld for 6 weeks to fly the 0-52 for the training of Aerial Observers. Their misson was to fly near enemy lines collecting intelligence or adjusting Artillery fire. My job was to chauffeur the Observer where ever he wanted to go. Ho-hum! The challenge was the 0-52 airplane. It was a unique flying machine. Brooks Fld is the only place I _ever_ saw one. It had one high wing above the fuselage, a very narrow landing gear and during take-off required you to remove the left hand from the throttle , grasp stick with left hand and use right hand to manually pump up the landing gear. Ground loops on take-off were not uncomon. The rear cock-pit had no flight controls but a desk for map plotting, The seat was fixed to sliding rails allowing the observer to slide seat from front to rear- a distance of six feet. Maintaining level flight was like riding a speeding PT-boat in heavy seas,as the Observor scooted his seat back and forth. Never the less, I gained valuable flying experience ©whcameron2000