Dear Mom:- Letters Home From the War in the Pacific
Navigator
20th Air Force
XXI Bomber Command
313 Bombardment Wing
505th Bombardment Group
483rd Bombardment Squadron
Distinguished
Flying Cross
Air Medal
Purple Heart
Asia-Pacific
Campaign Medal
American
Campaign Medal
World War II
Victory Medal
On December 3, 1942, my father, George O’Laughlin, enlisted in the US Army while a student at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend Indiana. In June 1943, he reported for duty at Camp Grant in Rockford Illinois, to begin his military service ‘for the duration of the war plus 6 months’, which would turn out to be just under 3 years when he was discharged in January 1946.
He was assigned to the Army Air Corps and earned his wings as a navigator of the B-29 Superfortress bomber. In March 1945 he deployed to Tinian and, with his crew, completed 24 bombing missions in the run-up to the end of the war in the Pacific theater.
Through letters home to his widowed mother during the war and in voice recordings made in 2010 when he spoke openly about his wartime experiences for the first time, he reflects on the distant yet still raw memories of his wartime service.
This website is authored by Kevin O’Laughlin (kevolaughlin@gmail.com) and Brian Ronan (BRonan3995@fpsed.org).
©2010-2019 Kevin O’Laughlin. All rights reserved.
Audio recordings of George O’Laughlin are ℗2010-2019 Kevin O’Laughlin.
Pilot training!
...I got up [in the airplane with the instructor] about 10am and naturally got quite a bang out of it. He explained a few simple maneuvers and then let me try them. They weren't too good but I guess that's to be expected...I'm beginning to believe this month won't be the cinch I thought it would be...
Flight Training Manual
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Pilot Rating Book
Eyes Not Suited For A Pilot
...today has been another dismal day and we didn't get a chance to get any more time in...I got something in my eye and had to get that fixed up over at the dispensary...when the corporal showed me it [was only] a speck...
Lying around
...everything is much the same as always...I've got about 3 1/2 hours of flying time now...four of us are under each instructor and the first one to go up has an opportunity to go up again if there is time when the last one finishes. I was first yesterday and will be last tomorrow...
Basketball
...not much is new...just got back from a couple basketball games...the Aircrew won again but they're going to have to step it up some to beat A.S.T.P. next weekend..."
Progress Check
...it surely is going to be a rude shock, the change we're going to get when we hit San Antonio....a fellow here said that...when you aren't being classified that you pull all kinds of detail work. The chow, he added, was better than that here, so there shouldn't be any kicks on that score...I've got five hours now and had a progress check...didn't know it was going to be a progress check until it was over with. Maybe that was for all the best because sometimes you don't do as good a job when you try too hard...
Preparing for San Antonio
...got another hour in yesterday so I've got but one left now...no order has come thru as yet concerning what the flyers who have finished should do with their normal flying instruction period. Naturally none of them are in any particular hurry to find out...I imagine the boys with the bars on their shoulders are laying awake nights trying to find ways to keep us busy...
San Antonio Navigation School
...just a few lines to let you know what's going on...we moved back [to barracks in San Antonio] on Friday morning...in the afternoon we heard the CO outline what's in store for us. Whether it will be as tough as he says i don't know...
Starting classes
...classes started yesterday and I don't think they'll be so bad. Math is a very simple but code might be tough. They gave us a pair of headphones and they try to teach us some Morse code. The other two classes should be very interesting - maps&charts and aircraft identification. Eventually we're supposed to know over 40 planes flashed on a screen for 1/10th of a second and believe you me that's awfully fast...
Letter from G. C. Brant, Commanding Officer, Army Air Forces Central Training Command
Getting ready for inspection
...we were confined to the area last night and for the second night in a row had a G.I. party. I believe we scrubbed everything in sight in preparation for this morning's inspection. But no inspection was made. We weren't disappointed, but still, after getting ready for one you expect to have it made...
Pressure chamber
...well, the pressure chamber test was quite an exprience...we were put in a large pressure tank and enough air was taken out to bring us to an equivalent of 28,000 feet. This was done in several steps to see how everyone reacted. At 18,000 feet all of us but one put on an oxygen mask and up we went to 28,000 feet. The one fellow gradually passed out, just as peacefully as could be, but we revived him in a couple of minutes when oxygen was supplied...
Voice from the past
...yesterday while taking P.T I was told by the sergeant that someone was looking for me back at the rear of the formation...turned out to be the fellow who sat next to me in Brownson and who was in Cav with me too....he's about 4 months ahead of me in Advanced Navigation school....
Return to the pressure chamber
...two days ago we moved: this time back to the same block where I was before I moved last time...Wednesday we had no classes because we were scheduled for a revisit to the pressure chamber. This time we went to an altitude of 38,000 feet and once again were treated to a few exhibitions while there. High altitude can have a lot of queer effects on you...
More moves afoot
...we had open post yesterday and while in town I took in the Alamo as well as a very famous park down here...we hear the Air Corps is transferring all of its units from Miami Beach to San Antonio...which will probably mean another move for us...
Tests and more tests
...we hear that each Sunday the flight that looks the best during the week will get open post. Our's is not worrying very much about it tho because our chances are pretty slim...last night we had an airplane identification test and right now i'm sweating it out...
Speculation
...while in town I met all kinds of guys who shipped down here 2 months before I did from Alabama. They will be moving out of preflight in a few days. As for us, we hav 4 scheduled weeks left but rumors insist we'll be leaving before then...either to gunnery school or advanced navigation...
Ottowans all around
...I met another Ottowan tonight - Dick Gerayeaux...he says that one of the Barron's is here too. I see Hadley about every day...
Tests, guns and rumors abound
...we had our aircraft identification test Saturday...it wasn't nearly as hard as it could so I got through it. This Thursday we are going to go to the range and fire the 45 caliber pistol and submachine gun as well. We have just 3 weeks of preflight left now and we're wondering where we'll go next...one fellow in our barracks who washeld over from the last class at some other pre-flight school is leaving this afternoon for Ellington Field at Houston for Advanced Navigation School...
Not a marksman
...today was a rather special day in that the afternoon's regular schedule was canceled and we went to the range...we fire the 45 pistol and the tommy gun...all I can say is that I'll never make a good marksman...
Two weeks left of preflight
...this preflight school is just the beginning...advanced navigation is the main part and that is next...It will last 18 weeks or thereabouts if you go all the way through...i don't know that the washout rates will be...it is there that we learn actual navigation and the course includes 20-25 flights...
Apr 19 to upload
Treading water
...one more week to go...we've moved six times since i've gotten down here...the next time we move should be out of here...
Graduation!
...well we 'graduated' today from pre-flight but I wasn't aware of the fact till tonight. I guess we'll carry on just the same as ever until further notice...i've been getting so much sleep that it's a hard job getting any at night, a far cry from the first 6 or 7 weeks...
Postcard from the edge
...everything is just the same as ever around here...
Hanging around waiting for orders
...we won't leave here until some time after the 20th of the month...until that time and starting tomorrow we will have some sort of 'refresher' schedule...
May 8 to upload
May 11 to upload
May 29 upload
Ellington Field
...[Ellington Field]...we started classes today after drawing all sorts of equipment yesterday...we live upstairs in the barracks and our classroom is downstairs...so all we do is walk down here about 7:15am and that is where we stay till 10:30 at wich time we have an hour of P.T. We eat in the period from 11:30 to 12:30 and then resume classes until about 5:30 in the afternoon...eventually we'll have night classes on top of that...
Invasion of Normandy
No time to take it easy
...we've had two days of classes and you don't get much chance to take it easy...
Instrumentation
...so far we've had quite a bit of training on some of the instruments we hope to use. A schedule is posted in advance so we know what is coming and who will lecture...you can tell we are close to the Gulf because it is terribly humid...we signed supplementary pay roll tonight so we'll be paid what is due us from last month pretty quick now...
Short and sweet
...we went out to the line and actually worked with the instruments in the plane...
Reveille at 4:30am…
...we had reveille at 4:30am this morning in preparation for today's inspection, parade and graduation. Class 44-8 graduated today. There are 3 more classes ahead of us...thanks for the undershirts......
Battle of Saipan
Instrumentation
...they really thow this ground school at you - lots of stuff about instruments and correcting them as well as about actual procedure. But it is pretty darn interesting...
First phase exams
...we had 3 nites of classes this past week and due to the poor showing we made in our first phase exam, I imagine we'll have at least that many and perhaps more this coming week or weeks...the news looks good now- we were especially interested in the B-29 raid on Japan...
All work and no play
...we have had night classes every night this week until tonight, but that doesn't mean most of us won't be at our desks...last week we got two watches...they are both Longine watches and in their day were probably worth quite a little...
First flight mission
...yesterday was quite a day. We got up at 4 in order to make our first flight mission. We flew over to a town in Louisiana called Covington, north of New Orleans a little way. We were in the air over 5 hours...we were suppose to follow the plane along by looking for checkpoints on the ground, in other words, pilotage...
Training flight to Arkansas
...yesterday we flew up to a little town in Arkansas and back again, doing pilotage again one way and reading instruments the other...this flight was a little more difficult than the last one because there weren't so many large towns, lakes or rivers...we did a pretty decent job...
More navigating
...today is the Fourth - we were scheduled to have classes till 10 tonight but some kind soul took pity on us and we were dismissed at 4. The reason for all of the night classes came out today. The schedule has been shortened two full weeks - that means just that much work done in a shorter period of time. That also means that we should be out of here sometime shortly after the 1st of October...this morning we spent quite a while working with radio equipment on a plane and we are starting to study celestial bodies too...two more ways of navigating...in addition to pilotage and DR (dead reckoning)...
Fourth mission
...yesterday we had our fourth mission and in many ways it was the best one so far...at least as far as excitement was concerned. I was almost halfway home at 5 o'clock in the afternoon but just about that time we turned around and retraced our steps. I did D.R. on the way up and pilotage on the way back - when we ran into a couple of storms...
Jul 17 to upload
Invasion of Guam
Battle of Tinian
In the hospital
...i went to the hospital to have the doc look at a finger of mine that was acting up. Well, he plunked me in the hospital for a day or so. I got out Tuesday morning missing out on Monday's scheduled flight...as it turned out, two of the other three of our foursome came up with bad colds and decided they didn't want to go up either...
Washing out
...staying here for a little while over the weekend...somehow we got passes...we had 2 flights last week - one up thru North Texas the other east thru Louisiana & Mississippi...these were practice search missions and are a good deal more complicated than the flights flown previously...they have started to think the ranks out a bit - last week 2 fellows in our flight got the axx and 3 more just yesterday. We have finished 9 weeks now...
Long days, short nights
...I am barracks guard today and, incidentally, the 1st barracks guard. Up till today we have had none, but yesterday a little incident occurred where someone walked in and helped themselves to about 4 or 5 hundred bucks belonging to the fellows upstairs. It was the day after pay-day and since we are a trusting bunch most of us had our wallets laying in our pants. I am downstairs and escaped thank goodness...
Hurricane
...this has been a rather unusual week in that we haven't had many night classes and that we are here by ourselves almost. Perhaps you heard of a couple of hurricanes out in the Gulf...well one of them was heading in this direction and our planes here were evacuated, at least all of them they could fly away...they took with them mechanics, navigation instructors and all but 3 flights in our class...where they went I don't know...
Upperclassmen
...well, the hurricane missed us and the planes are now back...class 44-11 graduated yesterday so 44-12[my class] is now the upper class if that means anything...the news is very good these days and it shouldn't be so terribly long now...
Sioux City
...Surprise! Landed here at 2am this morning...
Return from Sioux City
...our flight left Sioux City about 12:30 or 1....the return trip was divided into 2 parts - from SC to a town in Arkansas and then on home...were were pretty tired when we landed...
Flights 13 and 14
...we were scheduled to fly #14 tonight but after we packed everything and walked down to dispatch the bigwigs decided that the weather was pretty poor and it was called off...we flew #13 Monday nite up to Memphis Tennessee. It was a swell trip...night flights seem to be better than those during the day for some reason...
Sept 25 to upload
Advanced Navigation School Graduation
