In 1942, after enlisting in the Army Air Corps and completing basic
training at a base in Midland, Texas, I was sent to B-17 school in
Amarillo, Texas. It was an excellent course and a good experience.
However, to advance to the next level of flight training, which included
gunnery training, a physical examination was required.
During the vision exam, conducted by an Officer who had practiced in NYC
as an eye, ear and throat specialist, he informed me that my congenital
nystagmus prevented him from approving me for further training in B-17s.
Nystagmus is the involuntary movement of the eyes in a back and forth
motion. The Air Corps knew this from the time of my enlistment, and had
stamped my records "Limited
Service." Apparently no one had bothered up until now to pay attention,
which had been fine with me, because the condition had never been a
problem for me at any time.
The result was that I was placed as an unassigned Air Corp person, and
eventually wound up on a slow boat to China; a story I have already
told.
After landing in Calcutta, India, our group was assigned to guard a
trainload of military supplies from Calcutta to Chabua, India, where we
along with the supplies were transported by ATC in a C-46 to Kunming,
China. At Kunming we were told to report to an Officer who would give us
orders for a particular unit.
All of us unassigned personnel were assembled before this Officer, and
in looking us over, said to me, "you report to the Military Police unit
for assignment."
I immediately asked the Major if I could speak to him when he had
completed his work there, and he agreed. That gave me the opportunity to
tell him that according to statistics, the US had spent over $10,000 on
my aeronautical training, and I would appreciate putting that to good
use.
He agreed, and changed my assignment to the 14th Transport, a Troop
Carrier Squadron. It was then that he told me that
he first decided on the MPs because I was close to being the tallest of
the group.
So I went to the 14th Transport, later the 322nd Troop Carrier Squadron,
for a wonderful 15 months.
Not continuing in B-17s probably saved my life, because so many were
lost.
Copyright 2000 H. Thomas
