Book Description

Interview with Henry White Sory, public school administrator and Marine Corps veteran (Bombing Squadron VMB-433), concerning his experiences as a PBJ (B-25) pilot in the Southwest Pacific during World War II. His decision to join the Navy Aviation Cadet Program, 1942; Civilian Pilot Training Program, Sherman, Texas, 1941-42; pre-flight training, Grand Prairie Naval Air Station, Grand Prairie, Texas, 1942-43; basic and advanced flight training, Corpus Christi, Texas, 1943; decision to volunteer for multi-engine aircraft training and to transfer to the Marine Corps, 1943; operational training in the PBJ, Cherry Point Marine Air Station, Cherry Point, North Carolina, 1943; assignment to VMB-433; aircrew formation, Peter Field Point, North Carolina, 1943; bomber training, El Centro Marine Air Station, El Centro, California, 1944; flight across the Pacific Ocean to Espiritu Santo, 1944; assignment to Green Island, 1944; his first combat mission, August 14, 1944; "night-heckling" mission to Rabaul; other raids to Rabaul and Japanese antiaircraft defenses; transfer to Emirau, 1944; the death of his hut mate, Eric Terry; the death of his younger brother in the European Theater; various bomber sweeps over New Ireland, 1944; rest leave in Australia, November, 1944; his return to the States, March, 1945; his postwar career in education.