- Collection:
- Veterans History Project: Oral History Interviews
- Title:
- Oral history interview of Paul M. Crawford
- Creator:
- Bruckner, William Joseph, 1944-
Crawford, Paul M., 1924- - Publisher:
- James G Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center, 130 West Paces Ferry RD, Atlanta, GA 30305
- Date of Original:
- 2004-03-03
- Subject:
- PT-17 (Training plane)
BT-13 (Training plane)
AT-6 (Training plane)
P-40 (Fighter plane)
Mustang (Fighter plane)
Douglas DC-4 (Transport plane)
World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations, American
World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Burma
World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--China
World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--India
Seaboard Air Line Railroad Company
United States. Army. Air Corps. Air Force, 14th
United States. Army. Air Corps. Fighter Group, 311th. Fighter Squadron, 529th
United States. Office of Strategic Services - People:
- Crawford, Harry Nathaniel, 1890-1947
Crawford, Mary Rhoda Mew, 1892-1984
Crawford, Jean Bullard, 1925-2007
Dodd, Robert Lee, 1908-1988
Smith, David Melville, 1884-1962
Walker, Dr.
Boytell, Dr.
Crawford, Tim
Crawford, John
Marshall, George Catlett, 1880-1959
Dill, John Greer, 1881-1944
Arnold, Henry Harley, 1886-1950
Croner, Ted, 1922-2005
Austin, Bob
Armstrong, Eric Baum, 1920-2010
Calendar, Al
LeMay, Curtis E.
Chennault, Claire Lee, 1893-1958
Rector, Edward F., 1916-2001
McMillan, George Bray, 1916-1944
Hill, David Lee, 1915-2007
Smith, Homer
Hill, Tom
Mao, Zedong, 1893-1976
Birch, John Morrison, 1918-1945
Miller, Bill - Location:
- China, Chengdu, 30.6624205, 104.0633219
United States, Alabama, Montgomery County, Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, 32.38266, -86.35502
United States, Florida, Miami-Dade County, Miami Beach, 25.79065, -80.13005
United States, Florida, Okaloosa County, Eglin Air Force Base, 30.45907, -86.55026
United States, Florida, Pinellas County, 27.90268, -82.73955
United States, Georgia, Effingham County, Meldrim, 32.14326, -81.37789
United States, Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta, 33.749, -84.38798
United States, Georgia, Fulton County, Fort McPherson, 33.70733, -84.43354
United States, Georgia, Sumter County, Americus, 32.07239, -84.23269
United States, Mississippi, Harrison County, Keesler Army Airfield
United States, Mississippi, Hinds County, Jackson, 32.29876, -90.18481
United States, Mississippi, Washington County, Greenville, 33.40898, -91.05978 - Medium:
- video recordings (physical artifacts)
Mini-DV - Type:
- Moving Image
- Format:
- video/mp4
- Description:
- In this interview, Paul Crawford recalls his history in the Army Air Corps in the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II. He graduated from Americus High School in 1942. His brother wanted to be a Marine Corps pilot; after talking to a Navy recruiter, he didn't feel that was for him, so he talked to the Air Corps recruiter, who told him to go back to school. He went to Georgia Southwestern College until he was drafted in January of 1943 and joined the Army Air Corps. He remembers travelling to Nashville for classification, where recruits were separated into categories of pilot, navigator or bombardier. He describes parade drills with 50,000 troops and his brother Tim (also a pilot) buzzing their home regularly. He discusses in detail his training, including cross-country and formation flying, aerial gunnery, dive-bombing and dogfighting, as well as his first solo flight. He describes his feelings when he first saw his P-51 Mustang. His missions were that of interdiction as well as protecting B-29 bombers, and Crawford relates several stories of those missions. He describes the experience of having his plane shot down, parachuting into a freshly-fertilized field and being sheltered by the Chinese while the Japanese hunted him. He was picked up by a C-47 along with other downed pilots. Before he could fly again, the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan. He did witness the prisoners coming out of Bataan. He arrived home on Christmas Eve of 1945. After the war, a major came from Fort Benning to issue a check to his mother for his "death." He remained in the reserves until the outbreak of the Korean War, when he resigned his commission.
Paul Crawford was a pilot in the Army Air Corps in the CBI Theater during World War II. - Metadata URL:
- http://album.atlantahistorycenter.com/cdm/ref/collection/VHPohr/id/142
- Additional Rights Information:
- This material is protected by copyright law. (Title 17, U.S Code) Permission for use must be cleared through The Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center. Licensing agreement may be required.
- Extent:
- 1:17:40
- Original Collection:
- Veterans History Project collection, MSS 1010, Kenan Research Center, Atlanta History Center
Veterans History Project oral history recordings - Holding Institution:
- Atlanta History Center
- Rights:
-
