- Collection:
- Veterans History Project: Oral History Interviews
- Title:
- Oral history interview of Ben Carella
- Creator:
- Gardner, Robert D.
Carella, Ben, 1919- - Date of Original:
- 2003-10-02
- Subject:
- Airacobra (Fighter plane)
Douglas DC-3 (Transport plane)
Liberty ships
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
United States. Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944
United States. Army Air Forces. Air Transport Command
United States. Army Air Forces. Weather Squadron, 7th
United States. Air Force. Weather Squadron, 7th
Alaska Highway
Maxwell Air Force Base (Ala.) - Location:
- United States, Alaska, Aleutians West, Adak Island, 51.78444, -176.64028
United States, Alaska, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Fairbanks, 64.83778, -147.71639
United States, Alaska, Nome Census Area, Nome, 64.50111, -165.40639
United States, Georgia, 32.75042, -83.50018
United States, Georgia, Atlanta Metropolitan Area, 33.8498, 84.4383
United States, New York, New York County, New York, 40.7142691, -74.0059729 - Medium:
- video recordings (physical artifacts)
hi-8 - Type:
- Moving Image
- Format:
- video/quicktime
- Description:
- In this interview, Ben Carella describes his career in the Army Air Force during World War II and in the Reserves during the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam. He enlisted because he felt the Army Air Force was more elite than the infantry. He recounts in detail primary, basic, and advanced pilot training. During World War II, he ferried planes from manufacturers such as Bell and Curtiss. Many of the planes he ferried went to Alaska as part of preparation for the invasion of Japan from a northerly route. After the war, he ferried weather instruments to allies throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He sailed home in 1947 and reunited with his wife and met his new daughter in an A & P grocery store. During the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam, he stayed in the Reserves, providing logistical support.
Ben Carella Was a U.S. Army Air Force pilot in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.
BEN CARELLA VETERANS HISTORY INTERVIEW Atlanta History Center 2, 2003 Interviewer: Robert Gardner Transcriber: Linzy Emery 2nd, 2003. This is an interview of Mr. Ben Carella, 115 Sweetwood Way in Roswell, Georgia. His birth date is June 30, 1919. Interview is taking place at the Atlanta History Center. Robert Gardner is conducting the interview. Mr. Carella, what branch of service did you serve in? Mr. Carella: On the Air Force, known as the Old Brownshoe. What was the highest rank that you attained, sir? Mr. Carella: Lieutenant Colonel. Where did you serve, sir? Mr. Carella: Romulus, Michigan; Great Falls, Montana; St. Joan, Missouri; and Weisbladen, Germany. Where you drafted, or did you enlist? Mr. Carella: I enlisted. Where were you living at the time, sir? Mr. Carella: In New York City. Why did you join? Mr. Carella: Well, two or three reasons. I'd rather be in the Air Force, so I was going to be drafted and I figured that would be a more elite form of soldier than being just the regular GI. And that's the reason I joined. Do you recall your first days in service? Mr. Carella: Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Took a train from Grand Central Station down to Maxwell Field, Alabama, and went through three months of basic and GI training before we even got to do any flying or got into the flying end of the business. Can you tell me about your boot camp or training experiences? Mr. Carella: Very difficult. Get up at about 6:30 in the morning, and didn't get to bed until, maybe, eight or nine at night. And, of course, we performed all kinds of military functions, learning how to march and drill and run. And then at night when you thought you were asleep the upper class would come in and haze you a little bit. Get you to jump out of bed, stand at attention and it got to the point where you wanted to do away with them. But, we got to be upper classmen later on, so we did the same thing. It was just a form of what was going on in those days. Do you remember any of your instructors? Mr. Carella: Oh, no. No, I do not. I can picture them, but I don't know their names. I can't remember. That's going back too many years. How did you get through it all? Mr. Carella: It wasn't easy. We just hung on there and did the best you could, and during the primary training we lost about, I'd say, maybe fifty or sixty percent of our people were washed out because they couldn't either pass the flying end of it or couldn't stand the strain for whatever reasons. Then, when you graduated primary, you got into basic training, and you lost another, I'd say, ten to twenty percent, for the same reasons, because you got into a second stage aircraft. We went from the PT13 Stamen[?] to the Vultivibrator, and then when you passed that phase of it, you got into advanced training. And when you got to advanced training you were pretty much in the program because the government had already invested quite a bit of money in training on you, and they weren't about to let you go for minor infractions. And we got into the AT6, which is the advanced trainer, and of course, that was a more sophisticated air craft with retractable gear and adjustable prop and flaps and all that kind of stuff, so. Graduated, advanced training, November 10th, 1942, and my first assignment was through Romulus, Michigan. My last ten, ten or fifteen hours of advanced training were done in a P40 aircraft. At that time we were scheduled in a program to support General Chenault's efforts in the Far East, and we were going to be some of the replacements that were going to be transferred or sent over to his unit. But at that stage of the game he wasn't requiring any more replacements because the air there, the war there was winding down. So we were assigned to the newly developed air transport command, which was a new unit formed in the Army Air Force to transport aircraft from manufacturers to the front lines. And that was about it. Which war or wars did you serve in, sir? Mr. Carella: World War II, and I was on active duty, I was in the Air Force reserve active duty training, sir, and we supported the Vietnam War and the Korean War, but I was not actively engaged there. We just supported them in a form of logistical support, moving equipment and supplies around the United States where they were needed. Do you remember arriving at any of your specific duty stations and what it was like? Mr. Carella: Oh, yes. I was a brand new lieutenant. Graduated November 10th and married – graduated in the morning and married my wife in the afternoon, my girlfriend, in the afternoon, same day. And we got transferred -- the first assignment was Romulus, Michigan -- and took a train up to Detroit and arrived at Romulus. Being a brand new lieutenant and not familiar with, or acquainted with military life it was kind of, kind of scary. Very nervous, and because you were with ten or fifteen other people that you graduated with, so you formed a kind of little group and you all pushed through together. Did you see any combat, sir? Mr. Carella: No, we did not. I got into combat areas, but I never saw any actual combat. We, from, Romulus, Michigan, we got transferred to Great Falls, Montana, and at that point, we were supporting a land lease program to the Russians up in Alaska. And, our primary duties were to go to Niagara Falls and pick up Bell aircraft, fly them back to Great Falls, and then prepare them for delivery to the Russians up in, at first we were going to Nome, and then we were pushed back to delivering to Fairbanks. The Russians didn't want us to get too close to their country. And we also went to Niagara Falls, a P40 Curtis aircraft company there, and picked up P40's and did the same thing. The P40's went mostly to Adack, off the Aleutian islands, to beef up that portion of the effort -- that we were thinking of invading Japan through the back door, which was going from the Aleutian Islands down into Japan that way, while the other countries, the other units, invaded Japan from the front door. And that's as far, that's how we got involved into being in combat areas, but never seeing any actual combat. Can you tell me about a couple of your most memorable experiences? Mr. Carella: Well, in 1942 and 1943, the Alcan highway was being built. And we had no photographic or maps to guide us. We were given a map, it was ten miles wide, a strip, strip map, that the army aircorps had photographed and developed in a hurry to enable us to, guide us up the Alcan highway to Fairbanks, Alaska. And that's pretty rough country up there. We used to, if you wandered outside this ten mile strip you were in, you were over country you had no way of recognizing or what to do with. So our primary objective was to stay within sight of the Alcan highway, which went from Edmonton, Fort Nelson, Watson Lake, Northway and up to, in to Fairbanks. The weather going up that way was spotty, the weather forecast was spotty. We didn't have all the modern meteorology experience or knowledge that we have today. At that time it was just weather stations every two or three hundred miles apart run by weather sergeants in the army, and they were pretty good, really. They would give us their local weather and we would analyze the weather and make up our minds whether it was go or no go. We had to fly strictly VFR, because we had no IFR experience or equipment, in those days, to fly these fighter pilots, fighter planes in IFR weather. The P39 was equipped with a 165-175 gallon belly tank, which would enable us to give us some range, and considering gasoline weighs six or seven pounds a gallon, that was like carrying a 1000-1100 pound torpedo under your airplane, which made it very unstable, to say the least. And these were all things that you learn through experience how to handle. That's about… Were you awarded any medals or citations? Mr. Carella: Oh, yeah. We were given various medals for going through different theaters of operation. I can't recall them all. I've got medals for going through Alaska, out the Aleutian Islands. Later, in 1945 or 46, I was transferred to the weather wing, and qualified in a DC-4, or C-54 as the airforce called it, four engine transport, and we were assigned to the weather wing in Weisbladen, Germany, 11th, 11th weather wing. And the crew was given the airplane in Asheville, North Carolina, and we flew it over through Bermuda, and out to Y80, which was Weisbladen, Germany. That was the destination of the airstrip there was Y80. And we flew the DC-4 there and we were assigned to the 11th weather wing. And we were supporting, this was during the tail end of the war. We were, we were supplying a lot of the countries there with weather equipment – weather balloons, weather stations, wind instruments. The sole purpose was to help these different countries update their weather. In turn, we were flying our aircraft into these countries and the information we got from them was a little more accurate to enable our airplanes to go in and out of places like Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, down through Italy, Greece, Spain, Casablanca. We covered Europe, Africa and the Middle East at that time, with the DC-4. And that was the tail end of my active duty assignments. On returning back to the States in, I think it was June of 1947, and I remained in the Air Force reserve, active duty, unit. And I stayed with the Air Force Reserve until I retired in 1981, I believe it was. [From?]1969 or 1970, as Lieutenant colonel. And that was my experience in the military. How did you stay in touch with your family? Mr. Carella: Well, my wife traveled with me while I was in the states. And when I was stationed in Great Falls, Montana. But when I was sent overseas I went over alone, because they didn't have billets or homes or places for families to come over. So, I spent about fourteen months in Europe as a married bachelor, so to speak. And we, with the mostly letter writing. That's the only way we stayed in touch. There wasn't any, any phone calling back and forth. And I got in the habit of writing my wife at least once a day, sometimes every, at least every two days. And the mail, you wouldn't get mail for maybe a week. And then you'd get six or eight letters at one time, because they were going through the army post office. And it was, it was a little lonely at times. When I was overseas my first daughter was born, while I was over there. And I didn't get to see her until she was seven, eight months old I think. And it was, that was the hard part. That's it. What was the food like? Mr. Carella: The food was good. Of course, being an officer in the Air Force, we ate better than most of the army did, I guess. We were always, there was an old saying, we were not, if we were going to die, at least we'd die clean and well fed. And the poor GI's, they died cold and ill fed. So, anyway, that was just a saying. No, the food, I have no complaints of the food. We ate well, and were well clothed. Did you have plenty of supplies? Mr. Carella: Supplies? Oh, yeah. We had no trouble with supplies. We had all the clothing we needed. We were well fed, as I said. We were issued 45's and other means of arms that we needed, because you didn't, you couldn't carry too much in an airplane. No, the supplies were well…. That's one of the reasons I joined the Air Force, because I was, I knew it was one of the better units to be in. Did you feel any pressure or stress? Mr. Carella: Oh, yeah. Everybody feels pressure and stress. Sometimes it was hellacious, sometimes it was a lot of boredom. But everybody had pressure and stress in those days. Anybody that didn't, I don't think they were normal. Was there something special you did for good luck? Mr. Carella: Just kept a little bit of my religion and faith, prayed to God a couple of times, quite a few times as I recall. No, that was, didn't carry any rabbit's tails or rabbits foot or anything like that. I didn't believe in those things. How did people entertain themselves? Mr. Carella: Did a lot of drinking, a lot of smoking. We used to meet at the bar after duty hours and play live dice, and of course, drinks there were cheaper than water is today. Cigarettes were free. We entertained ourselves. We just raised a little cain, I guess, now and then. Were there any entertainers that came over to entertain you? Mr. Carella: Yeah, we had the USO groups. And, yeah. There was, a lot of that was, they did a lot of that, as much as they could to entertain the troops, because during the war it was difficult. Most of that was done in the States, for soldiers waiting to go overseas. There wasn't too much of that overseas at that time. What did you do when you were on leave? Did you get any leave? Mr. Carella: Not while I was overseas. We didn't get any leave where we could come home or anything like that, no. I was only over there a short period, so. I liked to save up my leave days, so when I got home I could have a couple of weeks off. We didn't do anything special. You mentioned some of the places that you went delivering the station equipment. Did you get to do any travel or anything? Mr. Carella: Oh, yeah. We'd load up the DC-4 and, one trip we took went to Norway, Denmark and Sweden. And we left all our equipment there and we were always treated well, because we were donating something to these countries and they were very happy and anxious to get them. And then we delivered equipment down in Rome, brought some down to Casablanca, Greece, Paris, France. I can't think of any others. Do you remember any particularly humorous or unusual events? Mr. Carella: Yeah, a couple. We, flying up north in a P-39, you couldn't carry very much. The engine was behind you. It was a twenty-millimeter canon went through the, through your legs up to the front, shot out of the propeller up. So all you could carry was a little bag and some change of underwear and maybe a change of khakis. And I can remember one weekend we were in Edmonton. We all went out to a Chinese dinner, which was the wrong thing to do. You don't eat Chinese food in Edmonton, Canada. Anyway, the next day we took off, because we drank a little bit that night. And, there were about four of us, and we all got the GI's [?]. And, I made an emergency landing at one of the strips there to relieve myself. And some of the pilots just had to relieve themselves in the cockpit, managed the best they could. And when we got together and discussed that, that was, there was more humor to that than anything else. That's one of the things I can remember. When you ferried the planes to Alaska, how did you get back from that station? Mr. Carella: They'd wait until they had maybe ten or fifteen or twenty, thirty pilots up there, then they'd send a DC-3 up, which was being flown by the airlines. They were converted, because there was not too much airline-flying going on, it was all under the control of the military. And the airline pilots would pick us up in these DC-3's, and herd us on board up in Fairbanks. A trip that took approximately seven to ten hours to deliver the airplanes up there, took ten to twenty hours to ferry us back, because of the speed. And the DC-3 was, even though we slept in sleeping bags and heavy clothing, they weren't airline type airplanes. They were just military aircraft, DC-3's, and the corrugated metal floors, and the bucket seats. And up in Alaska it would be ten or fifteen or twenty below zero. And it was hard to keep warm, very difficult. Some of us went to the parachute room and had hammocks made. We'd bring some, a couple bottles of Scotch up and give them to the parachute manufacturers up there, that worked in the hanger that kept the parachutes packed and reconditioned. And we paid him off and he'd make hammocks for us that we were able to string across from one window to the other with hooks. And at least we slept in hammocks to keep us off the floor. And then the military command said we couldn't use them, because in case of emergency, there was no, we were blocking the, the inside of the aircraft for people to bail out of. Of course, we didn't abide by that rule too much. But, that's what went on during those days. You made do, and did the best you could. And it wasn't too much regulation in those days, it's safety, we didn't abide too much by safety rules. We'd fly up in formation, wing tip to wing tip, come over an airfield, we'd spread them out in echelon, come down and buzz the airport at about two or three hundred feet, because we were all frustrated air transport pilots. We wanted to be in active duty and get into combat. And we'd make a big sweeping turn and come back and land in formation. And that's the way we'd kind of relieve some of our tension in those days, was by doing crazy things and taking a lot of crazy chances. What did you think of your middle officers and enlisted men? Mr. Carella: Oh, they were all fine. All supportive gentlemen. And every once in a while you found on oddball, but that could be, was to be expected. I guess a lot of people thought I was an oddball, too. But when you get a bunch of people from the city, from the farms, from the south and the north, and mix them all together, why, it's quite an interesting mixture of people. I think everything went along real fine. Did you keep a personal diary? Mr. Carella: No, I did not. Do you recall the day your service ended? Mr. Carella: Well, it was, I was discharged, and I was coming home from Weisbaden. We went to Hamburg, got on a liberty ship. That was the old kaiser ships that were being built with concrete and steel reinforcements, because they're quick to build. But they weren't very safe. They'd take a certain amount of pounding, and then they were known to crack. We got on one of these and took a, I think it was six and a half, seven days, to get back from Europe to the states. And we ran into some pretty bad weather. And I was assigned as a mess officer down in Hold #3, which was the third level down. And I went down there, and just the mixture of food -- and I'm not a very good sailor -- and the rocking of the ship, and I could see that I wasn't going to enjoy this. So I got a hold of the mess sergeant and I told him, you keep, everything's in your, you're in charge down here. You keep everything going, and I'll be upstairs, on the upper deck. If anything goes real bad, call me. And I'd, that was the last I saw the mess hall down in deck three. I went on topside and stayed in the officers' quarters and learned how to play bridge. That was my trip home. I hit Camp Bix, I was discharged. I got home, and went up to see my wife and daughter that I had never seen before. And I found out that they were shopping at the A&P, my mother-in-law told me, so I walked around to the A&P and walked in, and there she was with the baby. And, of course, that was quite a reunion, right in the A&P. And, I was happy to be home. What did you do in the days and weeks immediately afterward? Mr. Carella: I was on a fireman's list in those days. And I went to get back into civilian life. I was offered various positions off the civil service list. One was a tunnel guard, to walk inside the tunnel at the Holland Tunnel, keep the traffic moving. And I, I couldn't see that. And then there was a bridge toll collector, and I didn't, I wouldn't enjoy that. And, waiting for a fireman's assignment. And I would have had two years seniority, because when I went on the list, being in the service, you automatically were eligible for seniority in those days. In the meantime, I bought my, used to be in the auto upholstery business. And I went back to work for my old boss. And he passed away and I was able to purchase his shop with the GI bill loan, and that's how I went to work on my own as an auto upholsterer. And that was what I did in those days, keep my family, a roof over their heads, and food in their bellies. Did you make any close friendships while in the service? Mr. Carella: I did while I was in the service. But once we were discharged we kind of drifted apart. I never, we never kept in touch. One or two people I did get to see. One guy was, worked up in Elmira in a casket company, and I stopped by to see him while I was in the reserves, on a reserves weekend. But other than that, I didn't keep in touch with anybody. Did you join any veterans' organizations? Mr. Carella: No. I'm not a joiner, believe it or not. Did your military experience influence your thinking about war or about the military in general? Mr. Carella: Yes, it did, and I'd rather not discuss it. How did your service and experiences affect your life? Mr. Carella: Well, you matured in a hurry in those days. And, as I say, you get different thoughts about, of course, our war was fought, because we were invaded. But, war in general is, to me, is not the answer. I know you have to do it sometimes, but, and like I say, I'd rather not go into it. You mentioned being in the reserves afterward, and some of the support that you did for…. Mr. Carella: Being self-employed I was able to spend quite a bit of time in the active reserves. Of course, we had a mandatory two weeks a year of active duty, and then one weekend a month. And, I would put in two or three weekends a month, and sometimes I'd go on thirty days active duty, because I could leave my shop when I felt like it. And it created quite a hardship on my wife to raise the family. I had two girls and a boy. But, she did a good job, I'm sure she did. And I got to see a lot of active duty time. And as I say, I retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. I'm going to celebrate my sixty-first wedding anniversary November 10, which is also the Marine birthday. So, I guess I'm a pretty lucky guy. Is there anything else you'd like to add? Mr. Carella: I can't keep talking, rambling. I'm not much of a speaker. I think I've said enough. Thank you…. [end interview] - Metadata URL:
- http://album.atlantahistorycenter.com/cdm/ref/collection/VHPohr/id/369
- 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:
- 33:13
- Original Collection:
- Veterans History Project oral history recordings
Veterans History Project collection, MSS 1010, Kenan Research Center, Atlanta History Center - Holding Institution:
- Atlanta History Center
- Rights:
-
