- Collection:
- Veterans History Project: Oral History Interviews
- Title:
- Oral history interview of William Rutledge Lounsbery, part 1 of 2
- Creator:
- Soiset, Roger
Lounsbery, William Rutledge, 1925-2019 - Publisher:
- Atlanta, Ga. : Kenan Research Center, Atlanta History Center
- Date of Original:
- 2017-05-19
- Subject:
- World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations, American
World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Pacific Area
World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American
Cold War--Personal narratives, American
B-29 (Bomber)
B-52 Bomber
Operation Castle, Marshall Islands, 1954
Drone aircraft
Atomic bomb
United States. Army Air Forces. Bombardment Group, 19th
United States. Army Air Forces. Composite Group, 509th
Enola Gay (Bomber)
United States. Air Force. Strategic Air Command - Location:
- Guam, 13.47861, 144.81834
Japan, Iwo Jima, 24.78516755, 141.324132661137
Marshall Islands, Enewetak Atoll, 11.5141037, 162.064393241945
United Kingdom, England, Brize Norton, 51.76667, -1.56667
United States, California, Sacramento County, McClellan Air Force Base, 38.65522, -121.40598
United States, Florida, Okaloosa County, Eglin Air Force Base, 30.45907, -86.55026
United States, Nevada, Nye County, Nevada National Security Site
United States, Ohio, Greene County, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, 39.81791, -84.04995
United States, Ohio, Montgomery County, Wright Field - Medium:
- video recordings (physical artifacts)
- Type:
- Moving Image
- Format:
- video/mp4
- Description:
- In this interview, William Rutledge Lounsbery recalls his experiences serving in the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) in the Pacific during World War II and briefly describes some of his later work in nuclear testing. He explains how he entered the USAAF in 1943 and was assigned as navigator on a B-29 bomber. He describes various training assignments; being assigned to a crew; and taking the aircraft to Guam, including a stopover in California during which many personal effects of the crew were stolen from the plane. He recalls some of his experiences during his 18 combat missions over Japan, including an incident when a 500 pound bomb failed to drop and ended up rolling down the runway in Guam after they landed. He remembers returning from a mission and hearing over the radio the request from another B-29 crew to make a low pass over the airfield to celebrate the Japanese surrender. He describes being called back to active duty during the Korean War and describes his work on a later project testing the effects of nuclear blasts on aircraft in flight.
93rd Bomb Squadron; flak; point system; Bridge (card game); QF-80 (drone); "Atomic Veteran"; Bill McElroy (aircraft commander)
William Lounsbery served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II and in the United States Air Force during the Cold War. - Metadata URL:
- http://album.atlantahistorycenter.com/cdm/ref/collection/VHPohr/id/837
- 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:
- 1:24:22
- 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:
-
