Robert "Bob" Carter, a Madison, Wisconsin resident, discusses his experiences as a waist gunner in the 8th Army Air Force during World War II. Carter was born in Brewer (Maine) but grew up in Quincy (Massachusetts). He recalls hearing of the Pearl Harbor attack on the radio and overhearing his father and uncles debating the political trouble in Germany. He briefly mentions that his cousin's college classmate joined the German-American Bund (American Nazi movement). In 1943, after graduating high school, Carter wanted to join the Naval Aviation, but was not accepted. Carter explains his father wanted him to attend West Point, but he did not score well on the entrance exams. He did, however, pass the exams for the U.S. Aviation Cadet Program in the Army Air Force. After working at a milk bottling plant for the summer, Carter reports he went to Fort Devens (Massachusetts) for cadet training. He remembers taking a train to Greensboro (North Carolina) for basic training. Carter details his basic training which involved obstacle courses and KP duty. Carter states he was the second fastest to complete the obstacle course out of approximately 220 men. Carter explains he decided to attend gunnery school after being told he would make sergeant quickly and would no longer be assigned KP or guard duty. He goes into detail about his gunnery training at Kingman Air Force Station (Arizona). The troops had to assemble a .50 caliber machine gun in twenty minutes wearing gloves and blindfolds. Next, Carter describes oxygen training which involved removing airmen's oxygen masks at increasingly high altitudes to test endurance and illustrate the dangers of blacking out. Carter relates that his training also involved skeet shooting, which he excelled at (despite his lack of prior experience) because he listened carefully to the instructor. At gunnery school, Carter was injured in the face by a brass round that backfired when another airman incorrectly removed a cover plate. Carter states this was his only injury during the war. After gunnery school, Carter was assigned to a B-17 crew and shipped to Lincoln (Nebraska) and Ardmore (Oklahoma) for more training. He recounts practice maneuvers and a time when he became sick in the back of the airplane. In October, 1944, Carter was sent to England to finishing training with the 8th Air Force. He claims the gunners practiced by targeting whales and porpoises off the coast of England. Carter describes waiting in repo depos (replacement depots) in Glasgow (Scotland) and later in Marcianise (Italy) because the Air Force had extra waist gunners. Carter volunteered for missions in Germany at Kassel, Munster, Kaiserslautern, and along the Rhine River. Carter describes an incident when his plane was under fire and he rescued a buddy whose oxygen tank had gotten disconnected. Carter describes numerous air raids in Dijon and Lyon during the Southern France Campaign, as well as raids in the Alsace-Lorraine region. He provides detailed descriptions of combat with German Me-262 and Me-109 jets. He mentions earning various medals including the Toujours En Danger badge from the French. Carter portrays German soldiers as fighting better than French soldiers. He also characterizes the Air Force and his commanding officers as very "democratic." He explains how, on the ground in Germany, troops built make-shift tents and stoves out of stolen or excess materials. Carter outlines numerous accidents during training and explosions of aircraft on the runway. He states he felt disappointed when the war in Europe ended because he was young and wanted to see more action. His request to be transferred to the Pacific was turned down. Carter describes being stationed in Florennes (Belgium) in 1945 where he encountered ovens in an area the Nazis had used for human medical experiments. Carter outlines his long journey back to the U.S. across France, Wales, Iceland, Greenland, Labrador (Canada), and New England (United States). Upon his homecoming to Westchester County (Massachusetts) in August 1945, Carter learned his mother had died in July. Due to the confusion of travel, Carter never received word of her death from the Red Cross. Carter spends time discussing his upbringing as a Christian Scientist. He describes how his religious views changed when he joined the Air Force; seeing men wounded and infected during a spinal meningitis outbreak at basic training led him away from Christian Scientist beliefs. Carter states he converted to Catholicism in the 1950s after meeting his wife. He discusses at length various types of airplanes, and he criticizes the Air Force because they kept increasing the number of missions required to earn discharge. After the war, Carter worked briefly delivering mail in New York City before studying economics at Amherst College (Massachusetts) on the G.I. Bill. In the summers, Carter worked on family farms in Massachusetts. He discusses playing team sports and college life at the forestry fraternity house. He recounts taking a semester off due to tinnitus (ear problems) resulting from his skeet shooting training in the Air Force. Carter explains that he finished up his degree at Penn State University in 1949. After college, Carter lived in New York City and worked at Macy's, at a rug factory, and as a vacuum-cleaner salesman, among others odd jobs. During this time, Carter was in the Air Force Reserves at Newburgh and Beacon (New York) which he characterizes as "tough towns." He was called up to active duty in 1950 during the Korean War. Because of his high test scores, the Air Force sent Carter to electronics school in California where he operated and repaired the APQ-24 navigational and bombing computer system for the B-36s. Carter mentions joining the American Legion briefly after World War II but states he was not active during college. Eventually, Carter became a steel salesman for various companies in Detroit (Michigan), South Bend (Indiana), and Minnesota. He mentions retiring from Precision Steel Warehouse in 1991.
