Includes a detailed transcription of an oral interview conducted with Haupt in 1998. Transcription describes his early family life and the extreme poverty in which he grew up, his early employment, and his college education in mathematics and engineering. Discusses his enlistment in the Air Corps, his basic training, and his activity in the LDS Church during training. Provides numerous details concerning Haupt's military involvement in Italy and Southern France, and his bombing runs over Axis territory. Notable among the recounts of his missions are bombing raids conducted over Ploesti, Romania, and Vienna. During a raid over the latter city, Haupt's B-24 Liberator was severely crippled and the crew was forced to abandon ship. His navigation skills, though, saved the crew by guiding the limping plane to a small island, over which they bailed, in the Adriatic Sea. Discusses life in the air, the terror of flak and enemy fighters, specifics about navigational skills, and the mental stress inherent in combat. Collection also contains numerous military documents, including: a list of Haupt's missions, documents accompanying medals, copies of Allied currency, promotion papers, Haupt's Certificate of Valor, flight orders, plans, and debriefing reports, his discharge papers, and Veteran's Associations papers. Also contains humorous military songs and poems, newspaper clippings citing Haupt's achievements in combat, an article written by Bruce Callander detailing a bombing raid over Ploesti, and an account of the mission in which Haupt's plane was shot down, written by the gunner, Wilbur Tri.
