Donald C. "D.C." Pressentin, a Madison, Wisconsin native, discusses his service as a fighter pilot with the 324th Fighter Group, 315th Fighter Squadron during World War II and as a pilot with the Air National Guard Defense Command during the Korean War. Pressentin graduated from Madison East High School in 1941. After high school, he worked for a year then enrolled at the University of Wisconsin to study engineering. Pressentin explains he joined the Air Force cadet program at UW in 1942, intending to be a bombardier or a navigator. He describes his basic training at Miami Beach (Florida) and Gettysburg College (Pennsylvania) with the military's first college detachment program. While there, Pressentin completed ten hours of flying time and discovered he loved piloting, although he had never been in an airplane before. Next, Pressentin was sent to Maxwell Field (Alabama) for pre-flight training, which involved physical training, learning Morse Code, and navigation classes. He remembers mild hazing at Maxwell Field for underclassmen involving memorizing lists and marching in white glove uniforms. Pressentin characterizes the college detachment as a "homogeneous group" of young men mostly from the Midwest and New York. Next, Pressentin describes in detail his basic flight training at Bainbridget (Georgia). He practiced landings, lazy eights and chandelles, adjusting for wind drift, and getting out of spins. He also notes he used an early flight simulator for instrument flying. Pressentin addresses why he wanted to be a fighter pilot, stating: "It was me and the airplane, and if I screwed up... I didn't take a whole bunch with me." After Advanced Flight Training in Marianna (Florida), Pressentin reveals he refused an offer to become an instructor because he wanted to fight. Next, he outlines his trip overseas from Dover (Delaware) to Naples (Italy) via the Straits of Gibraltar. He was in a convoy of twenty troop ships and aircraft carriers that brought the "Jugs" (P-47s) the pilots would be flying. Pressentin, now a first lieutenant, comments on the officers' cushy accommodations and states that, unlike the GIs, not one of the pilots on his ship got seasick. Pressentin was assigned to Corsica with the 324th Fighter Group. He discusses at length flying in formation during combat. Pressentin comments that he received help and advice from veteran pilots, and that after three or four missions, he was considered a veteran himself. Pressentin details his first combat mission in which he flew "top cover" for the Invasion of France in August 1944. He also flew "top cover" for Patton's invasion of Germany. Pressentin explains his role was to protect bombers and ground troops from enemy fighter planes; however, he describes these missions as "milk runs" because he encountered no German fighter planes. Pressentin reports he flew 58 missions and only encountered German fighter pilots once. Pressentin states the most difficult missions involved strafing and dive-bombing airfields in France while avoiding German flak towers. In addition, Pressentin addresses military life. He describes spending the entire winter of 1944-45 in Douvres (France) and mentions he took leave in the French Riviera and Paris, where he saw the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Pressentin states he enjoyed France, contrasting it with Corsica where the civilians were wary of American troops fraternizing with Corsican women. He tells a story of drinking and playing cards on News Year's Eve in 1944 during a lull in fighting, then receiving last minute orders to fly a five a.m. mission on New Year's day. In Spring 1945, Pressentin tells how he was flying back from a mission over Germany when he crash-landed due to mechanical problems. Unconscious, he was rescued in the woods by French civilians. He woke up in a hospital in Nancy (France) and learned he had broken his back. Pressentin describes his recovery at length: he was sent to Marseilles General Hospital and put in hyper-extended casts for four months. Around V-E Day, he was flown from Torino (Italy) to Boston Hospital (Massachusetts), ending up in Fitzsimmons General Hospital in Denver (Colorado) in July 1945. Pressentin reports he was on an all-officers orthopedic ward. He praises the Army's medical care and reveals he was allowed to play golf in Denver in lieu of traditional physical therapy. In August 1945, Pressentin states he got married while on medical leave in Madison. After the war, he returned to the University of Wisconsin, majoring in Economics. Pressentin touches upon his readjustment to civilian life, commenting that housing was hard to find and it took a couple months to readapt to student life. He suggests World War II veterans had a "built-in support group," unlike in Vietnam, which lead to less post-traumatic stress. Also, Pressentin describes the changes to the UW campus because of the G.I. Bill, stating classes were held in huts and churches because so many veterans attended the college. After finishing his B.A. in three years, Pressentin started law school and joined the Air National Guard. In addition to the G.I. Bill and his Air Guard salary, Pressentin paid for law school by working for Oscar Mayer. He tells how winning a company golf tournament at Oscar Mayer got him a job with Farmer's Mutual Insurance; however, he worked there only a few weeks before the Air Guard was called to active duty in the Korean War. Pressentin was assigned to the Defense Command at Truax Air Field (Wisconsin), where he flew P-33 and F-89 jets over Wisconsin and Illinois on "scrambles" to monitor the domestic airways. Pressentin compares flying jets during the Korean War to flying propeller planes like the P-47 and B-51 during World War II. For the final six months of the Korean War, Pressentin reports he was sent to Sioux City Air Force Base (Iowa) where he held several different jobs: provost marshal, PX officer, contracting officer, and defense counsel on all court martials. In 1953, Pressentin resigned from the Air Guard because he wife was concerned about the risks of flying. He states he joined the DAV, VFW, and briefly the American Legion because he enjoyed the camaraderie. Pressentin also joined the P40 Association, a civilian pilot group dedicated to flying the P-40. Throughout the interview, Pressentin discusses various aircraft including the P-47, P-40, PT-17, P-38, B-40, B-51, B-15, F-89, and the F-86.
