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  • EAB in China-Burma-India

    During the first two years of the war, the black aviation engineering operations in the China-Burma-India Theater bore little resemblance to what had been envisioned in 1941. Since the 10th Air Force relied upon British engineers and Indian laborers for airbase construction, they played a critical

  • Airfield Construction

    Aviation engineers employed the same basic construction techniques around the globe. After an area had been cleared of trees or other obstructions, Caterpillar tractors towing carryalls cleared the area. Once the dirt runway had been leveled, engineers laid pierced steel planking to create an

  • EAB in the Pacific

    Most of the black EAB units formed during World War II served in the Pacific Theater of Operations or the China-Burma-India Theater of Operation. The first two black aviation engineer units shipped out of the United States were the 810th EAB and the 811th EAB. Listening to rumors that they would be

  • EAB in Europe and the Mediterranean

    Justifying it by expressing a concern over the long-term presence of blacks in England, the Army had only seven EABs in Europe at the war's end. Ironically, those black soldiers sent to England found the English more accepting than the Americans at their training bases. In North Africa and the

  • Stateside Training Experiences

    Despite the Army's reluctance, thousands of blacks entered the AAF, and of the 157 EABs that saw duty in World War II, 48 were segregated black units. All of those units received uneven training, but the black units faced additional difficulties arising from segregation. These troops often had

  • African Americans Segregated into Separate Units

    Meanwhile, the War Department forced the AAF to reverse a two decade old policy of excluding African Americans. After World War I, the War Department had segregated blacks into all-black units, and since the Air Corps had no black units, they accepted no blacks at all. The Selective Training and

  • Engineer Aviation Battalions

     In 1939 Gen. Hap Arnold negotiated with the U.S. Army Chief of Engineers for a special engineer unit to work with the Air Corps. The original concept envisioned a small group of skilled construction and engineer troops, closely trained alongside air units, with the ability to repair bomb damaged

  • A Useful Souvenir: The "Short Snorter"

    Many Allied airmen in World War II made souvenirs of their travels by collecting currency from all the places they visited. A "short snorter" was a collection of bills taped together, often signed by friends. When buying drinks, an airmen who could not produce his short snorter was expected to buy a

  • POW-Made Jacket, Cap and Gloves

    The donor made the jacket, cap and gloves from a GI blanket on a POW-constructed sewing machine while imprisoned at Mukden, Machuria. The donor was wearing the jacket in 1944 when B-29s made first bombing raids on Mukden. One B-29 was damaged and released its bombs, two of which fell on the POW

  • A Mission Remembered

    On Sept. 27, 1943, en route back to England after a raid against Emden, Germany, a 91st Bomb Group B-17 nicknamed "Local Girl" was set on fire by an Me 109 fighter. Eight of the 10 B-17 crew members bailed out, but only six survived. One of the survivors was the radio operator, Tech. Sgt. Orlo