Synopsis of oral history interview with Charles Baffo

              Video Log
Charles M. Baffo
World War Two
USAAF
Born: 09/21/1922
Interview Date: 02/12/2010
Interviewed By: Kevin Moore
00:00:00 Introduction
00:00:41 Baffo enlisted at age nineteen when he enlisted. He had recently graduated high school when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Although he had earned football scholarships, he did not have enough money to pursue a degree.
00:02:17 Baffo describes the myriad of life events that shaped his decision to enlist.
00:02:45 Between high school graduation and entry into the service, he worked at a plant that manufactured radial engines, next door to Republic, the corporation that designed and produced the P-47 Thunderbolt.
00:03:06 The Air Force sent recruiters through the shops, selecting experienced workmen as well as those with two years of college experience. Although Baffo had not attended college at that point, his scholarships prompted the Air Force to interview him. It took almost a year for his induction.
00:03:38 He signed up for the Air Force in 02/1942, then spent almost a year as an aircraft engine inspector, at which point the Air Force summoned him for a formal review.
00:04:14 Baffo was inducted in Upton, Long Island, but began his service in Nashville, Tennessee, where he endured basic evaluations of Air Force physical and vocational requirements. If you fell below the standard, you were sent downriver to Biloxi, Mississippi, for Army training.
00:04:32 At the time, the Air Force / Air Corps was an organ of the United States Army.
00:04:58 He had never flown prior to enlistment in the Air Force.
00:05:28 In June of 1943, he was sent to Montgomery, Alabama, to attend ground school: communications, navigation, aircraft maintenance and aerodynamics. Two months later, he was sent to Helena, Arkansas, for flight training. The Army Air Force had leased a private airfield for training purposes. Afterwards, there were two more phases of training, comprising primary, basic, and advanced flight