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Home CCSU Veterans History Project Oral history interview with Francis J. Vail conducted on 2004 Sept. 4

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Oral history interview with Francis J. Vail conducted on 2004 Sept. 4

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Title	Oral history interview with Francis J. Vail conducted on 2004 Sept. 4
Description	Interview conducted by Eileen Hurst. Francis "Jim" Vail enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in September of 1942. He was living in Stafford Springs, CT at the time, and applied to be a pilot. Although, he failed the eye test, he wanted to remain in the Air Corps, because it seemed more "exciting" than the infantry. Vail's basic training was in Atlantic City, NJ, just off of the boardwalk. He stayed in the Dennis Hotel, which was next to where the Miss America pageant was staged, and the men in basic training were able to see the entire show from their hotel. From basic training, Vail was sent to the Long Island Institute of Technology to learn airplane mechanics, and lived in an apartment building while going to school. The 16 week program was taught by civilians, and the men in the program lived as civilians for the most part, as they only had one hour a day where instruction was given by the army. Vail was then stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base, NM just after it was built, where he remained for nine months working in the airplane hangar. While stationed there the movie premier for "Bombardier" was held, as it had been filmed primarily on the base, and all of the soldiers were invited to attend. From there, Vail received his orders to go overseas, and shipped out of New Jersey in a convoy of over 100,000 soldiers. They were sent to Bizerte, Africa to await their orders, and after two weeks, Vail was transferred to Bari, Italy to work as a mechanic at the air field as part of the 41st Air Depot Group. Vail describes what it was like to live on the air base, how it was bombed extensively by the Germans, and what they did for entertainment, including a story about a game the soldiers invented called " donkey softball". The 41st Air Depot Group was shipped home in 1945, and received their orders to return before the war had ended. V - E Day was the day they actually shipped out, and they ended up being one of the first ships to arrive back in the U.S. Although they were shipped home, Vail's service time was not yet up, and he was sent to Spokane, WA to train for the Invasion of Japan. Because the invasion never happened he was stationed at the Newark airport to work as a draftsmen until his discharge. Vail was discharged in late 1945, and although he was offered a job as an airplane mechanic at Bradley airport, he instead took a job as a draftsmen, which he retired from.
Coverage	1942-1945
Date Original	09/04/2004
Digital Format	video/x-ms-wmv
Duration	01:17:36
Contributors	Hurst, Eileen
Software	Windows Media Player required for viewing
Access Restrictions and Permissions	No access restrictions. For permission to reproduce contact Central Connecticut State University, Center for Public Policy and Social Research at (860) 832-2976
Image Identifier	VHP2004/19
Creator/Owner	Vail, Francis J.
War or Conflict	World War, 1939-1945
Branch of Service	United States. Army Air Corps United States. Army Air Force
Unit of Service	United States. Army Air Corps. 41st Air Depot Group.
Rank	Sergeant
Status	Veteran
Subject	World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal narratives, American World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Italy Veterans -- Connecticut -- Interviews Airplanes -- American Bombardier (Motion picture) United States. Air Force -- Aviation mechanics
Geographic Location	Fort Devens (Mass.) Atlantic City (N.J.) Kirtland Air Force Base (N.M.) Bari (Italy) Gioia del Colle (Italy)
Publisher	Central Connecticut State University. Center for Public Policy and Social Research
Language	eng
Relation	Veterans History Project (U.S.)
Type of Resource	Moving image
Citation	Francis J. Vail Papers. VHP2004/19. Veterans History Project; Central Connecticut State University, Center for Public Policy and Social Research.
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