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Eric Holmes

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Eric Holmes and the rest of his B-17 crew arrived in England the afternoon of D-Day. Mr. Holmes talks about conditions on the plane and what a typical mission day was like. He also talks about his first bombing run problems, which resulted in the bombing of a not so important target. (3:41)

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As Eric Holmes started his bombing missions into Germany, he experienced a mission where his plane took heavy damage. He also describes how the stress of missions was affecting some of the men. (3:10)

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Eric Holmes describes what he was doing after he was taken off regular bombing duties. These included helping organize and staff missions that came down from headquarters. He also tells the story about a non-human crew member that would go with a certain crew, and his friend Dale Stillwell who was injured on a bombing run. (6:05)

Erling Kindem

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Erling Kindem recounts the circumstances that led to his parents migrating from Norway to a small farm in Minnesota. Growing up with a big family during the war meant that he and his brothers went off to enlist soon after it started. (10:13)

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Just before his 18th birthday, Erling Kindem enlists in the Army Air Corps. He remembers some of the physical challenges that he found as he headed to Missouri for basic training. After thinking that he would (11:46)

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Erling Kindem remembers some special treatment he had the fortune of getting while stationed for training in Sioux Falls. After his time there, he transitioned to the hot deserts of Arizona for gunnery school. (8:41)

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Erling Kindem remembers his eventful trip across the Atlantic. Upon arrival in Italy, he saw the extreme poverty of war through the Italian townspeople before the cold of winter hit Italy. (12:44)

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In order to avoid civilian casualties during air raids over Italy, Erling Kindem's squadron had specific targets to cause maximum damage to infrastructure with minimal casualties. After operations like these, they underwent extensive briefing to assess how much damage was really done. (6:38)

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During long flights at high altitudes, Kindem and his squadron had to go to extra lengths to preserve oxygen. One particular mission, a group of Germans with an old American plane tried to join Kindem's formation and faced the consequences. (5:55)

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Long after the war had ended, Erling Kindem remembers taking a trip to Europe to see some of the gravesites of his friends. Seeing the concentration camps was a very powerful reminder for him about why he fought for what he did. (6:19)