They were still taking the island with bulldozers and flame throwersthey still had the last third of the island to takebut we were in there, fixing engines.

I wanted to be a pilot but I washed out. I washed out-I wanted to be a bombardier after that, but by then they didn't need any more bombardiers. So it was either electrical or mechanical and I couldn't mess with that electrical so that's how I became a mechanic.

It made for some long goddamn nights I can tell you that. They were out to kill us.

B-29worst plane ever made, just awful. The engine had a life of less than 250 hours. The air couldn't get to the back of it and the cylinders just blew up. We were always fixing them.

One night I remember just watching this sunset. It looked just like the Japanese flag. It was a beautiful thing to see. I don't know why, but it was just beautiful.