Oral history interview with Milton Leidner 2005 | WorldCat.org (original) (raw)

Abstract:Milton Leidner, a New York City native, discusses his experiences as an instrument specialist with the 8th Air Force during World War II. Leidner touches on his parents, who immigrated to the United States during World War I, and his brother, who served as a radio operator in the Merchant Marines. Leidner discusses his awareness of politics before World War II broke out and his participation in America First, an anti-war movement. He tells of enlisting in the Army Air Corps, the blackouts in New York City, and being assigned to the military police at a base in North Carolina. Leidner describes the "sweet side of military duty" doing office work, including taking fingerprints and histories of civilian applicants, some of whom were pretty southern women. He speaks of airplane instrument specialist training at Champagne-Urbana (Illinois), joining the 785th Squadron (466th Bomb Group) at Kearns Army Air Base (Utah), and working with B-24s at White Sands Proving Grounds (New Mexico). He portrays being taught to drive by his crew chief. After getting orders to ship overseas, Leidner describes spending a couple overnights in New York City and shipping to Scotland aboard the Queen Mary. He recalls getting tea and scones from the British Red Cross and arriving at his air base in Norwich (England). He describes his work maintaining B-24s and the living conditions of the ground crew: coal and food rationing, burning oil salvaged from the planes to heat the barracks, bicycling around the base, and sanding down runways. Leidner details liberty in Norwich, dating an English girl, visiting an English manor, and liberty in London. He portrays the response of Londoners to air raid sirens, hearing buzz bombs go overhead, and sitting in the kitchen with his hosts during a blackout. He tells of hitchhiking north to visit his brother, whose convoy had landed in Howell-on-Umber. Leidner details seeing V-E Day celebrations in England and V-J Day celebrations in New York City. He talks about his activities with Vets for Peace including peaceful protests of the Vietnam War in Madison (Wisconsin), and he recalls one occasion where he ran into barricades and tear gas while running errands