Jack Long, of Perry, was drafted at the age of 22. He was sent to Florida to be evaluated and was chosen to go to radio school in Chicago. He graduated as a radio operator/repairman.
However, he was persuaded into being a nose gunner. He was asked, “Would you like to get into Air Transport Command, where he could try transports and all that? I said, ‘Well, that’s sounds good.’ ” He signed a paper and was sent to gunnery school at Tyndall Field, Fla.
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