The Crooked Road To Combat

At the beginning of World War II, the Army Air Force descended upon the college campuses across the land to enlist as many college students as possible in its Aviation Cadet program before the other branches of service could recruit them. Numerous commitments were made to the students, promising among other things that they would train together, fly in combat under the great insignia of the university, and be commissioned as officers in the new two-million-man air force. In their zealous recruiting, the Army Air Force enlisted more men than the training facilities could handle and, as it turned out, more than they needed. As a result, a surplus of pilots developed and the college men were dumped into assignments far removed from that which they had been promised. One day, they were flying airplanes and being treated with dignity and respect and the next day they were picking up cigarette butts. Instead of becoming officers with duty and position commensurate with their education and abilities, they were performing menial tasks in the enlisted ranks.