There were eight of us from L.A. High who went together, signed up and of those eight only three of us made it. Two navigators, Bob and one other, and I was the only pilot. And they all went in wanting to be pilots, even Bob. Frankly he was not pilot material, which they discovered. But he was excellent in navigation. And the other fellow that we went in together with, he and Bob went to the same school, the Air Corps sent them to Texas A & M for four or five months. After basic training all cadets went to some college, somehow they split us up. I went to Southwest Missouri State. And this other navigator said, ‘Man, Bob was outstanding.’ He was just brilliant. He moved ahead in the group. There was no holding him back.

Gwynn Bacon,
Childhood friend