MY LIFE IN THE SERVICE
THE WORLD WAR II DIARY
OF STAFF SERGEANT JACK E. BATES
2nd Bomb Squadron, 22nd Bombardment Group, Fifth Air Force

Complied by Wayne N. Horton

This book is a day-to-day account of the life of Jack E. Bates, a resident of Horseheads, New York, while serving his country in World War II. He originally "volunteered" for the infantry in 1944, but transferred to the Army Air Corp. After training as an armor gunner, he was assigned to a crew and sent to Australia where he served with the 2nd Bombardment Squadron, 22nd Bombardment Group, Fifth Air Force. He spent his entire military career, up to the end of the war, in the Pacific theater. The diary follows him as he moves from base to base and throughout his forty-one missions. Jack Bates kept an amazingly accurate account of the things that went on around him including the bombing missions, etc. His diary follows him right through to the end of the war and his arrival back in the United States. The diary is augmented by three maps; a missions chart with detailed information concerning each of his missions; 189 photos of people, places and things; and a list of over two hundred servicemen who came in contact with Jack Bates while he was the postmaster of the unit at the end of the war. A bibliography and an index to full-names, places and subjects add to the value of this work.

Soft Cover

238 pages

10 pages of indexes

"Australia @ War" WWII Research Products

This page first produced 8 September 2012

This page last updated 21 January 2020