Charles William Aiken Collection

Biographical Information

Gender:

Male

Race:

Unspecified

War or Conflict:

World War, 1939-1945

Status:

Veteran

Dates of Service:

1942-1945

Branch of Service:

Army Air Forces/Corps

Unit of Service:

410th Bomb Group

Location of Service:

Texas; Denver, Colorado; Florida; Germany; Austria

Highest Rank:

Sergeant

Prisoner of War:

Unknown

Service History Note:

After training, Charles Aiken went to Scotland aboard the RMS Aquitania. He then went to continental Europe and flew 38 missions manning 88mm anti-aircraft guns with a squadron of 36 planes. He remembers becoming wounded in the foot, using cellophane windows to disrupt German radars and the losses of other planes in the squadron. He also recalls the Battle of the Bulge, the Bridge at Remagen, using aviation fuel to melt snow on runways and bombing Frankfurt.

Collection Information

Interviewer:

Kenneth Loomis

Contributor:

Geneva Huttenlocher

Contributor Affiliation/Organization:

Louisville Free Public Library/University of Louisville Archives and Records Center

Collection #:

AFC/2001/001/19489

Subjects:

Aiken, Charles William
World War, 1939-1945--Personal Narratives
United States. Army Air Forces/Corps.

Cite as:

Charles William Aiken Collection
(AFC/2001/001/19489), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress