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James "Jack" Owens was drafted into the Army (Air Corps) in 1943 and served until 1945 in the 735th Squadron, 453rd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force. He worked in the armament department, which kept B-24 bombers supplied with weapons. He and his crew of 2 men had responsibility for three planes. He was shipped to England on the Queen Elizabeth. It had been converted for military transport and carried 31,000 troops when Owens traveled on it. He was stationed at Old Buckingham near Norwich, England. He was interviewed by Suzette McCord-Rogers. He was born near Powhattan, Kansas, in Brown County on April 4, 1923. He graduated from Powhattan High School in 1942 and was drafted in January of 1943. He was discharged in October 1945. He spent most of his working life in California but retired to Powhattan. The 2005 Kansas Legislature passed a bill funding the WWII Veterans Oral History grant program. This transcript is from one of the nine community institutions that received these grants. The transcript from the interview is presented here; the original video copy of the interview is available through the Doniphan County Historical Society (Troy) and through the Kansas State Historical Society.
Creator: Owens, James "Jack"
Item Number: 212215
Call Number: World War II Oral Histories Project
KSHS Identifier: DaRT ID: 212215
Collections - Oral History - Kansas Veterans of World War II - Doniphan County Historical Society, Troy, KS
Military - Equipment - Aircraft
Military - Service - Air Force
Military - Wars - World War II
Objects and Artifacts - Communication Artifacts - Documentary Artifact - Transcript
Places - Cities and towns - Powhattan
Places - Counties - Brown
Places - Other States - California
Thematic Time Period - World War II, 1939 - 1945
Type of Material - Unpublished documents - Transcript
http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/212215