Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
4:18 | Glider pilot Bob Carrick was so good that he was kept on as an instructor after training. As gliders were deployed in Sicily and then Normandy, he volunteered until they sent him overseas. Unlike the majority of glider pilots, he was assigned to the Pacific theater.
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He was in civilian pilot training when he was drafted so Bob Carrick was destined for the Army Air Corps. He became a glider pilot and his first training exercise involved flying a conventional small plane to a designated altitude and cutting the engine. After he made the switch to real gliders, he once rode a thermal updraft for four hours.
Most of his missions were cargo or troop transport missions but glider pilot Bob Carrick did fly two combat missions during his Pacific deployment. Both times he flew behind Japanese positions to put combat troops in place. The gliders were also prized for their ability to deploy jeeps quickly. Just open the nose and drive out.
