Introduction

 'American Air Force'   1

Peter was not quite 18 when he joined the American Air Force, 18 being the legal requirement, but he was tall enough and it helped him get in! Contrary to some information on line, Peter was not a pilot, nor was he in the strictest sense a war hero. He trained to be a bombardier, and for those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, he trained on how to drop bombs so they got to their target effectively. This was mainly because, the army had discontinued pilot training by the time he joined, but he was still eager to do his bit.

In fact he never left the ground on a mission either, because the AAF was closing down new intakes completely. He wrote home to his mother in frustration…

“All I’m doing is playing nursemaid to a B27”.  .

 

(see complete interview in ‘Interview with Ruth Aurness’ in the Interview tab).

However, during this time of inactivity something interesting did happen.

Early in 1942, The U.S. Army Airforce in conjunction with Warner Brothers, were still making recruitment films. They had one lined up starring James Stuart in the leading roll, but they needed real airmen to portray the various jobs available if you joined up. With all the available men involved in the war, they used recruits that were not yet qualified to go into battle. And Yes you guessed it, Peter Graves was one of them. The following pictures and clip are from that film. Should you wish to see the whole thing you will need to join us at  Peter Graves <3 | Facebook  as most films are too long for this platform.