Current data for Contributor

Smither, James (Interviewer)

Current data for Creator

Cannan, Thomas

Current data for Date

2017-01-24

Current data for Description

Tom Cannan was born in Eldorado, Illinois, in 1922. Prior to military service, he went to the Citizens' Military Training Camp at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, for a month of training with field artillery in 1940. In 1942, he joined the Naval Aviation Cadet School after receiving three months of preliminary flight training at St. Ambrose College, Iowa. He went to the University of Iowa for Navy Pre-Flight Training, then on to Naval Air Station Hutchinson, Kansas, for Primary Flight Training. Tom then went to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, for Advanced Flight Training, but was discharged from the Naval Aviation Cadet program due to not having two years of college. He enlisted in the Army Air Force and became an instructor at Parks Air College in St. Louis, training Army pilot cadets. He served as an instructor there for a year-and-a half then went to Keesler Field, Mississippi, for three months of Army Cadet Training. After that training he did Army flight training at Army airfields around San Antonio, Texas, and at Lancaster, California. He was selected to be an instructor at Marana Army Air Field, Arizona, and for the last couple months of his enlistment was at Williams Field, Arizona. He was discharged in late 1945.

Current data for Source

Veterans History Project collection, (RHC-27)