Ross Shirley was working at Lockheed in California shortly before World War II broke out. He was involved in building the P-38. It was a very secret project and he told me that the specifications for the plane that are now available on the internet were classified in
formation. He said the plane was nicknamed "Whistling Death" because of the sound it made when flying. He worked on the plane from the wings back, installing the two booms and the tail section.
When Pearl Harbor was bombed he went down to sign up in the Navy and the lines were very long. They told him they would make him 2nd Class and he would work on an aircraft carrier because he knew about working on planes. He told them he wanted 1st class and they
told him the offer they had made was good, but Dad turned it down. They wrote back later to see if he had changed his mind and he wrote back and told them they should change theirs.
He heard that the Army Air Corp was looking for pilots, so he and Uncle Otto went to Pocatello to apply. Otto was 10 lbs. too heavy, so he was rejected and Dad was accepted, but they told him to go home until another school could be opened. After several months, Otto went in to reapply, was accepted, and while there he was given the place of someone who had dropped out. Dad inquired and was told they were discontinuing the schools, so he was given an honorable discharge for six months service without ever serving.
He went from there to Catalina and signed up with an attachment to the Army that trained people to work as engineers onboard ship. He went to Florida and graduated, then
was stationed in New Orleans living in a second floor apartment on Burbon Street because there were no other facilities for servicemen. He said that after a short time they moved out because the night life was too noisy.
The Army was short of transport ships, so they were stationed there for months doing nothing except reporting once a day. He was making $500 a month while the enlisted men were getting $50 to $75. "Believe it or not I got tired of doing nothing."
He then heard he could get a commission in the Army as a 2nd Lieutenant, so he went to Camp Gordon Johnson in Florida. He was trained as an engineer working on transport ships. He was then sent to Ogden where Aunt Sally and Uncle Howard Lund set him up with young Margie Shirley. He had one date with her before going overseas. Stay tuned for more on the life and times of the Shirley Tribe.
formation. He said the plane was nicknamed "Whistling Death" because of the sound it made when flying. He worked on the plane from the wings back, installing the two booms and the tail section.When Pearl Harbor was bombed he went down to sign up in the Navy and the lines were very long. They told him they would make him 2nd Class and he would work on an aircraft carrier because he knew about working on planes. He told them he wanted 1st class and they
told him the offer they had made was good, but Dad turned it down. They wrote back later to see if he had changed his mind and he wrote back and told them they should change theirs.He heard that the Army Air Corp was looking for pilots, so he and Uncle Otto went to Pocatello to apply. Otto was 10 lbs. too heavy, so he was rejected and Dad was accepted, but they told him to go home until another school could be opened. After several months, Otto went in to reapply, was accepted, and while there he was given the place of someone who had dropped out. Dad inquired and was told they were discontinuing the schools, so he was given an honorable discharge for six months service without ever serving.
He went from there to Catalina and signed up with an attachment to the Army that trained people to work as engineers onboard ship. He went to Florida and graduated, then
was stationed in New Orleans living in a second floor apartment on Burbon Street because there were no other facilities for servicemen. He said that after a short time they moved out because the night life was too noisy.The Army was short of transport ships, so they were stationed there for months doing nothing except reporting once a day. He was making $500 a month while the enlisted men were getting $50 to $75. "Believe it or not I got tired of doing nothing."
He then heard he could get a commission in the Army as a 2nd Lieutenant, so he went to Camp Gordon Johnson in Florida. He was trained as an engineer working on transport ships. He was then sent to Ogden where Aunt Sally and Uncle Howard Lund set him up with young Margie Shirley. He had one date with her before going overseas. Stay tuned for more on the life and times of the Shirley Tribe.
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