29 Jan Santa Ana Army Air Base

At Santa Ana Army Air Base in uniform!

Santa Ana Army Air Base (SAAAB) was a huge classification and preflight center on the west coast where new Aviation Cadets were indoctrinated into military life.  They were given rigorous medical exams and numerous aptitude and physical tests to determine whether they were best suited to be pilots, navigators or bombardiers. Once their classifications had been chosen they entered 9 weeks of preflight training. Courses included military training, physical training, and academic instruction in such subjects as maps and charts, mathematics, Morse code, military courtesy and customs, military hygiene, naval and aircraft identification, organization of the ground forces, physics, and safeguarding military information. From SAAAB, they would then go on to other bases for further training in their specialties.  Herman arrived at Santa Ana, which is located near Newport Beach, at about June or July of 1942.

I once again interviewed Lt. Col Monroe F. “Buddy” Stamps, who was at Santa Ana in 1944, two years after Herman.  In 1942, it was necessary to have a 4 year college degree in order to qualify.  By 1944, when Buddy was there, because they needed the airmen so badly they sent him to a civilian college for 5 months of study … heavy on physics and math.

At Santa Ana, part of their preflight training was small arms indoctrination.  Buddy remembers that they spent a day at the beach doing target practice with every type of firearm imaginable.  They had to “fire for record,” and make a minimum score to qualify or else start over again.  Each of them was issued a 45 automatic sidearm.

That same day on the beach, they took an aquatic survival course when they went into the ocean, took off their pants and made flotation devices out of them.

Herman at Santa Ana in “zoot suit”

Buddy said that at Santa Ana, they had open bay barracks with double-decker beds, about 50 guys to a room.  There was a shower room (perhaps 12 shower heads) and a commode room (again, 12) so there were plenty of lines.   They would pay someone $15 to take them to Balboa (beach and island several miles away.)  At the USO where you could get a meal, play pool, or write letters.  Occasionally a local family would invite one of the cadets to a home cooked meal.

The actual booklet “Aviation Cadet Regulations for Santa Ana Army Airbase” can be found at www.aafcollection.info.  (Click on View Items tab.)  Although this booklet was published in 1943, it would most certainly describe Herman’s experiences there the year before.

The photo of Herman just above: “Preparation for Evacuation … Zoot suit, gas mask and gun … ready and donned. Come what may. SAAAB July 1942.”

In his interview during the 1970’s Herman remembered that he initially wanted to be a bombardier, but the tests indicated that he was a good pilot prospect.  “This was in the early part of the war when they needed pilots like mad over in Europe so they were taking everybody they could in the pilot programs.  They sent me south of San Francisco for pilot training, s0 to Sequoia Field I went.”

Update September 2012: Santa Ana Army Air Base is now the site of the OC Fair (Orange County.) At their fair this year a video titled “Salute to Heroes” played each night at The Hangar. I’m proud that Herman’s photo at Santa Ana was used near the beginning. Check it out!

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