Janis Kozlowski: Now, tell me who were your commanding officers when you were in Alaska. Robert Buchanan: You mean of the squadron? Janis Kozlowski: Yes. Robert Buchanan: Joseph Eastman was the Commanding Officer. The Ex

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Robert Buchanan: Matter of fact, I would … in the morning before we’d take off, I mean, it was our job – the mech’s job – to get in the plane and start the plane up and run the engines, check the engines out, c

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Janis Kozlowski: So did you enlist or were you drafted? Robert Buchanan: I enlisted. As a matter of fact I had a deferment because at that time apprentices that were machinists and electricians were … they were deferre

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Janis Kozlowski: So did you become interested in aviation when you were a young kid? Robert Buchanan: Well, I might have been interested but getting into aviation in the Navy was kind of a [laughing], just kind of a mist

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Robert Buchanan: I remember one time we almost ran into a Japanese plane in the fog. Janis Kozlowski: What happened there? Robert Buchanan: Pardon? Janis Kozlowski: What happened there? Robert Buchanan: Well, we were goi

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• Cinema of the United States
• Airplane!
• Films
• Comedy

Interview with Robert Buchanan Aleutian World War II National Historic Area Oral History Project October 9, 2008, Barberton, Ohio Interviewed and transcribed by Janis Kozlowski, National Park Service, Anchorage, Alaska

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Robert Buchanan: Now, I know when we came back a psychiatrist interviewed us -- when we came back. Janis Kozlowski: Back to Whidbey you mean? Robert Buchanan: Back to the States. We went back into Seattle. And I only kno

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• United States
• Naval Air Station Whidbey Island
• Whidbey Island
• Washington

Janis Kozlowski: It sounded like you flew quite a bit even in bad weather. Robert Buchanan: Oh we, the PBYs flew when nothing else would fly. We would … we flew more than the rest of the squadrons or any of the rest of

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• Aviation
• Aircraft
• Aerial firefighting
• Amphibious aircraft
• Consolidated PBY Catalina

Robert Buchanan Transcript Summary, October, 2008 Robert Buchanan Transcript Summary [0:00:00] Growing up in Barberton, Ohio; location of family members [0:01:00] Acquiring an interest in aviation; mistakenly signing up

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• Aviation
• Aleutian Islands Campaign
• Aircraft
• Eleventh Air Force
• Aerial firefighting
• Amphibious aircraft
• Consolidated PBY Catalina

Janis Kozlowski: So, can you tell me where you grew up? Robert Buchanan: In Barberton, Ohio. Janis Kozlowski: The same place that you …? Robert Buchanan: The same place I live. I’ve lived here 86 years. Janis Kozlows

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