An airman from northern Wisconsin describes his experiences during World War Two.

Phillips, Thomas Michael, 1918-. Papers, 1937-1945, 1998 (selections).

Tom Phillips, who was born and raised on a farm in Richmond Township, St. Croix County, not only wrote letters home from front but also supplemented them with a memoir written after the war. His military service began when he joined the Air Transport Command, and during the war he regularly flew routes to Africa and Asia. The first three excerpts digitized here describe communicating via amateur radio station, his reactions to world events, learning to fly, living conditions in flight cadet school, his daily routine, studies, and how civilians treat cadets. The second three letters given here describe getting his personal affairs in order before a flight to West Africa and China, his frustrations at having to leave the woman with whom he has just fallen in love, transcontinental flight details, and living conditions in India. Additional papers (described here) exist in paper form in the Wisconsin Historical Society Archives. These documents are made available online through a partnership between the Wisconsin Historical Society and Wisconsin Public Television.

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