The Big One - WWII

Arthur L. Manning Jr.

Now maybe we can go home. Well not too fast now there is a lot of cleaning up on this island yet. They found things for us to do, but the pressure was off and we did have lots of free time. John Bond our radar operator, Paul Angelo and I took a jeep and went down to the far end of the island just to relax and get away for a few hours. We came back that evening to another great surprise, Pappy and the rest of the crew flew our plane back to the states to Washington D.C., where they delivered some classified package to the Pentagon. They picked Pappy because he had more time in and had flown more missions than anybody else in our squadron. They tried to find us, but finally had to leave without us. A real sad day, we spent ninety more days there before we headed home. I am sure now, as I look back, that the hand of God was at work again. He held me there for a good reason. He held me there to meet His time schedule. I finally arrived back where I started in Fort Meade, not far from home. Here I was issued a new uniform from the skin out, which I really didn't need or want. I went to a couple of debriefings designed to fit me for civilian life again. I received all my back pay and a visit to the Chaplain's office followed by receiving my "Honorable Discharge." As I said earlier I broke my engagement and now was free to decide what sort of work to get into. My father was off into a few independent ventures and I helped him for awhile. But I wanted to be on my own so I finally took a job with the Army's Baltimore Signal Depot, refurbishing huge gun laying radar's, coming back from overseas. This was the same radar I worked on with Westinghouse before I went in the service and I had been to airborne radar school during my B-29 training, so I qualified for the job. I got out of the Air Force in February of 1946 and worked for the Baltimore Signal Depot until March of 1952. It was at that time the Air Force decided to form a Research and Development Command. One of the requirements was that this new facility be located near the Washington D.C. area and near the Pentagon. They chose a group of buildings in downtown Baltimore that coincidentally had just been vacated. Also, just coincidentally, the Army, at this time, decided to move the Baltimore Signal Depot to the mountains of Pennsylvania. I did not want to leave the Baltimore area so I applied for a job with the newly forming Air Research and Development Command. (ARDC) I was immediately accepted. I remained with ARDC (Which later had a name change to, Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) until I retired On June 30th 1973, my 50th birthday. To continue reading about Auts' military career, click Retirement here, or in the frame on the left.