Interviewed by:

Abby Bausch and Taylor Saffer

"Well, when people made statements about things that are happening and they're true, that's fine. But when you get people making statements about things they know nothing about, that's not good; and you're going to get hurt."

~ Dave Eagles (7:50)

Dave Eagles' Story:

At age eighteen Dave Eagles, a local farm boy was drafted into the U.S Air Corps. He entered the Air Corps as a tail gunner in July 1943 and earned the respective rank as a Staff Sergeant. He flew in thirty five missions and experienced many life threatening events. During his time of service, he lost his trust in people and learned how to cope with life in critical situations. The only person he trusted, was himself. When we asked Dave what he was fighting for, there was no answer. He made it quite obvious that all of the fighting and warfare was good for nothing and resulted in nothing but dead people and mass destruction. Dave wished all of the fighting could have been avoided.

In his time of service, Dave made one very close friend. Sadly, his friend was shot down in a B-24 while Dave listened to him the whole way down. This upset him immensely. "Sometimes it's the most simple mission" was Dave's response when we asked him about the hardest missions he flew in. When we asked Dave about the food and meals at his base, he smiled and laughed. He talked about it as if it was a five-course meal, and was satisfied with very little. Orange juice was the biggest thing to get and coffee if they had it. Everyone would always try and put something sweet on their meals, such as syrup. While on the plane, they would sometimes receive little boxes of cereal. They would just rip them open and eat them as fast as they could. Eating was one of Dave's favorite things to do in the war.

Being raised on a farm, and being drafted into the war, was not an easy task. Dave had never thought he would spend the most important years of his life in battle. Especially fighting for something so unsubstantial. While Dave was serving his country, confusion was the darkest and scariest part for him and the soldiers in his squad. If they received a wrong order they could be in great danger, and if they misinterpreted an order soldiers could be hurt in an instant. Dave along with his squad witnessed disturbing scenes and suffered long nights. All to keep our county safe.