World War II Veteran
Paul Banner

Interviewed by:

Charlotte Goldberg and Jessica Roberts

"Help your buddy, get him over the wall! ... it was a very nice feeling that
you were part of a group."
~ Paul Banner

Paul Banner's Story:

World War II drastically changed Paul Banner's life. He became a drafted soldier and trained as an Army meteorologist for nine months in an Army school in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was separated from his new bride Marian and became a seasick passenger on a crowded Liberty Ship for thirty two days through the Suez Canal to Africa, where he was stationed in Egypt and Libya. He worked in the African desert as a weather forecasting officer from 1943 to 1946. On the Air Force Base, built by the U.S. Army outside of Cairo, Egypt, he had to sign the clearance for every plane that took off. The base operated 24 hours a day as part of a whole airline route that was ferrying troops and equipment through Africa and India to the China-Burma Theater. He was on duty at the airbase for 12 hours on and 24 hours off. He often didn't know what time of day it was. He worked very long hours under difficult conditions, but found some time to travel throughout Northern Africa too, which started his life-long interest in African art.