A LOOK BACK AT WORLD
WAR II AIR CADET
TRAINING IN SOUTH
CENTRAL FLORIDA
Presented at Jewish Family &
Children’s Service (JFCS)
by
Tod Roberts, Editor
October 21, 2009
How the Book Came About
• Will Largent attended Arcadia FL Memorial Day
service in remembrance of aviation cadets in 1990
• Will had flown as a crew member aboard bombers
which were sometimes escorted by British fighters
• He interviewed numerous cadets, instructors, and
others associated with the training bases in Arcadia
and Clewiston and began his manuscript in 1991
• After Will passed away in 1998, I worked on
completing the book and finding a publisher
• The book was published by Purdue University Press
in October 2000
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Will Largent’s Service in WW II
•
Radioman/gunner (Technical
Sergeant) in 320th Bomb Group flying
Martin Marauder B-26 serving in North
Africa, Italy, and France
•
Shot down 13 Aug 1944 while on
mission to bomb Nazi gun positions
near Toulon, France
•
Initially helped by French Resistance
fighters but later turned over to
Germans because of severe wounds
sustained while landing in rugged
Alpine terrain
Will Largent in US Army Air
Corps flight equipment
Ollioulles Gorge
as seen today (very
different when Will
parachuted near
there 65 years ago)
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Will’s WW II Service (continued)
•
Held as POW in Aix-en-Provence Nazi medical unit
commanded by German Admiral (Dr.) Karl Eyerich;
Admiral Eyerich was the chief medical officer of
the German naval base in Marseille
•
Received surrender of Admiral Eyerich on 26 Aug
1944 as Allied troops advanced (the Admiral feared
for hostile treatment of himself and his German
subordinates at the hands of French partisans)
•
As part of the official surrender, Admiral Eyerich
presented his ceremonial officer’s dagger to Will
•
This is likely one of the few instances in all of
World War II in which an Allied non-commissioned
officer received the surrender of a high-ranking
enemy military commander
•
Actual dagger is today in Crile Archives and Center
for History Education at Cuyahoga Community
College, a facility dedicated to U.S. WW II
prisoners of war who were treated at the Crile
Hospital (which later evolved into the worldrenowned Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio)
Typical ceremonial dagger
carried as part of formal uniform
of WW II German Navy
(Kriegsmarine) officers
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Content of the Book
• Historical background on U.S. involvement with British flight training
(Lend-Lease Program) and on Arcadia and Clewiston as sites for flight
training
• No. 5 BFTS in Clewiston began 23 Aug 1941; it was one of six British
Flying Training Schools in the U.S. (other locations included Mesa AZ;
Lancaster CA; Miami OK; Ponca City OK; and Terrell TX); training in
Arcadia FL was set up through the Arnold Scheme (not RAF)
• The book contains profiles of 19 cadets, several flight instructors, and
civilian support staff; more than 1400 cadets became pilots through
the program from 1941 to 1945
• Each 20-week course included 10 weeks of primary training (usually in
the Stearman PT-17 biplane) and 10 weeks of advanced in the
Harvard AT-6 monoplane
• Affectionate and often humorous accounts about the everyday lives of
cadets and U.S. civilians, along with sad tales of those who did not
return from war
• As a long-time journalist, Will understood how to tell an entertaining
story
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Reception of the Book
• Cadets and their families embraced the project from the
beginning -- many remain in touch with me today
• RAF and other veterans’ groups helped publicize the book
• Local recognition was provided through the Sarasota HeraldTribune, Venice Gondolier, Florida Aviation Historical Society,
local libraries, and historians
• Mark Baker, a PBS producer at WPBT in Miami, used the book
as a resource in his documentary “The Flying Days of Riddle
Field,” a video that was well received by PBS viewers around
the U.S. a few years ago (this program is now available online)
• The book’s printing is now sold out, but copies may still be
available from www.amazon.com and similar sources
• One can also download the book as an electronic file from the
Purdue University library web site
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Everyday Cadet Life in 1941-45
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Everyday Life (continued)
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Everyday Life (continued)
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Everyday Life (continued)
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The High Price of War
• From 1939 to 1945, almost 71,000 RAF fliers were killed or
reported missing in action; most of these (48,000) were
bomber crews; 8,400 bomber aircrew were killed in accidents
• In the Battle of Britain (Aug. 13 to Oct. 31, 1940), an
estimated 915 to 1,017 aircraft were lost by RAF Fighter
Command and around 118 by Bomber Command
• However, Nazi Germany suffered its first major loss since
mounting the Blitzkrieg against Poland in 1939
• Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s famous quote sums up the
bravery and sacrifice of the young RAF crews:
“Never in the field of human conflict was
so much owed by so many to so few.”
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Local Sites of Interest
•
In the British Plot of Oak Ridge
Cemetery in Arcadia (about 50
miles from Sarasota, and the site of
the Carlstrom Field air cadet
school) lie the remains of 23 cadets
who died from illness or accident
while in training; here also is the
grave of John Paul Riddle (19011989), a pioneer in aviation history
•
The Arcadia Rotary Club hosts an
annual Memorial Day ceremony at
the Plot, often attended by
relatives of the RAF cadets from
the British Isles and elsewhere
•
My family planted an oak tree in
memory of Will near the British
Plot at this cemetery in 1998
RAF Wings Over Florida • 21 Oct 2009 • Slide 11 of 13
Local Sites (continued)
•
The Municipal Museum in Clewiston FL
(southern end of Lake Okeechobee, about
130 miles from Sarasota) contains several
artifacts, photos, publications, and
memorabilia associated with the 5BFTS
(Number Five British Flying Training
School)
•
This was the site of Riddle Field, but
almost no physical reminder of that
facility remains today
•
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in
Daytona Beach (http://www.erau.edu/)
carries on the tradition of founder John
Paul Riddle, who is buried with the
cadets at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Arcadia
RAF Wings Over Florida • 21 Oct 2009 • Slide 12 of 13
Additional Information
•
MY PERSONAL WEB PAGE ON RAF WINGS
http://home.comcast.net/~thorsdag/WINGS.html
•
LINK FOR DOWNLOADING RAF WINGS FROM PURDUE UNIV LIBRARY
http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1010&context=press_
ebooks
•
NY HERALD-TRIBUNE ARTICLE ABOUT WILL’S POW ADVENTURES
http://home.comcast.net/~thorsdag/aug_1944_article.html
•
CLEWISTON MUSEUM
http://www.clewistonmuseum.org/
•
UNIV. OF FLORIDA PHOTOS OF 5BFTS AT CLEWISTON
http://ufdc.ufl.edu/?s=clew&m=hrbh&t=british+flight
•
THE FLYING DAYS OF RIDDLE FIELD (PBS video; now available online)
http://www.channel2.org/riddlefield/program.html
•
RAF MUSEUM WEB PAGE IN ENGLAND
http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/
•
MY EMAIL ADDRESS (please write if you’d like more information)
thorsdag@comcast.net
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