James A. McDivitt oral history (Doug Ward)

29 June 1999 12-1
ORAL HISTORY TRANSCRIPT
JAMES A. MCDIVITT
INTERVIEWED BY DOUG WARD
ELK LAKE, MICHIGAN – 29 JUNE 1999
WARD: This is our oral history interview with Jim McDivitt, June 29, 1999. Jim, starting
back early on, you interrupted your college career early to join the Air Force at the time of
the Korean War, then came back to college, pursued it with a real purpose. Do you think that
your career would have progressed the same if you’d done it the standard way? Started with
college and gone all the way through, and then into the military?
MCDIVITT: Well, I don’t really know. I did it that way because I didn’t have any money!
When I got out of high school, I worked for a year before I even went to junior college. I
went to junior college while I got a scholarship to Michigan State, I didn’t have enough
money to go there. So, I had to go back to work. And since the Korean War started on
Sunday and I started my job on Monday, and I was 20 years old, that was—I was prime bait
for the draft. And so, I was going to get drafted right away. And, I don’t know. It just
turned out perfect for me. So, I might add that, you know, that I went into the Air Force—I’d
never been in an airplane. Never been off the ground. I’d already joined the Air Force, was
in the Air Force, was accepted for pilot training before I had my first ride. So, fortunately I
liked it!
WARD: What was your flying career involved with primarily at that time?
MCDIVITT: Well, when I finished up flying school I went to—the Korean War was on, I
went to gunnery school; and over in Korea I flew F-86s. Flew 145 combat missions. I flew