Aviation

Interview with Don Sole about his childhood, his experience in the Army Air Corps during World War II, and later career working his way up in Ford dealerships. He came to Kansas City as a result of his father's work in the garment industry, and worked in aircraft manufacture before enlisting. He discusses his training, his experience guarding Japanese internment camps in California, and his experience as a flight engineer as a civilian and later as part of the Air Corps. He also describes supply flights that would take him to locations including Brazil, West Africa, and India, and shares a Life magazine photo spread about the journey; as well as discussing his family and genealogy research.

Interview with Elizabeth Cipolla about her experience as "Lizzie" the Riveter, building B-25s at the Fairfax plant during World War II, and her husband and other family members' service in Europe during the war. She also discusses making skirts and curtains out of fabric from sugar bags, civil defense practices, rationing, war bonds, and other aspects of life on the homefront, as well growing up in the Northeast area of Kansas City before the war, and her family life after, including a period of time when her husband was hospitalized with what would likely later be understood as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Interview with Harry Brown about his family, childhood, and education in Kansas City, Missouri, working for the William Volker Company, and later being joining the civilian war effort by working for North American Aviation and Technicraft assembling and inspecting aircraft and aircraft components at their Fairfax Airport facilities. Mechanical aspects of the job and test flights are discussed in detail. He also discusses his day-to-day life as an adult, his rejection from the draft, and the 1951 Flood.

Interview with Mary White about her experience as a "Rosie the Riveter" during World War II. She discusses growing up in rural northwestern Missouri, and coming to Kansas City at age 18 to work at the North American Aviation plant building B25 Bombers as part of the war effort. She later worked for a top secret project for Aireon Manufacturing, which she later suspected was an early radar system. She recalls rationing and shortages, people lost in the war, meeting troop trains and going to USO events; and also recounts the story of finally getting to see a complete B25 in 2012, and learning that it was one she worked on. She also discusses working for Sears and other companies after the war, her family, and life in retirement, as well as her thoughts on whether the level of patriotism reached in the WWII era will ever be reached again.

Interviews with 14 individuals conducted at a 2006 reunion of former employees of North American Aviation, Inc. - Kansas (NAAK). Interviewees worked in various capacities, including as Rosie the Riveters, as artists, and assembling B-25s and P-80s. They discuss their jobs as well as their personal lives, accidents at the plant and in test flights, and memories of World War II.