By Faithlyn Graham, WV News
WEST UNION, W.Va. — On Oct. 8, Doddridge County native and World War II veteran Jim Hall turned 103 years old.
For his birthday, Hall received cards from kids in local Early Learning Programs, friends, family, and even a letter from the 457th Bomb Group Association, which included photos of the three bomber planes Hall piloted during the war.
Before the war, Hall was a college student with two years of education under his belt when the draft loomed.
“I wasn’t interested in trench warfare,” he said. “And the Navy didn’t sound much better — if they sank the ship, you were going to drown.”
Hall enlisted in the Army Air Corps, qualifying for a special aviation program that required at least two years of college. After completing pilot training, he found himself behind the controls of a B-17 Flying Fortress — the massive, four-engine bomber that became an icon of the Allied effort.
By the time he was 21, Hall was a lieutenant and lead pilot stationed about 60 miles north of London with the 8th Air Force.