Bob Barker one of many who earned wings at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi during WWII

In the 1944 cadet yearbook, Slipstream, rows of newly commissioned ensigns are pictured who received their wings on Dec. 6. Of the 180, one would later become the most recognized celebrity of all the radio and television game show hosts—Bob Barker. Who among us does not recognize the face and sound of his voice? When I was putting together an oral history of Naval Air Station Corpus Christi during World War II, I knew I had to include Bob Barker.

The oral history project, commissioned by the U.S. Department of Defense, turned out to be one of the highlights of my career. Although the contract called for 50 interviews of men and women connected to the station during the war years, I made a point of searching for every aviator, sailor, WAVE, and civilian who could be reached. The project eventually included German POWs who were transferred to NAS late in the war.

Eleanor Mortensen at the Caller-Times helped considerably by having notices published, which were always followed by dozens of phone calls to my office at Del Mar College. There were eventually some 200 participants, both local and through mailings.

One thing I learned was the importance of having contacts. When I complained to one of my aviators, Joe Jessel, that I had received no response from U.S. Sen. John Glenn’s office, Joe picked up his phone and to my amazement began conversing with Congressman Solomon Ortiz in Washington. Ortiz had just left a Foreign Relations meeting that included Sen. Glenn. Not long afterward I was conducting a phone interview, with the senator telling me about his flying PBYs from Main Station during the war. No such luck however when I tried to contact former President George H. W. Bush, even with the help of one of his aviator buddies, Joe O’Brien.

But when I wrote to Bob Barker at his Hollywood address, there was a prompt response from a member of his staff. Bob would be delighted to be interviewed by phone. It turned out to be one of my most memorable interviews, with Bob sharing many personal anecdotes of his aviator training at Corpus Christi, how he survived the “purge” and when he became severely sunburned during free time and a WAVE administered first aid and saved his naval career! Bob was proud to have been a naval aviator.

In 2016 there was a commemoration of the 75^th anniversary of the dedication of the Naval Air Station and Captain Steve Banta who was then commander of the station arranged for Barker to come for the special occasion. Unfortunately, Bob became ill and had to cancel.

When I was engaged in the oral history project, my son Chris was attending Del Mar College and helping me record interviews. On one especially busy day I had finished interviewing Willie Moeller at North Beach and was headed to Ayers to see Jim Preis at his furniture store. Out of the blue, Chris suddenly commented, “Dad, these men we are seeing are different. They are gentlemen.” How right he was.

Thank you, Bob Barker, and all the other men and women who serve and have served our country so well.    

Norman C. Delaney Ph.D. is a retired history professor.

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Bob Barker earned wings at NAS Corpus Christi during WWII