The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dean Stephens. Stephens was born in Red Oak, Oklahoma. After finishing two years of college he attempted to join the Coast Guard but was rejected. He went to work at Emerson Electric, a defense plant that made gun turrets for bombers. He was drafted 15 January 1943 and went to Wichita Falls, Texas for basic training. After basic, he was sent to weather observer school at Chanute Field, Illinois. After ten months of training he went to Perrin Field in Sherman, Texas. On 15 July 1943 he went aboard the USS Hermitage (AP-54) bound for Bombay. After arriving at Karachi, he volunteered to go to Burma. He was then sent to Pushkar, India where he helped build a weather station. After five months he flew to Mangkuan, China in an L-5 aircraft. After a three day trek by foot, he arrived at a camp where he joined a team of nine others comprising the Signal Air Warning group. Their job was to pass weather conditions every six hours to a collection point that drew area weather maps. Stephens recalls leeches being a constant problem and being accidentally burned …

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dean Stephens. Stephens was born in Red Oak, Oklahoma. After finishing two years of college he attempted to join the Coast Guard but was rejected. He went to work at Emerson Electric, a defense plant that made gun turrets for bombers. He was drafted 15 January 1943 and went to Wichita Falls, Texas for basic training. After basic, he was sent to weather observer school at Chanute Field, Illinois. After ten months of training he went to Perrin Field in Sherman, Texas. On 15 July 1943 he went aboard the USS Hermitage (AP-54) bound for Bombay. After arriving at Karachi, he volunteered to go to Burma. He was then sent to Pushkar, India where he helped build a weather station. After five months he flew to Mangkuan, China in an L-5 aircraft. After a three day trek by foot, he arrived at a camp where he joined a team of nine others comprising the Signal Air Warning group. Their job was to pass weather conditions every six hours to a collection point that drew area weather maps. Stephens recalls leeches being a constant problem and being accidentally burned …