Downey World War II veteran Natick Veterans Oral History Project YouTube sharing
Channel: natvets1
Date: 2012-06-23

Growing up in Natick, Mass., during the Depression, Joseph Downey was unable to get meaningful work after high school graduation. He was a laborer at Lookout Farm until he decided to enter the military. Training to be a pilot, he was stationed in California, Florida, England, Scotland and France. After a severe accident, he became a Radar Observer with the 425th Night Fighter Squadron, partnering with an RAF pilot. He speaks of the horrors of trying to intercept buzz bombs over London prior to D-Day. After the war, he joined the Air Force Reserve and was sent to Korea.