Letters from Botts to parents, undated

Jack Botts was born on October 11, 1924 in Ludden, North Dakota. He entered the Army Air Force on June 4, 1943, upon graduation from high school. Until July of 1944, Botts was stationed at bases in Texas and Nebraska where he was transferred to Italy. On his missions, Botts bombed German controlled oil refineries and factories in Belgium, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Romania, France, Italy, and Poland. In January of 1945, Botts was sent back to the United States, where he served in Washington, Wisconsin, and Nevada before separating from the Army Air Force, at the rank of Technical Sergeant, October 17, 1945 in Great Falls, Montana. Botts, a journalism professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism, has also written two books, A Pocketful of Plums and Straight and Level. Straight and Level, a history of his time in Europe, uses the letters Botts wrote home during the war, providing accurate information on the life of a bomber pilot during World War II. These letters have been photocopied, and make up the majority of this collection. Also included is a detailed description of the missions Botts flew during 1944, also photocopied. Deposited by Jack Botts, Lincoln, Nebraska on February 12, 1997 (Acc. #97-2113).