 He graduated from the Bombardier School at Kirtland Field (now Kirtland Air Force Base), Albuquerque, New Mexico in class WFTC 43-13 on September 11, 1943 and proudly received his Bombardier Wings and a commission as a Second Lieutenant.While in Albuquerque, he met a girl named Mildred Garcia who was at the University of New Mexico in a special program to train schoolteachers.He was assigned to the 491st Bomb Group (Heavy) which was equipped with the Consolidated B-24.