Once the brothers found out they would not be riding horses, but that they would be caring for them, they both transferred into field artillery units. This gave them the opportunity for station assignments to Hawaii, and Paul soon found his way there. King followed a few months later as he was detained by the Folks at Fort McDowell because of his woodworking talents, and the Fort’s need for the goods that were produced by the base’s wood shop.
By March of 1938, both of the brothers were in Hawaii assigned to battery "F" 8th Field Artillery. It wasn’t long before King tired of the antiquated environment of his artillery unit, and finagled a transfer to the newly established and prestigious Army Air Corps where he was assigned to the 31st Bomb Squadron, 5th Bomb Group in August 1938. He transferred that same year to the 4th reconnaissance squadron with the 5th Bomb Group. King stayed just over two years in Hawaii, and during that time he became a lifeguard inspector, responsible for training a class of 22 cadets. King recalls that all 22 of his students graduated on his birthday, December 22, and that they celebrated the event with a fancy dinner at the base facilities. As part of this experience, King recalls attending, with all his students, a banquet put on in their honor at the cliff-side estate owned by Mr. Dole, of Dole Pineapple fame.
Another fortunate event of this tour of duty was King’s acceptance into bombardier training school. This stroke of good luck was facilitated by a clerical error wherein another military man by the name of R. E. Henderson inadvertently left the top of the “R” open making it look like a “K.” The result was that King (King Elisha Henderson) went to bombardier school, and Mr. “R” missed out. King made many friends during his two year stay in Hawaii, including a couple of aircraft mechanics named Oren Hutchens and John Copely, and was even able to negotiate a five day submarine excursion to Mid-Way through one of his contacts.
In May of 1940, through an early discharge program, King and Oren Hutchens soon found themselves at Angel Island in San Francisco. King was discharged in 1940 at Fort McDowell and found himself out of the military. Paul remained in Hawaii. King bummed around California with his friend Hutch, who had been discharged with him, until they got tired of picking cherries and decided that military life was not so bad. They both re-enlisted at Van Couver barracks in Van Couver Washington, and King soon found himself with the 402nd Quartermaster Corps, stationed at McClelland Air Force Base in Sacramento California.
In the meantime, King’s other friend, John Copely had completed his enlistment and also arrived back home near Grant’s Pass in Oregon. On their way back to McClelland AFB in Sacramento where they had been ordered to report, King and Hutch stopped to visit Copely and his family, including his wife Rhea who was the city clerk in the town of Grant’s Pass. King and Hutch busied themselves at their new duty station, and it was not long thereafter that Copely also reenlisted. Copely was assigned to ferry aircraft between Sacramento and San Diego, and lost his life when a plane he was riding in crashed into the Tehachapi mountains only months after his reenlistment. King and Hutch formed a close bond with Copely’s family at this time, and remained in touch with each other over the years. Hutch even married Copely’s widow, Rhea, and in later years, King made several visits to their home in Fresno, California.
Next: The Brothers In England
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