Photo submitted to Times Observer Frank Tittio, left of banner in white shirt, was among four Honor Flight veterans from Warren County who traveled to Washington, DC, recently.

“It isn’t much of a story,” he said humbly.

Tittio was 17 years old when he enlisted in an aviation training program in Erie.

“I took a test and got sworn in,” he said.

Once they had enough people in the program, Tittio was given several choices. He chose to stay in the U.S. Air Force.

Frank Tittio

“I wasn’t crazy about the possibility of being in the infantry,” he said. “I’m not good at dodging bullets.”

It was June 1945 when Tittio finished basic training.

“I just finished about the time the war ended,” he said.

In May of 1945, Germany surrendered to the Allies. In August, the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, followed by another drop on Nagasaki a few days later. World War II officially ended on Sept. 2, 1945, when Japan surrendered to U.S. Gen. Douglass MacArthur and the Allies.

So instead of heading overseas, Tittio ended up in Alaska. He was part of a rescue squad and attended a special school for B-29 Bomber mechanics. He recalls painting a yellow stripe around the rescue plane. He also recalls the long stretches of summer sunlight.

Emil Bundy, Paul Hannold, Kenneth Sorensen, and Frank Tittio traveled to Washington, DC, recently as part of an Honor Flight trip. For information on attending the next Honor Flight trip, contact Misty Weber at webermd@wcsdpa.org and (814) 723-0574, extension 1315.

The amount of sunlight in Alaska depends on where you are, but it’s a long day in a lot of places. Just north of Fairbanks, the day is 24 hours long. In Fairbanks, there are nearly 22 hours of daylight, about 19.5 hours in Anchorage and 18.2 hours in Juneau.

Tittio was discharged in Dec. 1946. He describes his time as “interesting.”

“But like a lot of guys say, I wouldn’t want to do it again,” he said.

Emil Bundy, Paul Hannold, Kenneth Sorensen, and Frank Tittio traveled to Washington, DC, recently as part of an Honor Flight trip. For information on attending the next Honor Flight trip, contact Misty Weber at webermd@wcsdpa.org and (814) 723-0574, extension 1315.