Earl Williams was born in March 1919 in Martins Ferry, Ohio. He spent the first 20 years of his life there along with his parents and older brother. His parents had owned a large dairy and when it was taken over by another dairy they opened a convenience store. He and his brother worked in the store after school. He remembers it as a very popular store that provided many goods and services, in particular for holiday events. Both he and his brother were Eagle Scouts and as the Great Depression was still taking place, he also worked at a local bakery to earn more money. Once he graduated high school, he began working there full-time. Eventually he received a letter from the Army Air Corps offering him training as a mechanic if he enlisted. He had an uncle in the Air Corps who he visited on occasion, during which his uncle showed him the aircraft he worked on, like the B-1 and B-2 [Annotator's Note: unsure which aircraft Williams is referring to]. Williams also frequented the local airport and often took rides in a small Bianca aircraft and a Ford Tri-motor, so he became interested in aviation. Since the Great Depression was still affecting the economy and none of the local industries were doing very well, he decided to enlist in the Air Corps, doing so on 23 September 1939. As he had been promised, he was sent first to boot camp and then to aircraft mechanic's school; both of these at March Air Force Base in Riverside, California. Once he completed training, he was assigned to the 38th Reconnaissance Squadron. Once in the squadron, he obtained a second-class and first-class air mechanic's rating, both of which significantly increased his monthly pay. He worked on several different types of aircraft [Annotator's Note: Interviewee does not specify which]. Eventually, the B-17-A Flying Fortress [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] was assigned to the squadron. He recalls the B-17-A as very prone to break-downs and "in pretty bad shape." These aircraft were replaced by the B-17-B model, after which the squadron was sent to Albuquerque Air Base, New Mexico, at which point Williams was assigned as an assistant crew chief for the plane. The squadron was informed that they may be sent to the Philippine Islands as the military was beginning to posture for a potential conflict in the Pacific. In the meantime, the aircraft were modified with the addition of armor plate behind the pilot and copilot seats and in the radio compartment. Eventually, the squadron was sent to the Philippines, but first went to Hamilton Air Force Base, California, arriving on the evening of 6 December 1941.

Earl Williams was a B-17 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] assistant crew chief flying with his squadron [Annotator's Note: 38th Reconnaissance Squadron] from California to Hawaii on the evening of 6 December 1941. He was in the second plane to leave, behind the squadron commander, Major Truman Landon. The aircraft at the time were unarmed; it was anticipated that they would be equipped with additional guns and ammunition once they reached Hawaii. He recounts that their aircraft was lighter than Landon's, so at one point they actually passed it. They arrived in the vicinity of Hawaii on the morning of 7 December 1941 and flew over Diamond Head on the east side of the island of Oahu. One of the crew had been on a previous ferry flight to Hawaii and was pointing out various landmarks and points of interest when Williams saw a group of three fighter aircraft pass beneath his aircraft, heading east. The crew assumed they were U. S. Navy aircraft and it wasn't until they heard and saw gunfire striking their plane that they realized they were Japanese. The plane took considerable damage and a supply of flares in the radio compartment was ignited by the Japanese gunfire. The pilot immediately began to land the airplane and was able to do so; the aircraft broke apart on the ground at the radio compartment. [Annotator's Note: The photograph of this aircraft on the ramp is one of the most iconic of the attack on Pearl Harbor. While Williams doesn't specify, the airplane landed at Hickam Field.] Most of the crew had been wounded; Williams and two others began to make their way to the base hospital. They crossed the base parade ground, where makeshift gun positions were being set up. Once at the hospital, it was determined that their wounds were minor and there had been direction to get any and all aircrew to the airfield, so after their wounds were treated they began to work their way back to the flight line. As they did, Williams saw Japanese aircraft bombing the nearby barracks. Once he was back at the flight line, he saw an armory in one of the hangars, from which he was issued a variety of equipment including a helmet, gas mask, and a carbine. He found the radio operator from his crew and they were commandeered by a captain from the signal corps to help run wire for communications between the gun positions. They were looking for the rest of their crew, but were unable to locate any of them throughout the afternoon and evening. They spent the night in the makeshift command post that had been established on the base commander's residence patio. They were able to locate the officers from their crew the following morning.

After surviving a B-17 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] flight that arrived in Hawaii on the morning of 7 December 1941 and what occurred the remainder of that day, Earl Williams spent the next two weeks with his crew as they reformed and received a new airplane. Following that, until early February 1942, they flew almost daily reconnaissance missions out of Hawaii. That February, they became part of a newly formed U. S. Navy task force that was being established out of Rabaul [Annotator's Note: located in Papua, New Guinea, on the island of New Britain]. One of three crews assigned to the task force, his crew began its transit to Rabaul, which due to aircraft range limitations required island-hopping from Hawaii to Palmyra Island to Fiji. On the leg into Fiji, two of the plane's engine fuel pumps failed and they were delayed in Fiji while they effected repairs. By the time the plane was able to fly again, the Japanese had taken Rabaul so they flew first to New Caledonia and then on to Townsville, Australia. There, the Royal Australian Air Force provided them logistics support as the U. S. Army Air Forces had no facilities established. He describes taking part in one of the first offensive missions against the Japanese on 23 February 1942. The plan called for 12 B-17s, the entire force present in Australia, to fly from Townsville, attack Rabaul, and return to Port Moresby [Annotator's Note: Port Moresby, Papua, New Guinea]. Due to a variety of incidents, only six of the 12 were able to fly the mission. As the planes flew to the target area, they encountered a severe storm over which they could not fly, so they were forced to fly through it. This storm broke up the formation, resulting in his plane bombing the port immediately after the previous group, so air defenses were alerted. He survived the mission and began a cycle where his plane would re-position for a week from Townsville to Port Moresby and fly 12-hour reconnaissance missions against several Japanese bases [Annotator's Note: interviewee does not specify which]. After a week, they would be relieved by another crew and return to Townsville. This cycle repeated until November, 1942, when he was chosen to be part of a group of experienced personnel to be sent back to the United States to help prepare newly formed units for combat. Flying first to Hawaii, he was then sent to Pocatello, Idaho.

Having returned to the United States to become part of a cadre of experienced personnel who were tasked with preparing new Army Air Force units for combat, Earl Williams first reported to Pocatello, Idaho. [Annotator's Note: Williams was an assistant crew chief on Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers.] After a week there, he was sent to Texas where, because of his experience and military occupational specialty, he was selected to be commissioned as a second lieutenant. Following his promotion, he reported to Dyersburg, Tennessee where he was assigned as the engineering officer for a maintenance squadron. He had responsibility for 12 aircraft and some 80 personnel; the squadron's mission was to conduct combat crew training. After about six months in this position, he was put in charge of a sub-depot where large-scale aircraft maintenance was conducted. There, he was responsible for 326 civilians and 85 airmen. He proved very adept in this position and was able to clear a backlog of aircraft maintenance. He remained in this position until the war was winding down, when he closed down this facility and was sent to close down another facility in Gulfport, Mississippi. Subsequently, he was put in charge of a 14-boat sea rescue detachment in Ocean Springs, Mississippi for approximately two months. Following this assignment, he went to B-29 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber] maintenance school in Chanute, Illinois before reporting to MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. When he arrived, the Air Force was in the process of discharging excess officers due to the postwar drawdown. Since he was one of only two officers with a maintenance specialty, instead of discharge he was offered command of an air base maintenance unit, which he declined. His expertise was in aircraft maintenance and this assignment had to do with building and facilities upkeep, in which he had no interest. He was sent overseas, first to Japan, where he recounts a humorous story about his berthing arrangements on the transport ship. After the ship made a brief stop in Japan, he went to the Philippines where he was assigned as the Aircraft Distribution Officer for the Far East Air Material Command.

After the end of World War 2, Earl Williams was assigned as the Aircraft Distribution Officer for the Far East Air Material Command. Initially based in the Philippines, he was soon relocated to Japan, where his duties included being the officer accountable for all aircraft in theater. In his case, Williams recalls the number as 5,536 aircraft total. Williams was assigned a converted commercial oil tanker named the Tom Trainer, and used this vessel to ferry and distribute aircraft throughout the Pacific. He was also responsible for the disposition of those aircraft that the Air Force felt to be in excess, which he recounts as being most of the tactical aircraft in the inventory at that time. Many of these aircraft, including brand-new aircraft only recently offloaded from cargo ships, were outright destroyed and others were offered for sale to other governments via the State Department Foreign Liquidation Commission. He describes the process by which 285 B-25 Mitchell bombers [Annotator's Note: North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber] were disposed of in the Philippines by first towing them into a large canyon, then covering them with jellied gasoline, and incinerating them. For those aircraft offered for sale, he details certain types of airplanes and how they were sold off at very low cost. He has several other examples of disposal efforts, to include dumping 75 P-47 Thunderbolts [Annotator's Note: Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft] off of a cliff in Guam. He remained in this assignment for three years and found it very satisfying since he knew exactly what was expected of him and was able to accomplish the headquarters-directed aircraft drawdown. At the conclusion of this tour, he rotated back to Castle Air Force Base, California.

Earl Williams returned from overseas where he had been in charge of aircraft disposition for the Pacific area. Assigned to Castle Air Force Base, California, he was responsible for aircraft maintenance for an entire wing of B-50 Superfortress bombers. [Annotator's Note: The Boeing B-50 Superfortress very heavy bomber was an updated version of the B-29 SUperfortress very heavy bomber.] As the Cold War was intensifying, he and his personnel were deployed along with squadrons to England where his work entailed keeping these nuclear-capable strategic bombers ready for any contingency. Following this assignment he was sent to Headquarters, 15th Air Force [Annotator's Note: located at March Air Force Base, California], where he was the officer in charge of an aircraft unit comprised of numerous types including the B-29, B-36 [Annotator's Note: Convair B-36 Peacemaker strategic bomber], and B-47 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-47 Stratojet strategic bomber]. After two years there, he was sent to the Air Command and Staff College in Birmingham, Alabama, followed by an overseas assignment to Spain. There, he was part of the 17th Air Force and participated in the establishment of Torrejon Air Base outside of Madrid, Spain. At the conclusion of this tour, he requested assignment to the emerging missile arm of the Air Force. His request was granted and he began this phase of his career in Rapid City, Iowa, where he was chief of maintenance for Titan I missiles. He was subsequently assigned as Chief of Missile Systems at Headquarters, 15th Air Force, with responsibility for several missile systems including the Atlas and Titan II. He concluded his 30-year career as a wing vice-commander at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, retiring on 1 October 1969. Following his retirement, he traveled extensively and began his affiliation in politics, specifically organizing Riverside, California phone banks for the Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush campaigns. He returned to college using the G.I. Bill and completed his degree in political science at the University of California, Riverside. After the death of his first wife, he later met his second wife and partnered with her on a local business venture. He reflects on his World War 2 experience, specifically the events of 7 December 1941, when he was on the crew of a B-17 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] that arrived in Hawaii in the midst of the Japanese attack.

Earl Williams reflects on his World War 2 experiences during and after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He recalls the chaos, confusion and uncertainty at Hickam Air Force Base in the hours immediately following the attack and he comments on the few times that he was able to go to Pearl Harbor and see firsthand the destruction. He describes the situation later in Australia where his crew would often fly with Royal Australian Air Force enlisted crewmen in normally officer-held positions including copilot, navigator, and bombardier. As part of this discussion, he mentions for the first time that he was actually not a rated combat aircrew member and was not receiving any flight pay. His situation came about because in the days following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was given rudimentary training on the .50 caliber machine gun and appointed as a crew member. He also discusses that had it not been for a blown tire on another B-17 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber], he may have taken part in the effort to evacuate General Douglas MacArthur from the Philippines. All told, he has a very positive view of his entire military career. It offered him tremendous opportunities he would not have had outside the military, and on balance the good times outweighed the bad.