As a member of the 404th Bomber Squadron Bill was taught to fly B-24 aircraft in Texas.

The group's destination was to be the Aleutian Islands, but because the government feared information of the campaign falling into the wrong hands the rumored destination of the group-in-training was North Africa. The group was even issued summer clothing, the officers receiving "pinks" - pink uniforms meant to blend in with North Africa's desert. The 404th's planes were painted with pink and tan desert camouflage, and upon reaching their true destination, the icy Aleutian chain, the group garnered the name - The Pink Elephants.

A patch was designed for the group which depicted a flying pink elephant with machine-gun tusks, and wearing goggles.

The 404th, however didn't account for all the pink elephants spotted on the island. Alcohol was a common companion found among the men in the icy terrain. Bill mentions the pupularity of liquor in one of his letters home: "Liquor is the main request, and I have a hunch that some of the transport pilot[s] just about double their earnings running in whiskey" (March 5, 1944).

As common as alcoholism were depression and boredom. The weather was less than hospitable, and the lack of supplies made for a constant reminder that they were far from home: "Got steel cots to replace the canvas and wood ones we had been using. It'll feel good to have a set of springs again. No matresses as yet, but I'll suppose they'll be along in time" (March 28, 1944). "Still no shower facilities. I'm beginning to smell rather bad. Performing abolutions in a wash basin has its disadvantages. So far my best friends haven't said anything, but I expect them to bring up the delicate subject one of these days" (February 27, 1944). Despite the lack of amenities the men were creative in their boredom. Bill began to build things. In each letter sent home some new item reared its head. He began with a basic desk. Next came the desk's drawers, and later, a telephone holder, a pipe holder, and a lamp stand. Eventually the conditions demanded he build a typewriter stand to keep his typewriter off the floor. "I think I told you of water being under the hut, didn't I? Well, we got an evening of wet snow and as a result I woke up in the morning with shoes floating around in three inches of water. Luckily I didn't have anything but shoes and my typewriter where the water could get to them" (February 27, 1944).

Another trend in the Aleutians was the adoption of dogs. It was a great gift to have the use of a dog for even a short time. "For company, men brought a vast number of pet dogs to the Aleutians. Colonel Eareckson's pilots flew a solitary little tree down to Umnak, a gift for the use of the Colonel's pet sled dog, Skootch. They planted it inside a wooden fence, and put up a sign, 'Umnak's National Forest.' It was the only tree in the Aleutians" (Garfield 157). Bill's own letters were often occupied with the antics of Rebel, the dog he and some of his buddies ahd managed to adopt and share. "Ollie was fixing some wiring outside his hut today and laid down his glove for a minute. Rebel dashes up and runs away with it. Ollie started chasing the dog, but as Rebel can't distinguish swearing from shouting of any nature, he thought it all a big game. Ollie got quite a bit of exercise before... Rebel foundered into a snowdrift so deep he couldn't run, and Ollie couldn't help but chatch him" (February 20, 1944).

Certainly dogs provided a bit of vivacity to the gloom of the Aleutians but nothing could make up for the loss of family. Everyone was anxious to get home. Macnab, and intelligence officer, and friend to Bill, definately had reason to feel so. "Macnab... [h]e's a fime man, but very anxious to get back to his home. He has a little boy he's never seen, and about every week he makes the rounds of the huts showing new snapshots. When he came up, he thought he'd only have to stay a year, but they've got him pegged for two now, which irritates him no end" (February 25, 1944).