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A young aviator departs from Santa Barbara, bound for San
Francisco and a ship that will take him to war in the Pacific.
Young soldiers departing in 1944 had a tough road ahead of them—some
of the worst battles of the war were yet to come and there seemed
to be no end to the fighting in sight—but they held their
heads high as they bid their families farewell.
In the rush to transport troops to the Pacific via the West
Coast, passenger trains such as the Southern Pacific “Daylight”
locomotives were repurposed, and many a soldier found himself
kissing his loved ones goodbye as a “Daylight” steam
train pulled into the station. |