Musikoff, Harold

Harold Musikoff was born in Akron, Ohio on July 31, 1924. His father immigrated from Odessa (Russia), and his mother was from Hungary. At age 3 Harold moved from Akron to Brooklyn, and that is where he spent his childhood – and that is where the family was when the 1929 Crash occurred. His father was still working when others were not, so the family got by. Harold attended Public School #66 and a 2-year pre high school tech program in Brooklyn, and he graduated from Brooklyn Tech at age 18 in 1942. He was with his friends on December 7, 1941 and heard the news about Pearl Harbor on the radio. Harold registered for the draft at age 18, when he already had a cousin in the US Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Program, so Harold did the same.  He wanted to be a pilot at first, or a navigator or bombardier. His flight training class in Syracuse was #44G, followed by a transfer to Nashville for classification. He graduated in July 1944 and was transferred to Montgomery and then Americus, Georgia where Harold received primary aircraft training on a Steerman. As a 2nd Lieutenant Harold received his B-17F training in Sioux City, Denver and Las Vegas. From there, Harold flew his B-17 to England, and at Rattlesden he was assigned to the 447th Bomb Group, 5th Squadron, 8th Air Force, and that is where Harold began his combat missions – 24 in total. That 24th mission was over Dresden, and his aircraft was hit by flak, taking out the #3 engine. Harold was wounded, and his co-pilot was killed, and the navigator and bombardier and a gunner were seriously wounded, later dying of their injuries. Harold was in the hospital for recovery for one month, after which he went home for a furlough. He received physical and psychological therapy in Manhattan at that time. It was decided that he was “fit for duty”, and he was sent to Clovis, N.M. for B-29 training, followed by a deployment to Guam. As a result of the atomic bomb, the war came to an end, and there were no further missions. Harold was soon on his way home, where he was discharged from service in February 1946. On the GI Bill he attended Brooklyn Poly Tech and earned a degree in Electrical Engineering (BSEE). He met his wife in 1950, and they married in 1952. One daughter was born in 1954, and another in 1957, and son Mark was born in 1963. Harold was employed with NY Telephone for 37 years. He was interviewed by Crestwood students over zoom in September 2025.