David Oreck - Early Life

Early Life

David Oreck was born close to Duluth, Minnesota and attended the University of Minnesota Duluth. When Oreck was young, his father took him on a flight in a Ford Trimotor, and on the ice of Lake Superior, they landed the aircraft on skis; the experience proved so exciting to Oreck that he has been obsessed with planes and the mechanics of engines and electronics ever since. In his desire to ferry airplanes to Europe, Oreck began his flight training in the Civilian Pilot Training program in North Dakota before the U.S. entered World War II. Shortly after Pearl Harbor was attacked, Oreck joined the United States Army Air Forces and served as a certified pilot, navigator, and bombardier in the Pacific Theater for over two years. He participated in bombing missions over Japan in what were then considered state-of-the-art B-29s.