On 8 January 1945, most of the ground crew personnel were troop-trained to Fort Lawton, Seattle, Washington for the boat trip to Guam. A few selected ground personnel remained behind with the aircrews because they would fly with them as passengers to Guam. They arrived at Fort Lawton on 11 January 1945. The trip was a lengthy one - 31 days with a six-hour stop in Honolulu. The ship zigged and zagged continuously and most everyone was seasick for the first five or six days. The ship docked at Agana, Guam, on 18 February 1945, ground personnel were trucked to their bivouac area - a location adjacent to what became North Field. There they immediately set to work assembling quonset huts and building plywood structures that would become orderly rooms, day rooms, barracks etc. They ingeniously rigged barrels with electric motors and agitators for use as washing machines. It was a "Rube Goldberg" creation but it worked until better equipment arrived from stateside. In the meantime, the Navy Sea-Bees were busy building runways, taxi-strips and aprons on North Field in preparation for the arrival of the air echelon.

The ship docked at Agana, Guam, on 18 February 1945, ground personnel were trucked to their bivouac area - a location adjacent to what became North Field. There they immediately set to work assembling quonset huts and building plywood structures that would become orderly rooms, day rooms, barracks etc. They ingeniously rigged barrels with electric motors and agitators for use as washing machines. It was a "Rube Goldberg" creation but it worked until better equipment arrived from stateside. In the meantime, the Navy Sea-Bees were busy building runways, taxi-strips and aprons on North Field in preparation for the arrival of the air echelon.

Soon after the airfield was complete, the air echelon of the 39th Group arrived and daily training missions were conducted in preparation for the aerial assault on Japan.

Ciucci was assigned to Aircraft P-31, commanded by 1st Lt. Henry Snow. The ground crews worked well together and were competent in the repair of all types of mechanical problems. The ground crew consisted of S/Sgt Jeffery Caron of Maine, Crew Chief, and fellow mechanics Sgt Norman Brug of Buffalo, NY, Sgt Joseph Hanna of Rhode Island, Sgt Jerome Jacobs of Pennsylvania, Sgt Allen Neidhart of Indiana, and Pete Ciucci of Pennsylvania. Pete specialized in the electrical repairs of P-31. It was not unusual for the ground crew to work continuously from the time a mission ended to when the next one went out - perhaps 24 to 36 hours later without rest - in order to have the aircraft ready for the next mission. The ground crew would sleep while the air crew was in the air and vice versa. Sometimes when the mission was long enough, some of the ground crew would have enough time to go down the island to the Sea-Bee's galley for a good meal. The Sea Bees were always willing to share their great food even though their guests were not Navy.

This was the life of the P-31 ground crew from February 1945 until the hostilities ceased in August of that year.

Discharge was based on a points system and inasmuch as Pete Ciucci was low point man he had to stay an additional six months.

From August 1945 until February 1946, Pete was assigned to a variety of tasks. With a background as aircraft electrician, his talents were utilized putting together electric lines underground throughout the area. He had a detail of four Japanese prisoners that had been brought from Rota, to dig the trenches and refill them as the cable was laid. These prisoners would tell how they endured the endless bombing that Rota received. Many bore the scars of shrapnel and glad the war had ended.

Later when the 39th Bomb Group was deactivated and Pete was assigned to the 19th Group where he accumulated enough points to by February of 1946 to be sent home and discharged. He, and a group of others, were loaded aboard an LST and sent north to Saipan - only a short distance from Guam. They were packed aboard the USS Olmsted and shipped to Oakland, CA - a matter of 13 days.

After a few days in Oakland for processing, the men were sent to their respective separation centers. Pete's route home took him through Los Angels and Tinker Air Force Base to Fort Dix, New Jersey, where he was discharged on 10 March 1946.

A funny thing happened to Pete while he was at Fort Dix. After processing one day, he decided to get off base for a few hours. So he donned "Class A's," and took a cap into Trenton. There he looked up an old Guam buddy, Dan D' Angelo's telephone number to arrange a quick visit. He hailed the first yellow cab. Guess who was driving it? None other than his friend Danny! Pete accompanied him back to his home where Dan's mother cooked them both a delicious Italian meal - the first Pete had had in long time. After a night on the town in which they hit all nightspots, Danny took Pete back to Fort Dix in time for reveille. What a night! It would be Ciucci's last in the military: the following day he rejoined civilian ranks.