and retired after 31 years as a Lt.Col. For his service in WWII he received the Distinguished Flying Cross, and a Purple Heart. At his funeral, (even with restricted air space) 4 F-16's flew over in a missing man formation. A General/Friend had to get special permission from a 4Star to make it happen.

At the age of 21 he was a Major and a Squadron Commander in the Army Air Corp, and flew 56 missions in the Pacific. On his first mission 3/12 planes did not make it back. He thought he was a dead man. He once flew back from a mission with half a wing missing. He knew hundreds of guys that were killed, and he said after a while, you just kind of go numb.

Despite all of the adventure, you had to pry a good story out of him. One day my mom called and asked if I cold come over for and spend the day. It was the 50th anniversary of his commission, and he wanted to talk to me about his war stories. We got out the microphones and recorded him. Now that he has passed, I love to pull out the tapes and listen to him in the car telling stories. What a treasure these tapes are.