Another lost WWII Hero

[davparlr]

Sadness in our household. My dear father-in-law passed away at 92. He was another one of those WW2 vets that are quickly leaving us. While he was not a fighter pilot or a gunner, he was one of those unsung heroes that did his part. He was a maintenance man in the 8th AF repairing B-17 engines. He met a Leicester lass and married her and took her off to middle Oklahoma, where he became a maintenance crew chief for T-38s at Vance AFB. He would often greet me when I was unbuckling from a flight. You can pretty well figure a guy is going to treat his girlfriend right when her father is your maintenance man! He did tell me once that he first started out in bomber gunnery school but at the school they asked for people to volunteer for flight mechanic school which he did. He said, IIRC, he and one other person in that gunnery class of 30 were the only ones to survive the war.

 

[Airframes]

Sorry to hear of your loss. It's sad to see this generation slipping away - may he rest in peace.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

 

[Njaco]

So sorry for your loss.

 

[Vassili Zaitzev]

 

[J dog]

 

[Marcel]

Glad he made it to 92. But sorry for your loss. Rip

 

[VBF-13]

Sadness in our household. My dear father-in-law passed away at 92. He was another one of those WW2 vets that are quickly leaving us. While he was not a fighter pilot or a gunner, he was one of those unsung heroes that did his part. He was a maintenance man in the 8th AF repairing B-17 engines. He met a Leicester lass and married her and took her off to middle Oklahoma, where he became a maintenance crew chief for T-38s at Vance AFB. He would often greet me when I was unbuckling from a flight. You can pretty well figure a guy is going to treat his girlfriend right when her father is your maintenance man! He did tell me once that he first started out in bomber gunnery school but at the school they asked for people to volunteer for flight mechanic school which he did. He said, IIRC, he and one other person in that gunnery class of 30 were the only ones to survive the war.

I'm sorry, buddy. I lost my father this year, as well. He was 89, and my best friend. My username is his Hellcat squadron.

 

[RabidAlien]

My condolences on your loss, and my prayers for you and your family.

 

[GrauGeist]

There are no WWII combat vets in my family now...the only combat vet remaining is my Stepdad (USMC - Korea), gone with them are the family friends who were WWII vets that I grew up around

So my Condolences to you and your family.

Rest in peace, Chief!

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Please accept my condolences.

 

[B-17engineer]

 

[vikingBerserker]

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Sorry for your loss my friend.



I thank him for his service as well.

 

[Wayne Little]

Condolences...

 

[A4K]

With all. The groundies are always the unsung heroes, but a pilot wouldn't touch the sky without them... many seem to forget that.

My condolences to you and your family, and my thanks to him and his colleagues for their largely unthanked effort.

 

[treyzx10r]

Sincere condolences

 

[Gnomey]

 

[bobbysocks]

my deepest sympathies to you and your family. those mechanics were the backbone of the air force. they would labor through the cold nights to get the planes preped and ready for the mission the next day. then they would sit anxiously and wait for her to return. the pilots had a of respect for armorers, mechanics and crew chiefs....

 

[rochie]

my condolences to you and your family