Patriot Stories from the United States Air Force

GEORGE C. CARRUTHERS

GEORGE C. CARRUTHERS

Dec 1, 2012 | ,

George Carruthers was born in Dallas, Texas in 1923. His family moved to Tyler shortly after the Stock Market “Crash” in 1929, at the beginning of the Great Depression, and George attended Public Schools there. Before December 7, 1941, as a freshman at Tyler Junior College, he had joined the Civilian Pilot Training Program flying Piper Cub aircraft. When America entered WWII, he volunteered for the aviation cadet program and was called to active duty in June 1942. Expecting to enter pilot training, George was extremely disappointed when he was assigned to bombardier and aerial gunnery courses. After completing training, Second Lieutenant Carruthers was assigned to Colonel...

WILLIAM J. (Bill) DALLAS

Jul 1, 2012 | ,

William J. Dallas was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma in 1922. He was called into active duty in 1940 and then transferred to the Army Air Corps in 1942. He went through flight training and after receiving his wings as an Army Aviator Bill was assigned to the 303rd Bomb Group (Heavy). The 303rd Group flew B-17 “flying fortress” bombers and it was one of the early arriving bombardment groups sent to England and assigned to the 8th Air Force. On March 26, 1944, the 303rd Bomb Group sent 20 aircraft on a bombing mission over occupied France. That was the 128th combat mission for the group; they were to attack an Operation “Crossbow” target, that being a special missile launching site...

DAVID L. PENNINGTON

Dec 1, 2011 | ,

David L. Pennington was born in Dodge City, Kansas in 1947. He grew up on a farm about mid-way between there and Meade, Kansas and attended public schools in Meade. After his third year in high school the family moved to Dodge City and he graduated from Dodge City High School with the Class of 1965. He had taken a year’s training in Auto Mechanics in high school and decided that’s what he wanted to do. So, he completed the course with another year in Vocational Training School. However, before he could get started in an auto mechanics career, the war in Vietnam was requiring increasing manpower and David received his draft notice. He reported for the draft and was far along...

ARNOLD E. (ANDY) KAUFFMAN

ARNOLD E. (ANDY) KAUFFMAN

Aug 1, 2011 | ,

Arnold E. Kauffman was born in New York City in 1922. He grew up in Yonkers and joined the New York National Guard in early 1941. After several months in the Guard, he volunteered for service in the Army Air Corps and on August 21, 1942, he entered active duty. He went through a succession of training courses including the Airplane Mechanics School at Amarillo Army Air Field in Texas, the B-17 Specialist School in Seattle, Washington and Aerial Gunnery School at Wendover, Utah. In 1943 he completed training on the Heavy Bomber, B-17, “Flying Fortress.” A new heavy bombardment group, the 457th, was activated in July 1943 and Andy was assigned to it. He joined a flight crew of...

HAROLD W. (BUFF) RADEMACHER

Jul 1, 2011 | ,

Harold W. Rademacher was born in Salem, South Dakota in 1930. He doesn’t know how it started, but at an early age his family began calling him “Buff” and that nickname has stuck all the way through school, his Air Force career, and retirement, right up to the present day. After graduation from High School, Buff went away to Eagle Grove, Iowa to attend Junior College. He went to Eagle Grove primarily because he had an Uncle who was the Superintendent there, so he had a place to stay with family while going to school. The Korean War broke out (June 1950) while he was a student there. While waiting in anticipation of being drafted, Buff went down to the local recruiting office...

JAMES LOGAN (JIM) BROWN

Dec 1, 2009 | ,

James Logan Brown, a Charter Member who helped in creating Chapter 1919 is an Army Korean War veteran. He was a platoon leader in Company L, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, wounded during the defense of the Naktong River Line, in the early days of fighting to hold the Pusan Perimeter in the Summer of 1950. His wounds were severe, requiring medical evacuation to the United States. He was a career officer who originally hailed from Louisiana. He had later assignments in the 6th Infantry and 7th Infantry Regiments and with the Army Rangers, and is also a Vietnam veteran, having served there, 1965-1967. He had memorable experiences during his Cold War assignment in...

BERN BALLARD

BERN BALLARD

Sep 1, 2009 | ,

Bern Ballard was born near Inez, in Victoria County, Texas in 1920, one of six sons born to the family of a tenant farmer. Five of the six sons would survive to maturity and the five all served in WWII, with one being killed in action. His father had a serious chronic illness that was misdiagnosed and as a result, beginning when Bern was three years old, they moved frequently during his childhood years in unsuccessful attempts to find a favorable location for the father’s health. By 1927 they had farmed at Bethel (outside Ballinger) for two years, at Concho for a year and at Paint Rock for a year, before moving to Hext, in Menard County, where Bern started to school. The...

JAY T. KIMBROUGH

Apr 1, 2009 | ,

Jay T. Kimbrough was born in Dallas, Texas in 1947 and he grew up there, attending public schools in South Oak Cliff. Cloyde Pinson, Jr. was one of his friends throughout his Junior High and High School years and he was close to the Pinson family. Jay was in South Oak Cliff High School’s Class of 1966, but; he had accumulated enough credits to graduate by mid-term, so he left high school early and enlisted in the Marine Corps in January 1966. He was inducted into the service on February 23, 1966 and went through Boot Camp at San Diego, California. He was still only eighteen years old when he arrived in Vietnam in August 1966 and was assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 3rd...

SAMUEL E. (SAM) BAKER

SAMUEL E. (SAM) BAKER

Mar 1, 2009 | ,

Samuel Baker entered military service before WWII and served 35 years continuous active duty before his retirement in 1974. Although only wounded once, as a glider pilot in the D-Day invasion of Normandy, he was always a bit unconventional and something of a risk taker, especially in his younger days. Fortunately though, he was always lucky enough to walk away from some of his less than successful landings. The early part of his story is told in his own words, starting here. “It all started in September 1921 when I was born in the Sacramento County Hospital in Sacramento, California. I went to and graduated from the North Sacramento Grammar School in North Sacramento in 1934....

FEDERICO (FRED) REY

Feb 1, 2009 | ,

Federico Rey was born in Parral, Mexico (Chihuahua state) in 1947, the son of Jesus and Aurora Rey. Jesus was a naturalized U.S. citizen who had first come to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1942 for work as an auto mechanic, but then was drafted the next year. He served as an Anti Aircraft Artilleryman at Camp San Luis Obispo, California and, when discharged from the Army in August 1945 after WWII, he returned to Albuquerque where he worked for Continental Trailways as a diesel engine mechanic for many years. Fred’s mother brought him to Albuquerque when he was a year old and he grew up and went through public schools there; Coronado Elementary, Washington Junior High, and...

WILLIAM H. MAYS

Sep 1, 2008 | ,

William H. Mays was born in Round Rock, Texas in 1925. When he was about nine years old, his family moved to Austin where he continued to attend public schools until, at age 17, he enlisted for service during WWII. He was in his Junior year at L.C. Anderson High School (the old segregated L.C. Anderson High for Black-only students) when he dropped out, entering active duty in the Marine Corps in October 1943. He was sent to Monteford Point at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina where he was assigned to the 20th Marine Depot Company. Prior to WWII, there had never before been any Black troop units in the history of the Marine Corps; and William reported in just when large numbers of...

ROBERT L. COOK

ROBERT L. COOK

Mar 1, 2008 | ,

Robert L. Cook was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1919. He grew up there and graduated from William Penn High School in the Class of 1937. He then attended Gettysburg College, participating in the Army ROTC program, and was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant, Infantry, upon graduation in June 1941. Bob entered active duty on August 13, 1941 and was posted to 3rd Armored Division at Camp Polk, Louisiana for about six weeks, during all of which time the division was in the field engaged in “war game” maneuvers along the Texas and Louisiana borders. He was next sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky for several training courses in the Armored Forces School, following which he was assigned to...