Born: Dec 15, 1921, Metamora IL. Class of 1939, Benson High School, Benson IL. Enlisted in Army Air Corps June 1, 1942. Silver Wings Awarded November 3, 1943; Class 43-J, Foster Field TX. Assigned 31st Fighter Sqd, Panama. Initial member of the 2nd Air Commando Group, 2nd Fighter Sqd, Cox's Bazaar, Burma. Flew over 75 combat missions throughout Burma and Thailand in support of British ground operations. Flew as #2 during P-51 Fighter Sweep of Don Maung Airfield, Bangkok. Longest fighter sweep of WWII, 780 miles and nearly 7 hours of flight time. Founding member of 169th Fighter Sqd, ANG, Peoria, IL. Retired as Captain with American Airlines on the DC-10. Career from 1953 to 1981. Nomad Travel Club Captain on flights to Central and South America, and Africa. Aircraft flown: PT-19; BT-13; AT-6; P-40; P-39, P-51A-H; P-80; F-84F; Convair 240, 990; DC-3, 6, 7, 10; BAC-111; Boeing 727, 707. Over 1500 hours in P-51; Total flight time over 22,500 hours.