On Veterans Day, I always think of my beautiful, young, handsome Uncle Frank Ebner, whom I never met in person, yet I feel I know intimately. Why? Because I have nearly 300 letters written to and from him from January 1943 to the end of September 1945. Then the letters stopped coming home.
On Veterans Day, I always think of my beautiful, young, handsome Uncle Frank Ebner, whom I never met in person, yet I feel I know intimately. Why? Because I have nearly 300 letters written to and from him from January 1943 to the end of September 1945. Then the letters stopped coming home.
This Memorial Day, I'm remembering two relatives who each served in one of the 20th century's two world wars.
Frank Gartz's classification has come through on 1/4/1944. He's been assigned to be a be a navigator. Stephen Ambrose in his book, "The Wild Blue," about B-24 airmen, states: "After mental and physical exams, the men who passed were asked to list a preference: pilot, navigator, or bombardier. Those who put down pilot—a vast majority—figured you needed a top score to quality, but in fact, the AAF [Army Air Force] took its navigators from those who scored best."
Lt. Frank Ebner Gartz DOB 1924 This Memorial Day, I’m remembering two relatives who each served in one of the two world wars. World War II My dad’s younger brother, Frank Ebner Gartz, was a navigator in the [...]