Born September 12, 1921 in a small town of Westmoreland, TN. As a son of a small town general store merchant, I enjoyed all the fun and joy of a semi-rural life until the age of 12 when I moved to Detroit , MI to live with an older sister and her husband. In the depth of the Great Depression, I helped the "new" family by doing all types of household tasks in payment for the privilege of gaining an education.

I graduated from Mackenzie High School, Detroit, MI in June 1940. I worked as a carpenter during the summer of 1940, and enrolled at Middle Tennessee State College in Murfreesboro in the fall of 1940. I had finished one year when Pearl Harbor intervened. I then volunteered for the then Army Air Corps, now U. S. Air Force. I moved through the Aviation Cadet program as a bombardier, Class of 43-F, Big Spring, TX where I met Capt. W. C. Sullivan, who was later to become my airplane Commander. At the time, I was a bombing instructor at Big Spring, TX. I served my entire overseas tour as a member of the same crew.

After discharge in April of 1946, I returned to Detroit to work briefly at my old job. I enrolled at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville at the College of Business. Majoring in Air Transportation, with a minor in Journalism. I graduated in June of 1949 with a B. S. in Business Administration.

I went to work with Delta Airlines as a traffic trainee on September 12, 1949 (birthday). I retired from Delta July 1, 1985 after 35 years and 9 months of service as a District Marketing Manager, having served in progressive capacities in Atlanta, Birmingham, Shreveport LA, Cincinnati, Charleston, SC and Orlando, FL. In Orlando, I set up Marketing Office in April 1959, preceding Disney World, Sea World and Universal. Delta introduced the first commercial jet service to Orlando in April 1961.

In June 1953 I married Marilyn Pfaehler of Summerville, S.C. Marilyn is a retired nurse. I have now been retired for 15 years in Winter Park, FL and am enjoying two grandsons, ages 13 and 10.

Experience as a member of Crew 15, 60th Squadron, 39th Group, was one of warm and fond memories. These men were a great group, who loved, respected and supported each other, which added immensely to the success of our mission during WWII.