Friday's Faces From the Past: Military Memories - Dad in the Service, 1951-1955

Well, this picture isn't especially flattering (maybe it was taken just after he completed advanced survival training in the Nevada desert), but it was on Dad's WD AGO Form 66 (Officer's, Warrant Officer's, and Flight Officer's Qualification Record) from the Air Force. He gave me the original form to copy as well as some of his orders and leave papers.  Some were hard to read, because of all the abbreviations and acronyms, but here is a rough timeline of his key dates in the Air Force:

February 27, 1951 - preflight (air cadet) training at Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
March 31, 1951 - flight school at Columbus Air Force Base, Columbus, Mississippi
July 12-27, 1951 - 15 days of leave, home to 2093 Lunt Avenue in Chicago
August 12, 1951 - navigator training in Class 52-05N at Ellington Air Force Base, Houston, Texas (30 weeks worth)
December 1951 - granted Christmas leave, flies into O'Hare Reserve Station when all other Chicago airports are closed by snow
April 11, 1952 - commissioned as a Second Lieutenant at completion of navigator training and begins three years of active duty.
late April & early May, 1952 - visits home in Chicago en route to next assignment
May 14, 1952 - B-26 bombardment training, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia
July 11, 1952 - assigned to Night Intruder Crew #12 as navigator-bombardier with pilot Milton C. Royles and gunner William R. Peppers.
August 4, 1952 - crew sent to Stead Air Force Base near Reno, Nevada, for advanced survival training course (completed August 14), followed by Camp Stoneman near Pittsburg, California
early September, 1952 - meets with his brother Navy Lieutenant Commander Paul Robert "Bob" Pape, who is en route from Korea to the Pentagon, in San Francisco at the home of their mother's first cousin, Henrietta Gauer Strible and her husband Jack.
September 18, 1952 - sent to McClellan Air Force Base near Sacramento, California, to ferry a B-26 to Japan with Royles (via Hawaii and Guam).
October 9, 1952 - arrival at Tachikawa Airfield near Tokyo and assigned (along with Milt Royles) to the 17th Bomb Group (aka 17th Bomb Wing), 37th Bomb Squadron, and sent to K-1, the Pusan West Air Base, in Korea
sometime in late 1952 and/or early 1953 - flies 50th mission and receives Air Medal
March 3, 1953 - assigned to 3605th Observer (navigator) Training Wing at Ellington Air Force Base near Houston, Texas (thanks to Uncle Bob), as an instructor; flown to Itazuke Air Base in Fukuoka, Japan
March 7, 1953 - arrives at Travis Air Force Base, near Fairfield, California, and from there begins leave at home in Chicago until reporting to his next assignment
April 14, 1953 - reports at Ellington Air Force Base
September 12, 1953 - promoted to First Lieutenant
December 21, 1953 - 10 days of leave granted, flies home to Chicago with his fiancee, my mom
September 10, 1954 - 15 days of leave granted (for wedding and honeymoon!)
April 10, 1955 - released from active duty

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Wordless Wednesday: Dietz Kids, ABT 1959

Ron, Shelly, and Ruth

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Tombstone Tuesday Military Memories: Army Sergeant Major Tyson C. Nick, 1969-2012

Sergeant Major (Retired) Tyson Caley Nick, my second cousin once removed, was born in Houston, Texas, on January 7, 1969. Enlisting as an infantryman, he entered the United States Army on July 12, 1988. He attended One Station Unit Training at Fort Benning, Georgia. Upon completion, he was assigned to A Company, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, stationed at Hunter Army Airfield where he served as a Rifleman, Rifle Team Leader, and Anti-Tank Section Leader.

In October 1993, he was assigned to the Headquarters Company, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Georgia, where he served as Senior Reconnaissance Leader, Assistant TECON Team Sergeant, and Team leader. On May 26, 1998, he was assigned to the United States Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he served as Operator Team Member, Assistant Team Sergeant, Team Sergeant, Troop Sergeant Major, Squadron Operations Sergeant Major, and Special Activities Troop Sergeant Major. Sergeant Major Nick retired from the U.S. Army on August 31, 2012.

Sergeant Major Nick deployed to Panama in support of Operation Just Cause, to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iris Gold, to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and to Iraq in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn.

Sergeant Major Nick completed the following military courses: Basic Airborne School, Ranger Indoctrination Program, Fire Direction Center Course Indirect Fire Infantryman Course, Scout Swimmer Course, Ranger School, Special Forces Underwater Operations Course, Combat Diver Course, Jumpmaster Course, Special Forces Combat Diver Supervisor Course, Military Freefall and Jumpmaster Course, Air Transportation of Hazardous Materials Course, Naval Gunfire Course, Advanced Land Navigation Course, DoD High Risk Survival Course, Operator Training Course, Advanced Handgun Course, Off-Road Driving Course, Special Operations Targeting Course, Combat Tracking Course, Warrior Leader Course Advanced Leader Course, Senior Leader Course, and the Sergeants Major Academy.

Sergeant Major Nick's military awards and decorations include the following: Bronze Star Medal with Valor and one Silver Oak Leaf and two Oak Leaf Clusters, Defense Meritorious Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Joint Service Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal with Valor and two Oak Leaf Clusters, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Good Conduct Medal 7th Award, National Defense Service Medal with two Bronze Service Stars, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal with two Bronze Service Stars, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with three Bronze Service Stars, Iraqi Campaign Medal with one Silver Service Star and one Bronze Service Star, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary and Service Medals, Humanitarian Service Medal,  Officer Professional Development Ribbon with Numeral 4, Army Service Ribbon, NATO Medal, Saudi Arabia and Kuwaiti Liberation Medals, Presidential Unit Citation with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Joint Meritorious Unit Award with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Superior Unit Award, Ranger Tab, Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, Military Freefall Jumpmaster Badge with Bronze Service Star, Master Parachutist Badge with Bronze Service Star, Special Operations Diver Badge, and seven Overseas Service Bars.

Sergeant Major (Retired) Tyson C. Nick was killed in action while repelling an enemy attack in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, on December 5, 2012, as a private military contractor. He fell while attempting to save a downed soldier.  He is survived by his wife, two sons, a daughter, and his mother, who is my second cousin on the Guokas line, the granddaughter of Eva Louise Guokas Scott.

He was laid to rest with full military honors in section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on February 20, 2013.  The photo above came from an awesome mapping tool at the cemetery website.

Biographical sources:  http://www.usmountainranger.org/memorial/2013/TNick.html and https://www.ar-15.co/threads/81227-RIP-Seargant-Major-Nick.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Military Memories Monday: Memorial Day

Since World War II, 202 United States Air Force and Army Air Forces weather personnel and weather reconnaissance air crew have lost their lives serving in our nation's wars.  An additional 145 weather reconnaissance air crew have perished serving our nation during peacetime.  This 13-minute Memorial Day tribute video is in their honor:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/oum85js5ayfartq/Memorial%20Day%20Tribute.m4v

The video is a product of the project I was part of about six months ago, helping to locate a photograph of one of these gentlemen, Corporal Earl Emerson Jackson (1905-1943) of Athens and Dallas, Texas, as an adult.  The project was spearheaded by Chief Master Sergeant Craig M. Kirwin, Enlisted Functional Manager of the Weather Operations Division, Directorate of Operations, Headquarters Air Combat Command, United States Air Force.  He was kind enough to send me a link to the video.

I urge you to watch the whole video.  It made me cry, seeing the faces of so many young men who died too early.  It also inspired me to try to do some more research to find photos for some of those in the video for whom there aren't pictures.  

Here's a snip from the 3:27 mark in the video showing the photo I found of Earl Jackson:

I posted the story of my search for this photo in this blog about six months ago, followed the next day with Earl Jackson's life story.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Sentimental Sunday: Military Memories - Remembering for Memorial Day

I took a two-part story I wrote about six months ago for this blog, on Corporal Earl Emerson Jackson (1905-1943), an Army Air Forces weatherman who lost his life during World War II, and turned it into an article for Jackson's hometown newspaper, the Athens Daily Review, here in Texas.  It was published yesterday - on the front page of the first section!

Here is a link to the story:  http://www.athensreview.com/local/x611382745/Remembering-a-WWII-hero.  Thanks to editor Chad Wilson for publishing my piece!

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Friday's Faces From the Past: Fred Pape's Air Medal, ABT 1953 - Military Memories

My dad, Air Force 2nd Lieutenant Fred Pape. received the Air Medal for his service in Korea.

Here is some information about the Air Medal from the Air Force web site:

The Air Medal was established by Executive Order 9158 on May 11, 1942 and amended by Executive Order 9242 on Sept. 11, 1942.

Criteria
It is awarded to U.S. military and civilian personnel for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievements while participating in aerial flight ... Required achievement is less than that required for the Distinguished Flying Cross, but must be accomplished with distinction above and beyond that expected of professional airmen.  It is not awarded for peace time sustained operational activities and flights. ... 

Air Medal. Illustrated by Virginia Reyes of the Air Force News Agency.

This decoration is the same for all branches of the armed forces of the United States. The medal was designed by Walker K. Hancock, after an open competition, which also carried a cash award of $1,500 for the winning design. 

Medal Description
The medal is a bronze compass rose of sixteen points with a fleur-de-lis design on the top point. On the obverse, in the center, is an eagle, swooping downward (attacking) and clutching a lightning bolt in each talon. The reverse has a raised disk on the compass rose, left blank for the recipient's name and rank. 

Ribbon Description
The ribbon has a broad stripe of ultramarine blue in the center flanked on either side by a wide stripe of golden orange, and with a narrow stripe of ultramarine blue at the edge, the original colors of the Army Air Corps.

You'll note that Dad's wings are very shiny.  He told me that after his commissioning as an officer at Ellington Air Force Base in April 1952, he got his brass insignia chrome-plated in Houston for about $3-4, so he would never have to polish them again.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Wordless Wednesday: Bob & Lorrie Pape Family, ABT 1974

Clockwise from left:  Delores "Lorrie" Olker Pape (1929-2005), Paul Robert "Bob" Pape (1926-2008), with daughters Donna, Terrie, Bobbie, and Judy.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Military Memories Monday: Fred Pape's 50th Mission, Korea, ABT 1953

Navigator-bombardier First Lieutenant Fred Pape and pilot Captain Milton Royles on Fred's 50th mission in Korea, probably in early 1953.  Dad said he didn't do all 50 missions with Milt; sometimes he was out with other crews.  He said his first three rides as a navigator were "dollar rides."  The first time, he just observed another navigator.  The second time, he did the navigating, but under direct supervision of a trained navigator.  The third time, he once again did the navigating, and a trained navigator was on board, but not directly supervising him.  After that, Dad was on his own.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Sentimental Sunday: Military Memories: Dad As a Navigator-Bombardier, ABT 1953

My dad, 2nd Lieutenant F. H. Pape, served as a navigator-bombardier in the US Air Force in the Korean War.  This photo was probably taken in early 1953.

Dad said that the B-26s (which were really Douglas A-26 Invaders) flew at 7,000-8,000 feet.  They did not do any dive-bombing in Korea because the area was so mountainous, nor did they do any strafing.  The B-26 had a three-man crew.  The gunner rode next to the pilot and functioned as a co-pilot, watching the engine instruments while the pilot watched the piloting instruments.  Dad rode in the nose so he could see to bomb (although during take-offs and landings, he rode in a "tunnel" between the cockpit and nose).


© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Friday's Faces From the Past: Military Memories - Dad in San Francisco with his 1C1X, 1952

Jack and Henrietta Gauer Strible with my dad, Fred Pape, September 1952, San Francisco.

I've written before about my dad Fred Pape's meeting with his brother Bob in San Francisco, as Dad was heading out to Korea and Uncle Bob was returning from Korea to the Pentagon, in September 1952.

They met at the home of Dad's first cousin once removed, his mother's first cousin Henrietta Wilhelmina Gauer Strible (1898-1961), and her husband Jack (John Joseph Strible Jr., 1895-1963).  Henrietta was the daughter of Paulina Dienes Gauer (1865-1935), the sister of my great-grandmother Elizabeth Dienes Massmann, and Paulina's husband Johann Heronomus "John" Gauer (1865-1913), a successful dry goods merchant in Chicago, who was killed when the car he was riding in was hit by a train in Riverton, Illinois, near Springfield.  Gauer was on his way to nearby Buffalo to visit his mother-in-law, my great-great-grandmother Rachel Matheis Dienes, who was visiting her sister, Catherine Matheis Vennemann.

Henrietta was only 15 when her father died, the third of his five surviving children.  Henrietta and her widowed mother appear in a 1917 Bakersfield, California, city directory, living together at 400 I, and Henrietta works as a clerk.  Her older sister Amelia Gauer Castro also lived in the city.  Amelia's husband Albert Hamilton Castro was paralyzed after he fell from a load of hay in the summer of 1916, and Amelia had a young son (John A.) born in April 1916, so perhaps Henrietta and Pauline moved out west to help Amelia.

Albert died in September 1917, and by the 1920 Census, Pauline, Henrietta, her two younger siblings (John Henry Gauer and Cecilia Gauer), Amelia, and John Castro were all living in Chicago.  Henrietta and Pauline apparently liked it in California, though, because by 1922 they were back (according to their voter registrations), but this time in La Brea precinct in Los Angeles County.  Henrietta is working as a saleslady, and she and her mother live at 7512 Fountain Ave.

Sometime between 1922 and 1929, Henrietta married Jack, who was born in Maryland and brought up in Baltimore.  They may have met in California, as Jack appears on the 1920 Census living in Los Angeles with his older sister and brother-in-law, but by 1929, he and Henrietta are listed in the Baltimore city directory (and they are still there on the 1930 Census).

I could not find them on the 1940 Census, but I did find them in the 1945 San Francisco city directory, living at 2435 Union, where, based on comparisons with Google Map street views, they were still living when the photo above was taken.  Page 1199 of 1954 Polk's San Francisco City Directory says they were living in Apartment 204 at this address.

Later Henrietta and Jack moved to 2290 Francisco St. #304 in San Francisco, which is where they were living when Henrietta died on June 9, 1961.  Jack passed away at the same address almost two years later.  They are both buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, San Mateo County, California.  They had no children.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Wordless Wednesday: Dietz Kids, ABT 1961-2

My first cousins the Dietz kids - Regina, Ruth, Rochelle, Richard, and Ronald Jr., probably taken in late 1961 or early 1962.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Military Memories Monday: Dad and Milt "Outside Our Little Nest at K-1", ABT 1952

My dad, Second Lieutenant Fred Pape, and his pilot partner, Captain Milton Royles, outside their tent at the K-1, the Pusan West Air Base in South Korea (Their regular base, K-9 or Pusan East, was closed for rebuilding of a runway).  The back of the photograph is stamped "Kodacolor Print...Week of November 24, 1952," so the photo was taken sometime before that date.  Dad had been in Korea for just a couple months at that point.  Dad said they had the only tent with a red door, because Milt painted it that color.  If you look closely, you can see the words "Sans Nookee Teepee" also painted on the door.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Sentimental Sunday: Happy Mother's Day!

My sister Karen, Dad, Mom, and me, probably late 1958 or early 1959, probably in Houston, Texas.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Friday's Faces From The Past: Military Memories: Bud, Fred, and Bill, 1952

My dad, Fred Pape, home on leave sometime after April 1952, after Dad was commissioned upon his completion of navigator school at Ellington Air Force Base in Houston.  He is pictured with his brother-in-law, my uncle Frank James "Bud" Streff (a World War II vet), and family friend Bill Doyle (in the hat), who dad describes as a "good fisherman."

William James Doyle (born August 25, 1889) lived nearby (7333 N. Damen Avenue) and started Doyle Signs, Inc., in 1916, painting signs on the glass windows of businesses, according to my dad.

The photo was taken outside the Pape family home at 2093 West Lunt in Chicago.  The two little girls in front are my first cousins, Bud's oldest daughters Rosemary (on the right) and Marianne (on the left).

Everyone is a little blurry in this photo, so here is a better one of Dad taken on the same day:

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

(Not-So-) Wordless Wednesday: Military Memories: Dad at Ellington AFB, ABT 1952

My dad, Fred Pape, wrote the following on the back of this undated photograph, which he believes was taken between January and March of 1952:

"Taken in my eager beaver days on the sextant.  I was shooting from the porch of one of the other barracks in which I used to live."

I know this was taken at Ellington Air Force Base, Houston, Texas. Dad graduated from Navigator Training School there in April 1952.  Dad went back to Ellington after his Korean War service (September 1952 to April 1953) and was training other navigators there when he met my mom.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Military Memories Monday: Dad at Flight School, Columbus AFB, Mississippi, 1951

The picture shows my dad, Fred Pape, and another member of Squadron III, Bob Curley of New York, at flight school at Columbus Air Force Base (AFB) near Columbus, Mississippi, with some of the barracks in the background.

Columbus AFB began as an Army Air Field during World War II, but was deactivated at the end of that war.  "To handle increased pilot requirements for the Korean War, Air Training Command [ATC] activated Columbus AFB on 20 December [1950] to be used as a station for a contract flying school. To manage the base, ATC established the 3301st Training Squadron (Contract Flying) on 1 March 1951 . The contractor who provided pilot training was California Eastern Airways,"  according to a history of the base.

Dad must have been in one of the first classes there, because he has another picture of himself at the school dated June 21, 1951.

Some idea of what life was like in flight school at this time can be found in chapter 6 of the book Unforgotten Hero  by Jim Escalle.  Dad, raised in Illinois, remembers having greens of some type - collard, turnip, mustard, dandelion - with nearly every meal.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Sentimental Sunday: Lorrie Pape and Daughters, ABT 1963

My aunt, Dolores Frances (Lorrie) Olker Pape (1929-2005) and her daughters Donna, Terrie, Judy, and Bobbie, probably about 1963, probably taken the same day as a similar picture with Uncle Bob.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

Friday's Faces From the Past: Military Memories - Service in My Family

I'm celebrating my military ancestors during the month of May 2014, Military Memories Month, here are photos of some of my ancestors and relatives who have served our country, with links to their stories:

Top row, left to right:
Civil War service:
-Jacob Shelton, my great-great-great-grandfather, Confederate
-Joseph William Wolfe, my great-great-grandfather, Union
Spanish-American War service:
Louis Henry Wolfe, my great-grandfather
Hugo Aloysius Pape, my first cousin two times removed

Middle row, left to right:
-Fred Pape, my dad, Korean War
-Paul Pape, my grandfather, and his brothers Walter and Lee, World War I (their parents are also in the photo)
-Francis Edward Gresham, my father-in-law, World War II

Bottom row, left to right, all World War II:
-Frank James "Bud" Streff, my uncle
-Paul Robert "Bob" Pape, my uncle (he also served in the Korean War)
-Gordon Merritt Parks, husband of my first cousin once removed (he also served in the Korean War)
-Charles Peter Guokas III, my uncle

While I don't have the content available to write for a series of writing prompts on this topic, I will write when I can, and I plan to post some more pictures and stories from my father's years in the service during the month.

© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.