The Lobo Tank Busters; The Stories That Stan Likes the Best; Please Read This
I attended the big appreciation day at the Advanced Chassis and Fabric shop down on Victory Lane last Saturday. It was everything that I had expected, even with all the rain we have had, there was ample parking in the area. I was ushered around in a golf cart by Al Miller.
The owners and operators, Dan and Traci Bowers, were generous hosts. I enjoyed the trip through the plant and was able to see what they make there and what they had already made. But, I will talk about that a little later.
I met a man that day who operates the radio station in Paulding. His name was Mike. He was on his way back from the Northwest Ohio Volunteer Firemen’s Convention in Hicksville. He was a very interesting man.
I met another man from Paulding – a Mr. Munger. He was telling me that years ago, his forefathers operated a factory here in northwest Antwerp that manufactured wire baskets and containers. Well, years back we did have some Mungers who lived on CR 204 west. His name was Forrest Munger, but I understand the factory operated before that. Some of his forefathers are buried in the Clark Cemetery north of town. He is going to give me some more information on this later.
I also talked with Ken and Judy Bowers. They are Dan’s parents and the original owners of the shop. I had a very enjoyable afternoon talking to some old friends and making some new friends. I also picked up some stories for some columns in the paper on down the road.
See ya!
The Lobo Tank Busters
On our dawn patrol this morning, there were only three planes. On yesterday’s sortie, Lt. Barnes received a bad hit out close to his right wing. It will take a couple of days to get him ship-shape again. So, he
applied for and received a 3-day pass of R&R to London.
We three planes were around the Orly Airfield in Paris, and shouldn’t have been there. The Germans were using it as an Airbase for a new jet fighter called the ME-262. There were two ME-109 fighter planes on the ground, and we were able to set them afire on our first pass. Well, you make only one pass on an airstrip, because they will be ready for you on a second pass. We three flew up around 1,000 altitude and Lt. Nelson said over the radio, “You guys drop your extra tanks and get down on the Seine River and head for the channel. I saw a blur over on the starboard side and I hope he follows you two down, and that will give me a chance at him.”
By now, Lt. Nelson was up around 5,000 ft. and the other two pilots were going down to fly low by the river. Well, it looked like the ME-262 jet was going to take the other two targets and maybe Lt. Nelson’s plan might work.
We had two planes down close to the Seine River and the pilot of the German ME-262 jet fighter was going after them. They might be an easy target for him because he can fly over 100mph faster than our P-51’s. The two American pilots were running full blast to try to lose the jet. He was running as fast as he could and he was gaining fast on the boys. Lt. Nelson has the throttle all the way forward and he is diving at a terrific speed. He is gaining on the jet and both are nearing the engaging spot, where he will be a good target. In only a couple second, Lt. Nelson grabbed the firing button and the guns jumped into action. Nelson could see the tracer bullets going into the front of the jet fighter and the German was flying right into the 100’s of rounds of .50 cal. shells. His fuselage was looking like a sieve.
He started to smoke and then the flames came out. By now, he was probably dead, and no room for him to maneuver, his plane cartwheeled into the river. Well, we flew back to our airbase. We still have some rockets left, but we will use those tomorrow.
See ya!
The Stories that Stan Likes the Best
1. The wife told her husband, “I want to be cremated.”
He replied after a few seconds, “How about next Tuesday?”
2. The wife asked the husband, “What’s on TV?”
He said, “Dust” …and the fight was on.
3. The newly-wed wife went to her mother. The mother said, “What’s wrong, dear?”
She replied, “My husband uses a lot of nasty four-letter words. Like: work, dust, cook, wipe, iron and darn.”
4. A man and his wife were the fourth and fifth people in line at the teller’s window in the bank. A man robbed the bank at the teller’s window right at the front of the line. Then, he turned to the guy behind him and asked, “Did you see me rob the bank?” The man replied that he had, and the robber shot the man dead on the spot saying, “I can’t afford to leave any witnesses.” He turned to the next man in line and asked the same question. When the man replied that he had, the robber also shot him dead on the spot and said, “I can’t afford to leave any witnesses.” He then turned to the next man and asked him if he had seen him rob the bank. The man replied, “No! But my wife did!”
5. A lady asked her neighbor boy, “What did you have for supper last night?”
The boy replied, “Himalayan possum.”
She asked right quick, “Where did you get a Himalayan possum?”
The boy said, “My dad said he found him-a-layin on the road!”
See ya!
Please Read This
There are 1993 World War II Veterans from Paulding County listed in the Veterans Book Authored by Ray Keck in 1989. In December 2013, Gene Scarbrough initiated a search for surviving WWII Veterans, with a query to Ray Keck, who in turn contacted Stanley Jordan for his advice. We three have located the following named Veterans. If you know of a surviving WWII Veteran that is not on this list, please contact one of us so we can add the name to the list.
June 18, 2015:
Baumle, Robert – Army;
Beerbower, Pete – Air Force;
Bissell, Robert – Navy;
Daeger, Alfred – Navy;
Dowding, Tom V. – Army;
Endsley, Keaton – Navy;
Forrest, George – Air Force;
Franklin, Robert – Navy;
Grindstaff, Fred – Army;
Grindstaff, Gerald – Navy;
Harris, Richard – Marines;
Johnson, Robert (Antwerp) – Army;
Johnson, Robert (Latty Twp.) – Army;
Jordan, Stanley – Army;
Keck, Bert – Air Force;
Keck, Keith – Navy;
Keck, Ray E. – Army;
Long, Russell – Air Force;
Miller, Wilbur H. – Army;
Overmeyer, Harold – Army;
Riley, Robert – Army;
Scarbrough, Gene – Navy;
Woodcox, Elmer – Navy.
See ya!
