Gretchen Wronka was born in January 1944. Her parents were born in a farming area of Iowa. While her mother was in business school, she became acquainted with Wronka’s father, Loren Hintz, who worked for the WPA [Annotator's Note: The Works Progress Administration was a federally sponsored program that put unemployed Americans to work during the Great Depression]. They eventually began dating. Her father enlisted in the Coast Artillery right after the Pearl Harbor attack [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. Her father was sent to Hawaii for a year and wrote to her mother while he was gone. Her father then applied for the Army Air Corps and went though the rigorous training program. Wronka’s mother moved to California to be close to her older brothers. Wronka’s parents were married in California on 3 April 1943. Her father was then sent to Italy in the fall of 1944. Wronka’s father was in Arizona when she was born. Her mother received a telegram the day after VE-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945], that her husband was missing in action. Wronka’s brother was born in June 1945. Wronka and her brother grew up in a typical small town in Iowa. They were raised by their mother and extended family. Her father’s remains were buried in an American cemetery outside Florence, Italy.

Gretchen Wronka’s father, Loren Hintz, was killed in action while serving in the Army Air Corps during World War 2. Her mother was a resilient woman and never showed herself grieving. Wronka’s family kept the 300 letters from her father, but there are very few letters from her mother. Wronka reads one of the few letters that her mother wrote to Hintz’s parents after he died. She then read another letter that her mother wrote to her friend expressing that she does not want any pity and feels blessed to have had her time with Hintz, even if it was short. Wronka believes her parents were kindred spirits. The townspeople in New Hampton, Iowa rallied around Wronka’s mother and supported her in a variety of ways. The principal of the local high school hired Wronka’s mother to be the secretary without a formal interview. She worked at the high school for 35 years and received numerous community awards. Wronka did not see her paternal family very much and therefore only knew very little about his childhood. She knew that he was a great reader and had interest in Native American history, especially the Cherokee Nation. Her father longed to see the world, wrote poetry, and wrote an autobiography.

Gretchen Wronka’s father, Loren Hintz, was killed in action while serving in the Army Air Corps during World War 2. Wronka had a great passion for Charles Lindbergh as a child, and she considered her father as more abstract. Her mother did not want to talk about her father as she got older. Wronka remembered one time when her friend’s dad took them out and said, “I am taking my girls out.” On every 21 April, Wronka and her family went to mass to honor his father on his death day. Her mother had very little social life because she focused on raising her children. She was not interested in dating men, and there were not any eligible bachelors in the small town. Wronka believes her mother had a wonderful life and was very successful in her own right. Although she was considered a “war orphan”, Wronka never felt like she was treated or defined herself as one.

Gretchen Wronka’s father, Loren Hintz, was killed in action while serving in the Army Air Corps during World War 2. She was very opposed the Vietnam War [Annotator's Note: Vietnam War, or Second Indochina War, 1 November 1955 to 30 April 1975] during her college days. Her mother did not understand Wronka’s feelings about Vietnam. Her mother also opposed her marrying her husband because he had been in the German Luftwaffe [Annotator’s Note: German Air Force]. Wronka’s oldest son joined the Navy and was assigned to the USS Ranger (CV-5). Her mother would sit in front of the television chain smoking while listening to updates of the Gulf War. [Annotator’s Note: There is train noise in the background at 0:52:20.000.] Wronka met her husband while she was working at a dude ranch, and her husband was a German pilot training in the area due to NATO regulations. She dated her husband for four years before getting married. Her family welcomed her new husband, and her husband’s family welcomed her when they visited Germany. She also talked about meeting the grandson of a German pilot who crashed and died on the same day as her father not far from her father’s crash site. They formed a close relationship and still keep in touch today.

Gretchen Wronka’s father, Loren Hintz, was killed in action while serving in the Army Air Corps during World War 2. What was left of her father’s remains was buried in a cemetery. However, after doing some research on her father, she was able to get in contact with an Italian who had excavated her father’s plane. She learned that her father’s plane was shot down by anti-aircraft fire, and then crashed into a house. The house caught on fire and an elderly man died. She also met a man who was 14 years old at the time, and witnessed the plane coming down to the ground. During the excavation, they pulled up a P-47 [Annotator's Note: Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft], weapons, and other artifacts. While she was in Italy for the excavation, many of the local population came out and thanked Wronka and all the Americans for saving them against fascism. She reads an excerpt that her brother wrote to a publication about her father. During the excavation, they found her father’s dog tags and bone fragments. After the excavation was complete, they had a flag ceremony. Wronka feels blessed that she had this experience because many of the loved ones of World War 2 veterans would not have these moments. She read her brother’s poem about his thoughts of this experience.

Gretchen Wronka’s father, Loren Hintz, was killed in action while serving in the Army Air Corps during World War 2. World War 2 has shaped her life from the beginning to now. Everyone was somehow involved in or affected by World War 2. She thinks it is important to learn about the individual stories of all those servicemen and women that participated overseas or on the Home Front. [Annotator’s Note: There is train noise in the background at 1:22.55.000.] She appreciated the opportunity to talk about her story and appreciates the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana]. People need to know history and find it fascinating.