Robert Inghram graduated from flying school. He and two other graduates were selected to go to fighter training school. They felt the best pilots were selected to elevate to that training. At fighter training school, Inghram flew the Bell P-39 Airacobra. A great airplane that flew well, it was a poor fighter because it was underpowered. It had a 37mm cannon that fired through the propeller hub. Its high wing loading gave it poor maneuverability. It should have had a 1,500 horsepower engine instead of the 1,000 horsepower provided. It flew nice but could not climb. The European Spitfire [Annotator's Note: British Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft] and 109 [Annotator's Note: German Messerschmitt Bf-109 fighter aircraft] were superior. When the war came on, the group was sent to the West Coast and then New Orleans. From there, the destination was England. The group's four P-39s were to accompany a B-17 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] because it had better navigational ability than the fighters. The group acquired new fighters at the factory. Each was fixed with a 150 gallon belly tank for added fuel and long flight range. They were alerted to fly to the West Coast. The 1st Fighter Group was at Bangor, Maine. Inghram's airplane group was at Manchester, New Hampshire when they were fogged in. The decision was then made for the group to sail on the HMS Rampier [Annotator's Note: ship name not certain] to England instead of flying across the ocean. Upon arrival in England, the group was assigned Spitfires. They trained in the Spitfires. The group flew just four and half missions before Inghram was shot down over Dieppe [Annotator's Note: the Allied raid on Dieppe, France in August 1942].

Robert Inghram went to Shrewsbury upon his outfit's [Annotator's Note: 39th Fighter Squadron, 31st Fighter Group] entry into England. The town had an airstrip that was the home of three fighter squadrons. The first plane issued to the fighter group was the Spitfire [Annotator's Note: British Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft]. It was the type flown in the Battle of Britain. The Americans were termed "operational" as a fighting unit after a month or two of training in the plane. They were transferred to southern England and issued new Spits [Annotator's Note: slang for Spitfires]. They were the Mark V which had two 20mm cannons and four .30 caliber machine guns. The pilots felt they were invincible. It turned out not to be the case. The 1,500 horsepower Merlin engine gave the Spitfire a greater rate of climb than the P-39 [Annotator's Note: Bell P-39 Airacobra fighter aircraft]. The Spitfire's wing design also gave the plane significantly greater maneuverability. It also had a better rate of climb to a higher altitude. The P-39 could only operate at 15,000 feet. It was not supercharged like the British fighter. The Spit was a 100 percent better airplane. The P-39 flew well but was underpowered and had altitude limitations not possessed by the Spitfire. Inghram arrived in England in late March or early April [Annotator's Note: 1942]. The training at Shrewsbury was just a matter of getting use to the new airplane and the environment of England. There was no gunnery or parachute practice. The men knew the gun sights and how they worked. Jumping with a parachute comes naturally when needed. Inghram's group was the 31st Fighter Group. His flights were probably before the 8th Air Force was fully organized in England. The 1st Fighter Group had come back from the West Coast [Annotator's Note: the 1st Fighter Group had first been transferred to the West Coast of the United States and then designated for European deployment] and arrived shortly after Inghram's group. The 8th Air Force and its B-17s [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers] arrived after the 31st. The bombers probably had flights over Abbeville as its first mission. The 8th really came into being after Inghram was shot down over Dieppe. The 31st might have been a part of the 8th prior to his mission over Dieppe. Everything that Inghram flew with and was outfitted with was British. That included his parachute and his seat pack that contained his dinghy and survival equipment. Nothing was American. Inghram's first missions over France were led by a British squadron leader. The Spitfires tried to antagonize the Germans into coming up for a dog fight. Nothing happened on those initial flights. The first four missions were basically to get acclimated with getting to and from France. On one of the missions, the flight leader pointed out a straggler who faced the danger of being shot down since he was not in formation. The straggler promptly dropped back and returned to base [Annotator's Note: Inghram laughs about the straggler's response to the admonishment]. Those first few missions were basically training on how to fly into and out of enemy territory and how to be alert for potential danger.

For Robert Inghram, Dieppe was his big day [Annotator's Note: the Allied raid on Dieppe, France in August 1942]. That was his baptism of fire. All three squadrons flew from three different bases in support of the amphibious landings. Inghram's squadron [Annotator's Note: 39th Fighter Squadron, 31st Fighter Group] took off about eight in the morning and was the first to go over Dieppe. The mission was to protect the Allied troops. Multiple ships transported and protected the mainly Canadian landing forces. Inghram expended all his ammunition in their support and was returning home through significant enemy flak. Ironically, it was friendly fire that downed Inghram's airplane. The British ships were shooting at anything overhead. Being hit by his friends surprised him [Annotator's Note: Inghram chuckles]. He had no problem bailing out even though he was at a low altitude. The British parachute required a quarter rotation of the securing mechanism and then a hit on that button to release the canopy just before the pilot hit the water. Inghram was out of the plane so low and hit the water so fast that he did not have time to prerelease the canopy. Despite warning that he might drown if he came up in the water under his parachute. He managed to cut his shroud lines and get away from the chute. He inflated his dinghy and stayed in it for 40 hours in the English Channel. He could see the nearby French coast line. He saw the ensuing air battle overhead. A British cruiser was nearby shelling the coast. The mission for the landing was to capture a German radar site at Dieppe in order to determine their technological capability. Though many Canadian commandos were casualties, the mission was judged to be a success. The air battle has been viewed as the greatest air battle of the war. Before being downed, Inghram shot at a couple of Focke-Wulfs [Annotator's Note: Focke-Wulf Fw-190 fighter aircraft] but did not know if he hit them. The Spitfire was gasoline limited so it only had a short time over target. Another squadron was to relieve Inghram's flight so they returned home after half an hour. There were four in the flight with Inghram being the leader in the second element. The antiaircraft fire that hit the tail of his plane caused his controls to be severed. He was flying straight and level, but he had to bail out because of lack of control. As he floated in his dinghy, he thought he would be picked up after four hours by a small British boat approaching him. Instead, the rescue boat was blown out of the water by German fighters. The friendly cruiser was nearby and he thought he might be rescued by them. That did not happen. The current of the English Channel took him toward the North Sea. There was no chance of rescue. He ended up in his small boat for 40 hours. The dinghy was marvelous. It saved his life. At nightfall, there were no lights anywhere. It started to rain. Inghram kept paddling in the direction he thought would bring him to England. That was his goal. He was not hungry or thirsty. He just wanted to paddle back to England. It was a losing struggle. The next morning light showed him that he had not changed position with all his efforts. He did not want to spend another night in the Channel. He thought the French underground would be able to aid him if he could get to the coast. Instead, he was welcomed by three Germans. They were very nice even though Inghram was their enemy. Two of his guards aided him in standing and walking. Inghram's legs were weak after being pinned up in the dinghy for 40 hours. The third German soldier gave Inghram a cigarette. The captured pilot had no idea where he was when he was taken into custody. He may have been closer to Calais than Dieppe. Inghram was taken to a German captain. As a prisoner, he was intimidated since his captors had the guns. Inghram gave only name, rank, and serial number. The severity of the interrogation was limited on the coast. The Germans there had the mission of capturing any downed pilots and routing them to Frankfurt.

Robert Inghram was taken to Frankfurt and interrogated there [Annotator's Note: after being shot down and captured in August 1942]. He knew he could tell the enemy only his name, rank and serial number. They did not use strong arm methods on him. The Germans had signed the Geneva Convention requirements on how prisoners of war were to be treated. Inghram was only 22 when he was shot down. His interrogator was about 50 and had gray hair and a distinguished look. He was a nice man who spoke good English. He told Inghram that he had been a car salesman in Miami after the First World War. He returned to Germany after Hitler put out an edict that anyone wanting to return to the Fatherland and be part of the victory in the war could do so. The German expatriate and his wife thought it was a good idea so they returned to their former home. The first thing that happened upon their return was the confiscation of their passports. That was how he ended up in the Luftwaffe. British cigarettes were offered to him. It was explained that with the expulsion of the British from Dunkirk, there were significant English supplies of all kinds left behind. That included the British Player cigarettes then being offered to Inghram. Days later, Inghram was told that one of his squadron mates would be joining him. When Inghram saw him arrive, he knew it was a man from another squadron, Ed Torry [Annotator's Note: unsure opf spelling]. Inghram knew him but, when asked by the Germans, denied it. Torry inadvertently gave away the fact that the two men knew each other. Inghram was in solitary for two weeks at Frankfurt. He kept giving them only his name, rank and serial number. They seemed to be most interested in the type of aircraft he was flying. The Germans claimed to know that Inghram was flying a P-39 [Annotator's Note: Bell P-39 Airacobra fighter aircraft]. Apparently, German spies had gotten that information while Inghram was training back in the States. The interrogators also claimed to have his airplane, and it was on its way to Berlin. Inghram knew they did not know as much as they claimed. His airplane was not a P-39 but a Spitfire. Nor did they have it. His Spitfire was at the bottom of the English Channel.

Robert Inghram went from Dulag Luft in Frankfurt [Annotator's Note: a transition camp and interrogation center for recently captured prisoners of war prior to transport to their final prison camp] to the main prison camp at Stalag Luft III near Zagań in eastern Germany which had been carved out of western Poland. The Stalag's location made escape very difficult because of distances to travel to safety. Upon arrival, Inghram discovered the group exec that had been shot down about two weeks before he had been. They heard nothing more of him and thought he had been killed. Instead, Lieutenant Colonel Bub Clark [Annotator's Note: Lieutenant Colonel Albert P. Clark was executive officer of the 31st Fighter Group until his downing by German fighters in July 1942] had been captured. Clark would retire as a three star [Annotator's Note: lieutenant general]. Inghram knew Clark before the downing. They have remained friends through the years. Torry [Annotator's Note: name not certain] and Ingram were surprised to see Clark. There were Polish, British, French and others who had flown for the RAF in the camp. There was another American named Draper who flew an A-26 [Annotator's Note: Douglas A-26 Invader light bomber]. Although Inghram was the third man shot down, Torry was captured before he was. There were also half a dozen Eagle Squadron Americans who had flown with the British. The camp was mainly British POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoner of war]. Red Cross parcels came in on a regular basis from Switzerland. There was not much to do in the camp. The officers did not have a radio, but there was one in the enlisted section of the camp. The radio operators managed to build a radio from parts bribed from the German guards. They were receiving BBC [Annotator's Note: British Broadcasting Corpporation] news updates. The enlisted would pass information to the officers on what was going on in the war. That was important to the captives. They found out about the Dieppe raid outcome. There was also access to British and German newspapers. They told about the Dieppe raid and the English losses. More Americans arrived including Davy Jones [Annotator's Note: Major David M. Jones had been with Colonel James Doolittle on the April 1942 American bombing raid on Tokyo. He was subsequently transferred to the European Theater] who was shot down in December [Annotator's Note: December 1942]. Jones told the POWs about the Tokyo raid. Inghram and Jones became good friends.

Robert Inghram lived in a room with an Eagle Squadron pilot [Annotator's Note: in Stalag Luft III, a prisoner of war camp near Zagań in what was then eastern Germany. The Eagle Squadron consisted of American pilots who flew for the Royal Air Force.]. Inghram's roommate and another officer hatched a plan of escape. The British had been constantly devising escape plans. Each plan had to be presented to and accepted by the Escape Committee in order to benefit from what limited support the prisoners could supply. Their plan was daring. The camp was surrounded by two layers of wire. The first was a warning wire and about ten feet beyond was the main wire preventing escape from the camp. The German guard boxes were situated such that a blind spot existed in the middle of their fields of view. The plan was accepted and diversions by the prisoners were planned for the time of the escape attempt. There were boxing and wrestling matches and other diversions that captured the attention of the guards. The diversions were to occur when the escapees were at the warning wire. The two men had wire cutters and were to get through the two layers of wire. It was dangerous because the Germans had informed the prisoners that anyone who went beyond the warning wire would be shot. The escape worked. The two men made it through the final wire. It was exciting, but the escapees were soon captured. That was the first escape that the Americans had been involved in. There were only four other Americans in the camp at the time. Along with Inghram, there were Draper, Torry and Clark [Annotator's Note: Draper (given name not provided) was a bomber pilot, Torry (name spelling not certain), and Lieutenant Colonel Albert P. Clark arrived close to the time that Inghram entered Stalag Luft III. Clark had been executive officer for the 31st Fighter Group until his downing by German fighters in July 1942. A few weeks later, Inghram was shot down over Dieppe.]. Getting away from the Stalag was not easy. The men entertained themselves by playing baseball and other things. All the while, men arrived in the camp after they had been shot down. At Christmas time one of the Canadians received a record. It was the first time Inghram heard White Christmas sung by Bing Crosby [Annotator's Note: the memory puts a smile on Inghram's face]. Life was just a repetitious experience in the camp. The inmates were up in the morning to be counted and then counted again in the afternoon. There were books to read and news to listen to when they could get it. A movie would be made of another part of Stalag Luft III and how the escape went [Annotator's Note: The Great Escape was released in 1963]. An interview given by Inghram for National Geographic was partially used in a retelling of the escape. The program was titled The Untold Story and included excerpts from Inghram's interview.

Robert Inghram knew Roger Bushell. Bushell headed the Escape Committee [Annotator's Note: in Inghram's prisoner of war camp, Stalag Luft III, any plan for escape was required to be reviewed and approved by the Escape Committee. After approval, what limited support the POWs could provide to the attempt would be authorized. Bushell is portrayed in the movie The Great Escape released in 1963.]. Bushell was a squadron commander. His roommate was a wing commander named Tuck who was a Battle of Britain hero [Annotator's Note: Robert S. Tuck had 29 aerial victories to his credit before his capture.]. Inghram knew them both well. The Americans were a bit of a novelty upon their arrival. Bushell was a lawyer before the war. Well educated, he spoke fluent German. He was in Munich after the escape for about a month. His command of the German language was a major benefit to him. He was a neat guy. He was referred to as "Big X" on the Escape Committee. Other members were not as well known. Without Committee approval, any proposed escape plan was not supported. One plan involved passing through the wire surrounding the camp. The crude wire cutters manufactured by the POWs were provided only after Committee approval of the plan. Escape attempts had to be judiciously watched. One plan involved a man passing through the wire at night with the snow on the ground. He was to wear a tree stump on his head with a white sheet covering his body. His name was "Mitch" Mitchell [Annotator's Note: no given name provided. Inghram chuckles at the bodacious plan.]. Mitchell lived with Inghram and his colleagues. The Escape Committee approved the plan and the Americans offered their help, too. As Mitchell made his way to the wire, he looked up and stared into the face of one of the guard dogs [Annotator's Note: Inghram laughs]. The Germans knew that the camp was organized under military construct. Group Captain Massey [Annotator's Note: Herbert Massey] was the British senior officer. The inmates felt their mission was to escape. Escape attempts were not simple and required a lot of planning. Some inmates simply attempted to jump on trash trucks to escape but the Germans used pitchforks to probe the outgoing cargo. There were perhaps one or two escape attempts every couple of months. Some books say that some individuals repeatedly attempted to escape. That was interesting to the stories and Hollywood depictions, but highly unlikely. Steve McQueen was portrayed as "the cooler king" but that was not reality [Annotator's Note: McQueen was one of the stars in The Great Escape movie]. There was a cooler or jail in the camp. People would be locked up in solitary confinement in there after failing to escape. Arriving in August 1942, Inghram knew Clark, the senior American officer, well. Inghram had known Clark prior to being shot down. [Annotator's Note: Lieutenant Colonel Albert P. Clark arrived prior to Inghram's entry into Stalag Luft III. Clark had been executive officer of Inghram's 31st Fighter Group until his downing by German fighters in July 1942. A few weeks later, Inghram was shot down over Dieppe.] Most new arrivals were known by one POW or another. Consequently, the Germans never seemed to be able to enter a clandestine spy into the inmate population. That was a figment of imagination. All new people or "purge" were first interrogated by the senior people to assure they were not spies. That was a practice introduced by the British. When Clark was shot down, he knew Inghram and Torry so he knew they were not spies. Someone in the camp knew the new people entering the Stalag. The Germans were reasonable and treated the POWs pretty well. The men were counted in the morning and evening by the same officer and NCOs. Herr Peaver [Annotator's Note: unsure of spelling] was the captain and spoke English well. The head security man was named Glimwitz [Annotator's Note: unsure of spelling]. He was a good German and above reproach. He could not be bribed like lesser Germans. American cigarettes and chocolate bars were like money. The only people who could really barter were the German speaking POWs. Contacts were spread out so there was a one for one relationship established between an inmate and a guard. The camp was very well organized. A man was positioned near the gate. He logged in when a German entered or left the camp. The POWs knew who was on site and who was not. The camp was organized so that when a German entered the camp, his POW counterpart would be notified. The American POW would then link up with his German opposite. There was always someone to watch the German activities. That could have been forbidden, but it would not have done any good. If the Germans put the observer in the cooler, someone else would have taken his place.

Robert Inghram and the American prisoners [Annotator's Note: held in Stalag Luft III] were relocated from the East Camp to the new North Camp prior to the Big Escape. The influx of American prisoners had increased dramatically with the intensity of the European air war. Each time a B-17 [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] was shot down; potentially another four officers would be captured. One day Torry [Annotator's Note: unsure fo spelling] asked Inghram if he would like to participate in tunnel digging in the North Camp for an escape attempt. Inghram joined the effort with Davy Jones [Annotator's Note: Major David M. Jones] and a team of others. There were diggers, sand gatherers and sand removers. The three tunnels were named Tom, Dick and Harry. The only Americans to actually dig in all three of the tunnels were Inghram, Ed Torry and Jones. Other Americans may have assisted with air pumps or carpentry, but those three were the only American diggers. It was a big, organized effort. The entire camp knew what was going on. A call for 50 bed boards affected every building in the block. Each building had its contact for the escape. Big X, Bushel [Annotator's Note: Roger Bushell], would put out the word for the requirement and each building would comply with their portion of what was needed. Cooperation in the camp was good. There was no problem since they worked under a military organization in the Stalag. Items that had to be manufactured were done by the experts in the organization who knew how to do things and were very talented. Tailors were excellent. They used tea to dye uniforms and make them look like a civilian suits. Passports developed in the camp worked very well. The forged papers passed inspection. The tunnel was a success and 75 POWs got out. The escapees with the best chance of succeeding were given ersatz civilian clothes, forged papers and German Reich marks. Three individuals made it back to Allied lines. Inghram knew one of them well. His name was van der Stok [Annotator's Note: Bram van der Stok was a Royal Air Force pilot prior to being shot down]. He was a Dutchman who spoke Dutch, English, French and German very well. He went to a train station and purchased a ticket and traveled to Holland. His family then managed to get him to Sweden. He was well equipped for success. Even though Inghram had worked on the tunnels, he was not selected to go. The American POWs in the North Camp were moved to a new camp just to the south because their numbers had considerably grown. The tunnels were in the North Camp so the Americans had no access to them after their relocation. The tunnels were progressed well, but the new camp was located where one of the tunnels was to terminate. As a result, efforts on completing that tunnel ceased and efforts to complete the main tunnel were maximized. The abandoned tunnel was used to store excavated dirt. As a result of the Americans moving to the new camp, none had the opportunity to attempt to escape through the tunnel initiated in the North Camp [Annotator's Note: the tunnel code named Harry was the completed tunnel utilized for the escape attempt.]. The escapees were multi-nationals but mainly British. No Americans were included. The Americans learned of the escape by talking through the fences separating them from the North Camp. The two fences were about 20 feet apart and communication was possible as a result. They found out about the people who had escaped through the tunnel.

Robert Inghram learned that 72 of 75 of the escapees were captured. The senior German officer, named Lindeiner [Annotator's Note: Commandant Friedrich Wilhelm von Lindeiner-Wildau], told the senior British officer, Group Captain Massey [Annotator's Note: Herbert Massey], about the recapture. The British officer was told that all those recaptured were killed. They were all shot alongside the road [Annotator's Note: Inghram will amend this later]. Hitler had ordered to shoot them all. Goering told Hitler that that was not a good idea because there were German prisoners in Allied custody. Hitler changed his order. He ordered 50 percent be shot. The percent sign was lost and the order came down to shoot 50. That was followed through. Bushell was one of those shot. Inghram knew many of those killed. Some Canadians were included. Scruffy Ware and Berkenstock [Annotator's Note: spelling on these two names could not be confirmed] were in the same room at Colditz [Annotator's Note: a German prisoner of war facility]. They were told that they were going back to camp. They were separated and those that went one way were shot and the others were not. There was no rhyme or reason. The bodies may have been cremated and brought back to the camp. The Germans permitted the people in the North Camp to build a monument to the 50 who were shot. It was nice. The entrance to the tunnel called Dick was recently discovered when the area was excavated. One of the three tunnels was found by the Germans. One was abandoned when the new camp expansion covered its destination point. The third tunnel was restarted in December [Annotator's Note: 1943] and sand was hidden under the theater floor. It was completed in March or April [Annotator's Note: 1944]. After the excitement of the escape, tunneling dropped off and things got back to normal. Books were read and church was attended on Sunday.

Robert Inghram and his fellow prisoners were moved to Moosburg. The prisoners were given 30 minutes to pack. The movement had been anticipated because the Russians were only 17 kilometers from the camp [Annotator's Note: Stalag Luft III in Zagań in what was then Eastern Germany]. Inghram decided to build a sled while others were building backpacks. He used bed boards to construct the apparatus. It turned out that the other men put their belongings on the sled and left when they were ordered. They were the first to leave the South Camp. It was really cold as they pulled the sled along. They marched to Spremberg for three or four days. They were loaded on a 40 or 8 train car. The car could transport 40 men or 8 horses. It was January 1945. The prisoners knew the invasion had come [Annotator's Note: the Normandy D-Day invasion of Western Europe started on 6 June 1944]. The prisoners were informed via radio and new prisoners arriving in camp. They knew Patton [Annotator's Note: General George S. Patton] was pushing across Southern France. The end was near. The war might end after the prisoners were killed. The conditions at Moosburg were very bad. There was little food and much lice. The men looked for the end of the war. Inghram had kept a ring all through the war. The camp adjacent to the Americans was occupied by East Indians who had been captured. The German who had been a car salesman in Miami before the war asked Inghram what he wanted for the ring. He told Inghram that he could get chocolate for the ring. The ring was traded for five pounds of Cadbury milk chocolate. It came from the East Indians who apparently did not eat chocolate. Inghram shared the chocolate with three of his buddies. The war was spinning down. Roll call was held one morning when gunfire was heard. The men took cover. An hour later, a Sherman tank drove up. It was the spearhead of Patton's Third Army. Shortly afterward, an American flag was raised over Moosburg. It was an emotional experience. It was the first time he had seen the flag in three years. It was actually 33 months though records show 34 months in captivity. The last month was spent in Paris after his liberation. They left Moosburg and found a car after hitchhiking with an American convoy. They traveled to Paris by ambulance, then by liberated car and finally by military vehicle. Tom [Annotator's Note: Major Thomas B. Fleming] was a squadron commander before being shot down. He was given a Citroen car painted military motif for the men to use. They arrived in Paris and sought quarters. They needed a copy of their orders to present to the sergeant in charge of assigning hotel rooms. Of course, at this point, they possessed no orders. Tom used a corporal's typewriter and prepared his own R and R orders that he signed himself. The orders were accepted and the men given a room to stay while in Paris [Annotator's Note: Inghram chuckles at the circumstances]. When they arrived at the hotel, they each had a Musette bag with cigarettes and chocolate. Those contents were used to acquire a good room and liquor. They had quite a time in Paris. That was his last month classified as being incarcerated. Inghram actually spent only 33 months behind the wire under German guard.

Robert Inghram was shot down early in the war [Annotator's Note: during the Dieppe raid in August 1942]. He was given no credit for time in prison camp. In fact, his back pay had income tax withdrawn. It seemed unfair. He received no promotions while in prison. That was unlike the officers in Korea and Vietnam. He stayed in the Air Force and flew in Vietnam where he received the DFC [Annotator's Note: Distinguished Flying Cross]. He flew secret missions while in Vietnam. They were very dangerous. He lost an airplane in action. It had eight people in it. The plane was receiving friendly Vietnamese messages and transferring that to higher ups. There was special radio equipment for messages with people on the ground relatively close to North Vietnam. The lost aircraft was shot down by a MiG. Inghram was discharged in 1968 while action in Vietnam was still underway. He entered service in 1940 and had 28 years in the military. He moved from Florida to San Antonio where his good friend Davy Jones [Annotator’s Note: USAF Major General David M. Jones] lived. They joined them at the Air Force Village in 2002. Inghram lost his wife shortly before the interview. He worked for PanAm for 20 years and retired from them. He worked at downrange airbases while with PanAm. He had a good life with a good wife named Katherine. She took care of their children and things while he was gone. The National WWII Museum is a good thing. There are several bricks with his name on them at the Museum. It is important that youngsters learn about World War 2 in the future. It was a big exercise. He was surprised while working at Patrick Air Force Base. A young airman did not know about Spitfires [Annotator's Note: Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft] or even the Battle of Britain. Things change so much. Nothing stays static.