[media-credit id=176 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]

The Feather is reposting this article in honor of Veterans day, Nov. 11. Two other articles will be posted on Monday and The Feather will be attending the Veterans Day Parade in Downtown Fresno and encourages students and staff to celebrate the Veterans. Be sure to revisit The Feather to read these upcoming articles and video.

It is estimated that nearly 50 million people lost their lives in the conflicts of World War II. Around 400,000 American service men and women did not return from the European and Pacific fronts, children grew up with no fathers, wives grew old with no husband.

War has no rules and this has never been more evident than in WWII, many historians believe that the Battle at Stalingrad in 1942 to 1943 is arguably the bloodiest battle in history with 800,000-1.6 million casualties. The battle lasted five months, one week and three days.

16.1 million American soldiers fought on both fronts, the average time of enlistment was 16 months and the average age was 18.5 years old through out the war.

Organized by Fresno’s Paul Loeffler, a group of 66 World War II veterans met at Castle Air Museum in Atwater for a meet and greet time on Sunday, Oct. 19. The Feather reporters spent time with the aging veterans as they spoke about their WW II experiences and the upcoming Central Valley Honor Flight, Oct. 27, from the same airfield.

The United States was in an unusual position during the war after the attacks on Pearl Harbor opened up an entire new front in the pacific. Essentially two wars were being fought and America was in the middle of them.

The battles in the Pacific would eventually lead to one of the most tragic events the world has ever seen, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The total number of deaths was estimated somewhere between 129,000 and 246,000 men, women and children.

Norris Jernigan from Visalia, who served in the Air Force from 1943-1946, worked with 509th composite group which orchestrated the bombings of the two Japanese cities.

“I was not on the flight crew, I worked in the intelligence office,” Jernigan said. “Our job was to brief the crews on their target areas and give them maps aerial photos. We would tell them where the could ditch in the ocean if they got shot down. That was really important because we knew where all the submarines were and where all the fleets were operating and we didn’t want them sinking a sub if they crashed.”

Jernigan and his crew were not responsible for the decision of which cities to bomb. He explained how there were alternative targets that were considered, but ruled out.

“The targets were given to us by people way above our pay grade,” Jernigan said. “There were several targets picked, the first one was to be Hiroshima. The second one was supposed to go to Kokura, but Kokura was clouded over, so they went to the secondary target, Nagasaki.”

For many veterans who served in the Air Force, coming to the Castle Air Musuem and seeing all the planes they once rode into battle, was a powerful experience. It brought up memories, good and bad, to many of the former pilots.

George Schneider of Fresno served from 1943-1946 in the Pacific Front and flew a F4U Corsair off of the USS Missouri during his service.

“We flew recon missions quite often to islands in the Pacific,” Schneider said. “The planes I flew during that time were very flimsy and made me pretty dang nervous.”

Schneider was present at the signing of the Japanesse Instrument of Surrender aboard the USS Missouri on Sept. 2, 1945, and witnessed representatives of Japan end the war with the stroke of a pen.

“That day I overheard some officers talking about how Japanese were going to come aboard,” Schneider said. “This wasn’t normal and I knew something special was about to happen.”

Not all of the veterans served over seas during the war. There were thousands of jobs based right here in America that served just as great of a purpose as the men and women on the front line.

Betty Mittenmaier served in Atlanta, Georgia, from 1944-1946 as a link trainer instructor. The link trainer was a flight simulation system in which aspiring pilots would practice flying patterns.

“After bootcamp in New York, we went to Atlanta and that is where the link trainer instructor school is,” Mittenmaier said. “We had a ten-week course there, and then we stayed there and trained new people. We would train pilots with their wings to prepare them for flying patterns. It was very dark and claustrophobic inside the trainer so it was no easy task having to work in them all day. We would have to go up in real planes for four hours a month which really made it more interesting.”

The bloodiest, most tragic conflict in history touched not only the lives of the people who lived in war zones but also the ones serving in any form or fashion and their families.

On Oct. 27, Fresno area supporters will honor brave veterans from the Central Valley by sending them to the WW II Memorial in Washington D.C.. The memorial was completed in April of 2004, and sadly, many veterans of the war had passed away since its completion. But an organization run by volunteers and donations are sending those remnants to view and walk the memorial.

The goal of the Honor Flight is to, as the name states, honor those who served. We are indebted to these great men and women who protected our Nation and World from forces of evil. Without them what would our world look like today?

The average cost of the trip is $1,500 per veteran, contrary to popular belief there is absolutely no government funding for the flight. The entire cost of the trip is covered by donations and the gracious generosity of the people in the Central Valley.

Veterans or guardians of verterans are encouraged to sign up for the next Honor Flight, March 2015. The day is still to be determined. For more information, visit Central Valley Honor Flight.

The veterans will return from the Honor Flight on Oct. 29 at 5:30 p.m. at Castle Airport. Castle Air Museum will offer free admission beginning at 3 p.m. on Oct. 29. Be sure to check out the fascinating aircraft, museum and veterans that will be at Castle.

The Honor Flight touches all those involved, not only veterans. Paul Loeffler, local radio personality has experienced the impact of Honor Flight on a very personal level.

“I started in 2005, and my grandfather was one of the first vets I interviewed,” Loeffler said. “I would’ve never been born if God hadn’t brought him through the war. I realized there were millions of stories just like his, and so many of us wouldn’t be here. We can’t take their service and sacrifice for granted.”

Be sure to tune in each Saturday from 2-3 p.m. to, Hometown Heroes with Paul Loeffler, to listen and learn about veteran stories from our Valley.

Be sure to mark on your calendar the annual Fresno Veterans Day Parade which will wind through the streets of downtown beginning at 8 a.m., Nov. 11.

These writers can be reached via Twitter @Nhojnamood and @2015Beal.

For more information contact Paul Loeffler, a volunteer for the Central Valley Honor Flight can be reached via Twitter :@p356loeffler.

For more features, read the Oct. 23 article, International Student, Krit Metanopphakun chosen as student of the month.