World War II Veterans honored

 

Tom Terrell presented the stories of four World War II Veterans to our club.  J.B. Oswalt, Allie Burton, Bill Lewis and Fred Wendt were honored at our meeting last Wednesday.

 

J.B. Oswalt was a corporal in the U.S. Air Corp. Drafted at age 19, he trained as an airplane mechanic, and spent time in Guam serving our country.

 

Allie Burton is from Kerrville and a graduate of the 1941 class at Tivy High School. He was a flight instructor during the war, and joined the reserves after WWII was over. Serving in Korea, he was shot down from his aircraft, captured by the Koreans, and was a prisoner of war for ten months.

 

Bill Lewis was trained as a B17 navigator, eventually flew spy planes, and served 36 years in the Air Force and retired with the rank of colonel. Bill now serves as a chaplain at Peterson Regional Medical Center.

 

Fred Wendt graduated from Austin High School in El Paso in 1942. He served in the Army, spending time in New Guinea and Okinawa, and saw plenty of action. He later was an All American football running back at the School of Mines, and held a rushing record that stood for 20 years until O.J. Simpson broke the record.