It is with great sadness; we learn the news that DDAY veteran and superstar Mr. MATTHEW A. RELUGA, a decorated Army veteran of World War II, has died. He was 101.
Matthew Reluga was born in 1919 to Alexander and Stella Lojewski Reluga. At that time, the country was amid the influenza pandemic that had begun in 1918. Reluga attended Central High School but graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School in Philadelphia. He was playing football when he heard that the Japanese had bombed American forces at Pearl Harbor.
Reluga was inducted into the Army in December 1942, served the 90th Infantry Division “Tough ‘Ombres” as an intelligence officer and rifleman – seeing heavy combat in the Battle of Normandy, Northern France, the Ardennes, and was honorably discharged in 1945. His military decorations include the Distinguished Unit Award, the Silver Star Medal third-highest award exclusively for combat valor, Two Bronze Stars, the European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and the WWII Victory Medal.
After the war, Reluga arranged a voluntary extension of his Army service and attained the rank of master sergeant. He served as a drill and technical instructor at bases in Texas and California until his final honorable discharge in February 1952.
In civilian life, Reluga worked at the Philadelphia Mint, Roxborough Glass Co., ITE Circuit Breakers Co., and as a window dresser for Wanamaker department stores.
Reluga married Stella Serbun Reluga in December 1958. The couple bought a house in Rhawnhurst a year later and lived a great life together. His hobbies included reading, gardening, trips to the casinos, and vacationing in Florida and Jersey Shore.

It is with great sadness we learn the passing of Normandy (Omaha Beach) Sgt. Maj. Robert Blatnik, an avid volunteer who gave over 10,000 hours to the Department of Veterans Affairs. He was 100.
A farm boy from Ohio, Robert Blatnik enlisted with the Army in 1938 in determined desire to serve his country. Assigned to the 1st Division, 26th Infantry, he worked with combat intelligence and proved skilled in drafting topographical maps following training with the Corps of Engineers.
Prior to the 1st Division’s initial WWII combat at Oran, North Africa in early November 1942, Blatnik was handpicked by General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. to serve as his unofficial Sergeant Major. During WWI, Roosevelt learned the position was key for the morale of troops and valued that resource. The Division would storm the beach of Oran and later was first ashore on Sicily’s tortuous terrain in July, 1943. Following the Italian campaign, the 1st Division returned to England for D-Day’s intensive preparation.
In attacking Omaha Beach on D-day, 6 June 1944, there were units suffering 30 percent casualties in the first hour, although Formigny and Caumont were secured in the beachhead. Assault boats, mined and shelled, were piled upon obstacles and formed additional obstructions. Men were cut down as their landing crafts dropped their ramps or died wading through the surf. A few of the early assault waves, having gained the dubious shelter of the shale ledge, were riddled by artillery bursts. Most supporting weapons were swamped or destroyed on the beach.
By the time Sergeant Major Blatnik hit the water with command of 900 men at Omaha, he was considered seasoned infantry. His new recruits, however, feeling the tendency to dig in when facing the onslaught of tremendous firepower, were told the only way to survive was move forward. Instructed not to tend to the wounded, the medics would follow from the rear. Of the 900 men initially in his command, only 380 would survive to march inland. Blatnik, wounded several times during his own WWII service and a recipient of a Silver Star and 4 purple hearts, was subsequently able to return to each period of combat.
Decades later, in remembrance of D-Day’s 70th Anniversary at Normandy, Sergeant Major Blatnik fell to his knees on Omaha Beach, praying for the souls of 400 men lost and a salute to Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr, “a soldier’s soldier loved by his men.”
Returning from war, Blatnik felt like he was saved for a reason and has since worked to justify that existence. After retiring from the U.S. Postal Service, Blatnik became a paramedic and volunteered his time helping others.
"Helping other people was the best pay I've ever received," said Blatnik.
Even at the age of 100, Blatnik still donated his time to the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Dallas, visiting patients who just need someone to talk to.

It is with great sadness; we learn the passing of DDAY 82nd Airborne Paratrooper Mr. Joseph Morettini. He was 96.
Born on July 29, 1924, to the late Gabriel and Claudia (née Tamarise) Morettini in Lima, Peru; the second oldest of ten children. He arrived in Erie at the age of three months.
In 1943, Joseph was drafted into the United States Army during WWII and was assigned to E Company, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He fought in most major European campaigns in which the 82nd Airborne participated, including Normandy, Holland, Rhineland, Ardennes (Battle of the Bulge) and Central Europe, completing two combat jumps.
Morettini also served in Eisenhower's Honor Guard. During his time in the service, Morettini earned the French Legion of Honor, French Croix de Guerre, Bronze Star Medal for Valor, World War II Victory Medal, Combat Infantryman's Badge, Good Conduct Medal, Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with four Bronze Stars, Occupational Medal, and 508th Presidential Unit Citation.
After a courageous run with the Army, Morettini returned to Erie and worked as a machinist at Zurn Industries for many years.
Joseph Morettini was an avid fisherman and enjoyed the outdoors. He was also an accomplished wine maker. He loved spending time with his family and will be greatly missed by all.

It is with a heavy heart; we share the news that Normandy DDAY veteran and Superstar Mr. Harley Reynolds has died. He was 96.
On the morning of June 6, 1944, Harley Reynolds was among the first soldiers to land on Omaha Beach, charging into the murderous gunfire that rained down from above. Reynolds was a 19-year-old Staff Sergeant at the time was a machine-gun section leader in B Company, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division "Big Red One."
Born in 1924 in St. Charles, Virginia, Harley enlisted in the US Army in 1940 and was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Jay on Governors Island, New York. He participated in three first wave invasions with his unit, first in North Africa, then in Sicily, and finally in Normandy's invasion at Omaha Beach on D-Day. Already a seasoned veteran of amphibious assaults, Harley was training the replacements in his outfit, leading up to France's invasion.
When the landing craft ramp went down, Harley recalled that the man directly next to him was immediately struck by machine-gun fire, as were several other soldiers in the boat. Nearly 80 years have passed since that fateful Tuesday in June, yet Harley still remembers with great anguish how he had to jump over the bodies of his comrades to reach the shore.
"I didn't go inland from the edge of the water but a very short distance and then hit the ground because the fire was just so #%&*$# intense," he remembers.
"I hit the ground and laid there for almost two hours, right there on the edge of the water with the Germans shooting at us. Because if you stood up, you got hit."
Pinned down on the shore and under constant enemy fire, the scene on Omaha Beach was nothing short of terrifying. "The people were piling up on that beach, the casualties, the wounded, the dead," Harley remembers.
It was clear that if they remained on the beach any longer, the entire unit would risk destruction. After mapping a way off the coast in his mind and assisting in removing the barbed wire that was blocking their advance using Bangalore torpedoes, Harley led the remnants of his outfit up the bluffs, destroying the enemy positions and securing the beachhead.
Staff Sergeant Harley Reynolds was the first man through the barbed wire at the 'Easy Red' sector of Omaha Beach on D-Day. Although his heroism in the most unimaginable circumstances is undeniable, Harley is modest about his valorous actions. "I did what I was supposed to do, and that was to lead those men off of that beach, and that's what I did."

It is with great sadness; we learn the news that 79th Infantry Division veteran of World War II, Mr. Frank W. Benteman has died. He was 94.
Frank Benteman was born May 26, 1926, in Frankfort, Kansas, the son of Fritz and Erma (Kipp) Benteman. He received a High School Diploma from Frankfort High School.
Benteman enlisted into the Army during World War II as a PFC in the 79th Infantry Division, 313th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion. After training in the United Kingdom from 17 April 1944, the 79th Infantry Division landed on Utah Beach, Normandy, 12–14 June and entered combat 19 June 1944, with an attack on the high ground west and northwest of Valognes and high ground south of Cherbourg. The division took Fort du Roule after a heavy engagement and entered Cherbourg, 25 June. He was awarded a Purple Heart and the Cross of Lorraine. He gave many talks about his war experience at local schools and at the Eisenhower Library on the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
Frank Benteman petitioned the state to recognize the lives lost during World War II from Frankfort, Kansas. In 2006, after several years of Frank's persistence, highway K-99 was renamed Frankfort Boys World War II Memorial Highway.
After the war, Frank Benteman was employed by Goodyear for 33 years, retiring in 1986. Frank Benteman married Ann Timmerman on January 20, 1962 in Topeka, Kansas. They were members of the Second Presbyterian Church, of Topeka, American Legion Post 400 and URW Local 307. He enjoyed gardening, woodworking, and selling homemade crafts at craft shows with Ann. Frank was a friend to everyone he met.

It is with great sadness; we learn the news that 1st Infantry Division veteran of World War II, Mr. Joseph C. “Joe” Etta, has died. He was 102.
Etta was born in Cold Spring on April 22, 1918, the son of Giuseppe and Francesca (Botta) Etta. He graduated from Haldane High School in 1938 and enlisted in 1941 in the U.S. Army.
During 35 months of service during World War II, he participated in three major invasions, in North Africa, Sicily and Normandy, and rose from private first class to sergeant. In 1947, in Cold Spring, he married Catherine Fitzgerald, who died in 1998.
A carpenter by trade (and a member of the Carpenters Union), Etta helped build the hall on Kemble Avenue for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, where he was a member. Growing up in the 1930s, he had played on the dirt fields nearby. He also served as the village building inspector and was a longtime member and former chief of the Cold Spring Fire Co.
Etta was one of the Parsonage Street 21 — men who lived on Parsonage who served during World War II. When the was over, Etta returned to Cold Spring in June 1945, Etta had participated in campaigns in Algeria, French Morocco, Tunisia, Sicily, Normandy, Northern France, the Rhineland and Ardennes, according to a news report from that time.
He was greeted at Grand Central Station by his brother, Staff Sgt. Anthony Etta, who had arrived home seven days earlier after being liberated from a German prison camp.
While being honored in 2013 for his military service, Etta said, “I had never been out of Cold Spring in my life and then I went around the world.”
Etta recalled spending 34 days on the Mediterranean Sea waiting for President Franklin D. Roosevelt to give the go-ahead for the 1942 landing. Rather than participating in the intense fighting, Etta said, “I was in the picking up and everything else. I wasn’t a hero or anything.”
He said his memories of the invasions remained vivid, especially from North Africa. “A lot of my friends died there,” he said. “I jumped into water up to my neck. I didn’t know if I was going to live or die. I was terrified.”
Etta was honored in 2009 with the French Liberty Medal for his contribution to freeing France from the Nazis.
According to the U.S. Army, the 1st Infantry Division “was the first to reach England, the first to fight the enemy in North Africa and Sicily, the first on the beaches of Normandy in D-Day and the first to capture a major German City — Aachen.”
For the D-Day landings, “in five days, the division drove inland and cleared a beachhead for supplies and troops. Driving eastward across France against fanatical resistance, the soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division spent nearly six months in continuous action with the enemy.”
In 2018, when Etta turned 100, Cold Spring Mayor Dave Merandy proclaimed April 22 as Joseph C. Etta Day. This year, on his 102nd birthday, friends and relatives treated Etta to a 15-minute parade outside his Parsonage Street home, with well-wishers shouting, “Happy birthday, Joey!” “We love you, Mr. Etta!” and “Keep going, Joe!”

World War II B-26 Bomber Gunner, Mr. Jackson William "J.W." Stine, founder of Stine Lumber, dies at 102
Stine was born on July 22, 1918 to Sulphur residents Andrew and Elma Landry Stine. After attending Sulphur High School, where he played quarterback all four years, he attended Normal College, known today as Northwestern State University, on a football scholarship. His was also a Golden Gloves boxer.
In 1943, Stine joined the United States Army Air Corps, what is now the Air Force. Captain Stine, a B-26 Marauder pilot with the 17th Bombardment Group, flew more than 40 combat missions against critical targets over the Mediterranean, Italy, France, and Germany, the 17th received the Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for its support of the Anzio invasion and another for its outstanding performance over Schweinfurt. They also received the French Croix de Guerre with Palm for operations in support of the invasion of France.
On January 14, 1944, shortly before leaving to fight in WWII, Stine married his high school sweetheart Doris Drost. Their union lasted 67 years, until her passing in 2011.
Together the couple raised Richard, Gary, Janie LaCroix, Jay, twins Dennis and David, and Tim, among them an accomplished and nationally-known artist, a colonel in the Air Force, a captain in the National Guard, two former Louisiana state legislators, a former Sulphur City Councilman, a former Louisiana Commissioner of Administration, past president of Greater Beauregard Chamber of Commerce, past McNeese State University Foundation president, past chairman of the Boy Scouts of America Calcasieu Area Council, past chairman of the Council for A Better Louisiana, a current member of the Christus Health System Board, and current chairman of Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.
Stine is survived by seven children and their spouses; 31 grandchildren, 74 great-grandchildren; and sisters Dorothy Byerly and Gerry McCallum. He was preceded in death by his wife and his brother Kyle Kenneth "KK" Stine.

It is with great sadness; we share the news that Pearl Harbor Superhero Mr. Joseph Michael Gasper has died a few days before Christmas. He was 102.
Dec. 7 is universally recognized as the day an attack on Pearl Harbor led to the United States' entry into World War II. But for Ellwood City area residents, that also is the day they recognize one of their hometown heroes, who was one of the first people injured in the Japanese bombardment and one of the few survivors left from that fateful day.
Army Staff Sgt. Joseph Michael Gasper had been too ill to attend related ceremonies in recent years, and now he has joined his fallen colleagues.
For Gasper, his service started with becoming part of President Franklin Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps, traveling to Mexico and Panama, and recovering from the 1936 Johnstown Flood. He joined the Army in 1937 and was a drill instructor for many bases before being stationed at Pearl Harbor.
"I was a drill sergeant, and we were on the hill above Pearl Harbor on maneuvers. At first, we didn't know what was going on, but the planes came over so low we could see the Japanese's faces. There were three waves of planes," he said. "Bombs were dropping everywhere. My command car was hit, and I was thrown down a 70-foot cliff."
Gasper said he laid there for a long time. His friend's leg was bleeding, and he put a tourniquet on it.
Gasper said hundreds of bombers just kept coming. He could see the ships being hit in the harbor. He lost many friends that day, including some he had only seen a few days before on the USS Arizona.
During the attack, a total of 2,355 service members were killed, 1,143 wounded, 21 ships had either been sunk or damaged, and more than 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed. Today, there are less than 100 known to be alive.
Gasper recovered from his injuries, although he was left with recurring pain in his left leg and back, and returned to serve until August 1945, receiving many honors, including three Bronze Stars.
After the war, Gasper worked in local mills and opened the first self-serve liquor store in 1959 in Neshannock Township. A skilled carpenter, he helped with the construction of several Catholic churches in Ellwood City, also remaining very involved in church social groups.

Robert Thacker, 102, Dies; Survived Pearl Harbor to Fly in 3 Wars
His unarmed bomber was caught in the thick of Japan’s attack. He went on to fly some 80 missions in World War II and to become a record-setting test pilot.
Robert Thacker, who found himself caught in the middle of Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor when he was piloting an unarmed B-17 bomber to Hawaii for refueling, but managed to make a hair-raising landing and went on to a distinguished flying career in war and peace.
Mr. Thacker’s daughter, Barbara Thacker, confirmed his death to The New York Times on Friday. She said she had not provided confirmation until last week to The San Clemente Times, which published an obituary on Thursday.
Lieutenant Thacker, who arrived on the island of Oahu as Japanese warplanes devastated the American naval base there, would soon be dropping bombs of his own. He flew some 80 missions during World War II, seeing action in both the Pacific and European theaters. He later became a record-setting test pilot and flew in the Korean and Vietnam wars.
But it was on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, that he faced his first test in battle.
His plane was among a flight of newly built B-17s arriving from California en route to the Philippines. As he began his descent to the Army Air Corps’ Hickam Field, at first unaware of anything amiss, he was astonished to see bombers and fighters roaming the skies and black smoke rising from the American base and adjoining military installations.
One of the fighters shot out the front landing gear of his Flying Fortress as he approached the runway. But he careened to a landing and led his crew to a swamp alongside the runway to escape the inferno.
In February 1947, about 18 months after Japan surrendered, he was back at Hickam Field, this time to make aviation history. Now a lieutenant colonel, he piloted a North American Aviation P-82fighter plane on the first nonstop flight from Hawaii to New York City in what remains the longest nonstop flight, 5,051 miles, ever made by a propeller-driven fighter, according to the National Museum of the United States Air Force, near Dayton, Ohio.
Developed at the end of World War II, the twin-fuselage, twin-propeller P-82 had been envisioned as a long-range escort for the giant B-29 Superfortresses on missions to Japan. The fighter had two cockpits, one for the pilot and the other for the co-pilot/navigator, so they could take turns flying. But the war was over before the P-82 was combat ready.
Early in the Cold War, the P-82 was viewed by the Pentagon as a potential escort in the event bombers like the B-29 were called upon to attack the Soviet Union. The pioneering test flight by Colonel Thacker and his co-pilot, Lt. John Ard, provided evidence that the fighter could carry out such a mission.
During the 14½-hour flight from Hickam, a mechanical glitch prevented the plane from jettisoning three empty fuel tanks, and the P-82 fought drag from the unwanted weight and strong headwinds. By the time it touched down, it had only enough fuel left for another 30 minutes of flight.
But Colonel Thacker handled his plane with aplomb. The P-82, named Betty Jo after his wife, landed at La Guardia Field in Queens shortly after 11 a.m. on Feb. 28, 1947, greeted by a host of reporters and news photographers and hundreds of onlookers
Since “nothing else happened in the world that day,” he told the Arrowhead Club, a California military research organization, in a 2014 interview, “I was front-page news.”
The New York Times ran its own Page 1 article on the flight and an editorial hailing the Army Air Forces’ growing readiness for postwar combat. It viewed the flight as providing “further proof of how rapidly the globe is shrinking.”
Robert Eli Thacker was born on Feb. 21, 1918, in El Centro, Calif., one of three children of Percie and Margaret (Eadie) Thacker.
When he was 8, his father, who owned a moving company, bought him a kit to build a twin-pusher model plane, a craft with two propellers that rides air currents with the aim of achieving maximum distance in competitions.
“I was hooked on aviation from that age on,” he recalled in the 2014 interview.
He attended a two-year community college in El Centro, hoping to become an aeronautical engineer. But his family did not have the money for him to complete a four-year college education, so in 1939 he joined what was then known as the Army Air Corps. He received his wings as a lieutenant in June 1940.
He flew World War II bombing missions out of New Guinea, Italy and England. He later joined the nation’s leading test pilots in experimental flights over California’s high desert at Muroc Army Air Field in California, later renamed Edwards Air Force Base.
In addition to flying B-17 Flying Fortresses in World War II, Colonel Thacker piloted Superfortresses in the Korean War and high-altitude missions in the Vietnam War.
The P-82 (renamed the F-82) flew combat missions in the Korean War, when it was given radar capability, but jet fighters soon rendered it obsolete.
Mr. Thacker retired from the Air Force as a full colonel in 1970. His awards included two Silver Stars and three Distinguished Flying Crosses.
He was later an adviser to the aviation industry and pursued his hobby of flying radio-controlled model planes.
Mr. Thacker’s daughter is his only survivor. His wife, Betty Jo (Smoot) Thacker, died in 2011.
Although the record-setting propeller fighter that Colonel Thacker flew has faded into obscurity, it has not been entirely forgotten.
That silver plane is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, inscribed “Betty Jo” in red script.

Professional Soldier and a dedicated Cavalry officer LIEUTENANT COLONEL ALFRED H. M. SHEHAB, has died. He was 101.
Born in Cape May, NJ, on September 18, 1919 and was educated in the United States and Lebanon, majoring in Political Science and History. He is the son of the late His Highness Emir Haleem Mahmoud Shehab, descended from al-Hareth, a Companion of the Prophet Mohammed, a member of the ruling Quraysh tribe. The princely title of “Emir” is one of the most ancient of the Arab world, as granted to al-Hareth by the first Caliph Abu Bakr.
Alfred Shehab was a professional Soldier and a dedicated Cavalry officer who served in the European Theater during World War II, including fighting in the largest battle of the war, the "Battle of the Bulge." During the war, he served with the 102d Cavalry Group (Jersey Essex Troop) in the 38th Cavalry Squadron (Mechanized). He also served in a variety of troop and staff assignments in Armored Divisions and Cavalry Regiments throughout the United States, the Caribbean, Europe, and the Middle East and as Armor Advisor to Saudi Arabia, 1952-1953.
As a teenager, because of films portraying the actions and panache of horse Cavalry Soldiers, he volunteered for the Free French Forces in 1941 but his father quickly ended that adventure. He then enlisted in the U.S. Army in January 1942. He attended Officer Candidate School and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Cavalry in August 1942 at Fort Knox, KY.
In 1958, he served as Special Assistant to General Paul D. Adams, Commander, American Land Forces, Middle East (Lebanon), in support of Lebanese forces and earned the highest acclaim for his unique qualifications and outstanding duty performance in this capacity.
His final military assignment was with the Inspector General Section, Second U.S. Army, Fort George G. Meade, MD, and he retired at Fort Meade in February 1963. Following his distinguished Army career, he worked with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Goddard Space Center, MD, 1964-1984.
Alfred Shehab was active in numerous veterans organizations, various foundations, and civic associations. He often assumed leadership positions such as President of the National Association of Arab Americans, the Greater Odenton Improvement Association, Battle of the Bulge Historical Foundation, and the Fort Meade Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America. He was the founder and President of the West Anne Arundel County Republican Club. Additionally, he served as Commander at all levels in the Military Order of the World Wars from Chapter to Department to Region culminating in his election as Commander-in-Chief, 1998-1999. He was appointed Chairman of the Fort Meade Coordinating Council, the Odenton Town Center Growth Management Committee, and the Anne Arundel County Impact Fee Study Committee. He also was a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 386, Cape May, NJ.
His memberships and affiliations were with the General Abrams Chapter, Armor Association; the 11th Cavalry Association; U.S. Horse Cavalry Association; Fourth Armored Division Association; Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame; the Order of Saint George (Armor/Cavalry); La Societe Des Chehabi Emirs; Order of Saint Stanislaus, Chevalier; Post 7, American Legion; and the Maryland Military Installation Council.
His awards include the Bronze Star Medal with ”V” Device for valor and Oak Leaf Cluster, the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the American Defense Service Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with four Battle Stars, the World War II Victory Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal (Germany), the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the French Croix de Guerre (WWII) with Bronze Palm, and the Belgian Croix de Guerre (WWII) with Bronze Palm. He was awarded the French Legion of Honor in February 2013.
Lieutenant Colonel Shehab is survived by his daughter Nanette J. Speer, two granddaughters, and three great granddaughters. He also leaves behind his companion, LTC Ruth L. Hamilton. He is preceded in death by his wife of 37 years, the former Betty J. Quenin.

Died from Coronavirus, days from becoming 101 yo

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/09/theodore-lumpkin-jr-tuskegee-airman-dies-coronavirus

ATA pilot. Died at 103. S.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-55601962


https://twitter.com/JohnNicholRAF/status/1347229635013173251/photo/2

Britain's last surviving female World War Two pilot who dies at the age of 103



Britain's last surviving female World War Two pilot has dies aged 103 decades after she flew Spitfires, Hurricanes and Hellcats.

Eleanor Wadsworth died at her home in Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk last month, reported The Sun.

She joined the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) trainee pilot scheme after war broke out in 1939.

Born in 1917 in Nottingham, Mrs Wadsworth was the last surviving British woman pilot to fly in the Second World War.

God bless her for her service

those women could fly .... no 'pushed to the front' politics there...

Captain Tom Moore has just died. Still, 100 not out wasn't bad.

RIP

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-55881753

Obituary:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52726188

RIP Captain Tom Moore. Much respect to a genuine hero.

God bless him and RIP sir

A grand man RIP

AMERICA REMEMBERS: It is with great sadness; we learn the passing of Pearl Harbor survivor Mr. Robert William Tanner Sr., a decorated veteran of three wars. He was 99.
Tanner was born Dec. 5, 1921, in Fairfield, N.Y., into a family of 11 children. His father died when he was young, and his mother, who was unable to provide for all her children during the Great Depression, placed Tanner and his siblings into an orphanage in Utica, N.Y.
Robert Tanner enlisted in the Army Air Corps when he was 17 years old. He had just turned 20 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. After that, he went on to serve nearly 30 more years, including in the Korean and Vietnam wars.
At age 12, Tanner took an interest in airplanes and started working at the airport in Utica, where he learned to clean plane parts and eventually to fly. After leaving the orphanage, he was placed at a boys ranch, where he learned his “toughness,” said his son Robert Tanner Jr.
“He had to learn how to fight and fend for himself on the boys ranch, especially with all the other teenage boys,” he said.
When he was 17, he enlisted in the Army. Because of his flying experience in Utica, Tanner was able to join the Army Air Corps after receiving flight status, his son said. He went to Hickam Field in Hawaii and flew B-18 Bolo bombers.
On Dec. 7, 1941, two days after his 20th birthday, Tanner survived a close call in the attack on Pearl Harbor, when standing on the steps of his barracks when the blast from one of the Japanese bombs threw him 35 feet into the air, leaving him with a concussion and a cut on his head.
He went on to serve another 27 years in the Air Force and was involved in the Korean War and the Vietnam War. In Vietnam, he was one of the last people to leave the American Embassy in Saigon during the withdrawal of American forces.
Tanner then worked for the Defense Department for 21 years before he retired in 1987.
Tanner and his wife of 68 years, Ephthalia, met while he was on assignment at the air attaché's office in Ankara, Turkey. Their daughter, Dorothy Hulsey, said her father had spotted Ephthalia, also known as Gigi, as she walked by the office and told a co-worker: “I’m going to marry that girl.”
After she graduated from high school, she became a translator at the office, and Tanner began to court her, Hulsey said. The couple married in 1952 and had three children: Hulsey in 1953, Christy Craig, who was born in 1954 and died in 2009, and Robert Jr. in 1960.
His wife, who is 13 years younger than her husband, called her marriage “the best.”
“Everyone’s husband is good, but this man of mine, no words can describe him,” she said.
Family members said Tanner was a loving and patient man with a dry sense of humor. He never complained, his wife said, even when life got tough.
Shortly after his daughter Christy was born, she was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a cancer that took her eyesight at a young age. His wife recalled Tanner driving home from the hospital with their newly blind child, determined to raise her in the best way possible.
“I can’t explain how good he was,” she said. “When he came home, he was a husband and a daddy. He did everything to give us a good and comfortable life.”
Hulsey described her father as strict, but she said she and her siblings had full lives growing up.
He was especially proud all three of his children had graduated with master’s degrees — something he wasn’t able to do after he enlisted in the Army.
He enjoyed talking about flying but he never boasted, Robert Jr. said, and for most of his life, he was tight-lipped about his war service. It wasn’t until 50 years after the Pearl Harbor attack that his family learned how much Tanner had endured.
“Nobody knew that he was a Pearl Harbor survivor until the general at the Army Air Force Exchange service was tasked to hand out the congressional medal to all the Pearl Harbor survivors in the North Texas area, and dad was one of the recipients,” Robert Jr. said. “Mom didn’t even know he was a Pearl Harbor survivor.”
Tanner’s other honors included a War Service Medal from the Dallas chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution and a Great Generation Award from the Commemorative Air Force.
“He was part of the greatest generation,” Hulsey said. “I just appreciate all the people of his generation. They’ve worked so hard and overcome so much and without complaint or without a feeling of entitlement, and I really appreciate and admire that so much now.”
In addition to his wife, daughter and son, Tanner is survived by six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.