PENNSYLVANIANS ENJOY CALLING NORTH CAROLINA HOME

The late night radio message from an east-bound B-17 from Tokyo was stark but calm, “I am 25 minutes from Oahu with 20 minutes of fuel.”  A second message followed a few minutes later, “Now ditching.” 

BILL MCKENZIE WAS ON BRIDGE WATCH WHEN 
A RADIO MESSAGE CHANGED THEIR ROUTE

Within minutes, air traffic controllers directed search planes and rescue ships to the anticipated crash area – an extremely remote area 65 miles west of Honolulu.

Additionally, four Navy destroyers in route to Japan via Pearl Harbor were ordered directly to the crash scene at flank speed.

Aboard the ditched B-17 was a contingent of top officers from General Douglas MacArthur’s Tokyo headquarters, including Ambassador George Atcheson Jr., Chairman of the Allied-Council for Japan.  Hand-cuffed to Atcheson’s wrist was a briefcase filled with sensitive Japan treaty information to be personally delivered to President Harry S. Truman.

The next morning, three survivors were picked up by a Coast Guard cutter after a Marine Corps fighter pilot spotted the wreckage and an overturned raft.  Navy and Coast Guard ships recovered five bodies and another sank during recovery efforts.

 

Among the four bodies never recovered was Ambassador Atcheson, a World War I veteran, 27-year Far East diplomat, and General MacArthur’s top adviser. 

Gunnery Controlman Bill McKenzie was standing bridge watch aboard the USS McKean, one of the four destroyers mentioned earlier.

USS MCKEAN DD-784

 “We were looking forward to a liberty call in Hawaii when ordered to bypass the Islands and go directly to the crash scene.  We searched for three days and nights, with specific orders to watch for a survivor or body with briefcase containing highly confidential documents.” 

McKenzie entered the Navy in June, 1946 after high school graduation in McKeesport, PA.  (McKenzie, from McKeesport, aboard the McKean, has to be a linguistic analogy of mention!)  “After the B-17 crash diversion, the remainder of my enlistment was spent on occupation duty out of Yokosuka and Sasebo, Japan.  The Japanese people were very nice to us – any problems were brought on by our own troops.”

GUNNERY CONTROLMAN BILL MCKENZIE 
ENJOYS LIGHTER MOMENT AT SEA

A former high school classmate invited McKenzie to Tokyo, “We met accidently on a train.  He was an Army draftsman in the Supreme Commander’s Headquarters in the Dai-Ichi Building.  It was a memorable event for me to see General MacArthur in the flesh!”

Following his Navy discharge, McKenzie graduated from Muskingum College (now University), a United Presbyterian school in New Concord, OH.  He later earned a Master’s Degree in finance from University of Pittsburgh.

Realizing I knew less about Muskingum College than they knew about the Mississippi Southern College my wife and I attended, the McKenzies filled me in.  “John Glenn dropped out of Muskingum during World War II to become a Marine Corps aviator – on his way to earning six distinguished flying crosses and becoming the first American to orbit the earth, U.S. Senator, etc.  His dad was a New Concord plumber, and John married a Muskingum coed.  They were faithful in returning for school reunions.”

I deferred mention that Hall of Fame kicker, Ray Guy, came from our school -- punting and orbiting the earth don’t have a lot in common.

After working initially with Gulf Oil Company, Bill McKenzie spent most of his business career with US Steel Corporation, “I primarily did real estate work, which involved heavy travel all over the country.  I slept on business in all but three states!”

McKenzie’s father was a 54-year old school teacher when Bill was born, “He made $60 per month and made me promise: don’t swim in the river; don’t play in the old coal mine; don’t hop freight trains; and don’t marry a school teacher.”

In addition to his livelihood, McKenzie found his life’s mate at US Steel – the former Carol Newcome and Bill McKenzie have been married 57 years.  According to Carol McKenzie, “We have three children -- a son and daughter in the Triad -- another daughter in Texas.  At the moment, all our grandchildren are in Texas – one in high school and three in college.”

The McKenzies are pleasant and enthusiastic folks, but most pleasant and enthusiastic when sharing about their grands, “Our twin grandsons are at Southern Methodist University – one is a kicker on the football team, the other is earning two engineering degrees.  Our other grandson is a Sam Houston State University senior and hopes to become a professional golfer.  Our only granddaughter is a high school junior who is a competitive dancer.

BILL AND CAROL MCKENZIE -- 2017
(UNFORTUNATELY, BILL PASSED AWAY JUST WEEKS AFTER THIS PHOTO)

After two of their three children settled in the Triad, and after extensive travel around the world, it isn’t surprising that the McKenzies found Greensboro in 2007.  They are members of Fellowship Presbyterian Church and relatively new residents at Friends Home Guilford.

        

   

VETERAN'S STORY HAS UNUSUAL TWISTS

Among the military veterans I’ve written about, Hank Brodt may have the shortest length of service – only two years active, three years reserve. On the other hand, the months and years he spent overseas during World War II compare most favorably with other veterans. 

Hank Brodt spent all of them overseas.   

 

More precisely, his wartime experience includes time in five German concentration camps, a three-day death march without food or water, and one forced labor camp. 

In addition to being a U.S. Army veteran, Hank Brodt is a Holocaust survivor.

Post-war, he testified at trials of accused Nazi war criminals at Dachau and Bremerhaven.

Liberated by the U.S. Army’s 80^th Infantry Division on May 6, 1945, Brodt did kitchen patrol and odd jobs in the motor pool for Army occupation forces, “There wasn’t much pay involved, but I met many fine soldiers who befriended me – I learned a lot.”

After rotating back to the States, one of those soldiers sent Brodt paperwork towards visiting the United States and becoming a citizen.  Just four years after being liberated from a concentration camp, 24-year old Polish-born Hank Brodt immigrated to America.

While living in Chicago in 1950, he was drafted into the Army during the build-up for the Korean War.  Ironically, Brodt was sent to Germany, where he worked in the motor pool.

“After being discharged, I settled in New Jersey, married in 1952, and two beautiful daughters were born to my wife and me.  At this time, I have one grandson, one granddaughter, and two grand-Shelties!”

Brodt was under a year old when his father died.  As a child, he became the breadwinner for his mother.  He never saw her again after they were separated by the Germans in 1943. 

He never saw his brother again after he was drafted into the Russian Army.  “After years of searching, I did not find my brother but did eventually locate his widow.  She led me to my brother’s grave in Israel,” says Brodt.  Hank Brodt’s first wife died in 1978 and he remained single for over 20 years.

ADA AND HANK BRODT STAY BUSY WITH SPEAKING EVENTS

In 2000 Brodt married again.  Ada Brodt, who had been born in Russia, came to New Jersey in 1997.  Her father was Polish and had been taken as a prisoner of war by the Germans. 

She was college-trained as a construction engineer and worked for the Russian government, “When Gorbachev came into power, I was among a large number of people who lost their jobs and faced severe persecution.  A friend from Richmond, Virginia helped me obtain a guest visa and I later became an American citizen,” she says happily.

The Brodts moved  to High Point in 2005, they also have a home in Sparta.  They are active members of Temple Emanuel in Greensboro.

Brodt, now 90, is in high demand as a speaker and spends much of his time sharing his Holocaust experiences, “I want to tell others for the ones that didn’t make it!”  A retired carpenter, he is well-known and appreciated among Habitat for Humanity volunteers in Greensboro, where he used his carpentry skills many hours when his health was better.

Brodt makes annual excursions to Poland and Israel as part of the International March of the Living, an annual education program which brings individuals from all over the world to study the history of the Holocaust and to examine the roots of prejudice, intolerance and hate.

Greensboro businessman Don Freedman has an interesting take on the 2015 excursion.  “My son, Charlie, a high school junior, and I were looking forward to rooming together.  Instead, I was given 89-year old Hank Brodt as my room-mate. I was more than willing to help him with his baggage, but he kept offering to help me first – he is Mr. Energy!

It was an honor and privilege to travel and share rooms with Hank Brodt.  While memories were made that will last a lifetime, the timeliness is stark.  The Holocaust ended 71 years ago – the Hank Brodts of the world are becoming fewer by the day.”  

On May 5, 2016 Fort Bragg’s 18^th Field Artillery Brigade sponsored the Holocaust Days of Remembrance ceremonies – Hank and Ada Brodt were honored guests.

COL. GUY TROY USA (RETIRED) WITH ADA AND HANK BRODT
GUY IS A WW II VETERAN WHO FIRST MET HANK DURING THE WAR TRIALS

Even though he lost his family and suffered through inhumane conditions throughout his youth, “I actually consider myself extremely fortunate, “ Brodt admits. 

The U. S. Holocaust Memorial Museum estimates over two million Jews died in German concentration camps.

GREENSBORO VETERAN THINKING POSITIVELY AT 100-YEAR MARK

Without argument, Herbert Woodrow “Red” Strader is a numbers man – starting with birthdays – of which he had his 100^th on April 29, 2017.

"RED" STRADER AMONG SEVERAL CENTENARIANS AT FRIENDS HOME WEST 

 “My first job was delivering papers for the Greensboro Record, at $2 per week.  My second job was with Swift & ConAgra Foods, at $15 per week.  After two years, I received a raise to $17 per week.”

His earnings took a hit when he joined the Navy in 1943, “I earned $21 per month and nearly froze to death doing it!”

After basic training at Bainbridge, Maryland, Strader underwent four months of anti-aircraft amphibious training at Lido Beach, Long Island, New York.  “Reveille went for us at three in the morning.  We practiced going out to sea and coming back ashore over and over again.  The main thing I took away from Lido Beach was that I was cold and wet the entire time I was there!”

Strader was an optimist, even in his younger days, “At least, I didn’t get seasick like many of my peers.”   However, he learned more about seasickness on his way to Okinawa aboard the USS Typhon, “We had some really bad sea days and I felt extra terrible.  It didn’t help my feelings one bit that the captain and many crew-members were seasick as well.”

STRADER MOPPED UP OKINAWA AND TRAINED TO INVADE JAPAN

From Okinawa, Strader witnessed the massive build-up of men and materiel in preparation to invade the Japanese homeland.  “We had already started training for the Invasion when President Truman made the decision to drop the atomic bomb.  To this day, I give him credit for saving my life.  There is no telling how many American and Japanese lives would have been loss had that Invasion taken place.”

Even though Strader was well-practiced in amphibious landings, Okinawa had already been taken when his contingent arrived.  He helped establish and secure Navy facilities on the Island, “We were continuously harassed by Japanese troops who held out to the bitter end.”  For one such confrontation, he received a commendation and a letter from the Secretary of the Navy, James Forestall. 

Even though Stader felt “extra terrible” when crossing the Pacific, he fared even worse when Typhoon Louise hit Okinawa in October, 1945.  “Tents and anything made of canvas were blown away, as were 80% of all buildings on the Island.  We were without food for several days.  I laid in a ditch to survive the storm.”

Two of Strader’s brothers also served in World War II – Frank with the Army in Italy, and Jack with the Navy in the Pacific.  “I have no doubt that both of them would have been involved in the Invasion of Japan as well – I’m so thankful it did not happen.”

Greensboro born, Strader’s family included six boys and one girl, “My dad lost everything we had in the Great Depression, I don’t see how he was able to feed our family – but we never went hungry!” 

Long life-spans ran in his family – his mother died at 98, his sister at 99, and his brothers into their 90s.  After attending Pomona, Peck and McKeever schools, Strader graduated from Greensboro High School in 1935. 

As a centenarian, Strader’s recollections might shock Millenials, “I never rode a school bus in my life.  My wife and I traveled a lot -- gasoline was fifteen cents per gallon.  America is the greatest country on earth.  I have surrounded myself with good and knowledgeable people – hopefully, some of that rubbed off on me.  Money and material things are good, but not nearly as important as family and friends.”

Youngsters of all ages will marvel that Strader reads three newspapers daily and follows the stock market relentlessly.  Oh, he doesn’t wear glasses either!

Post-World War II, Strader worked 44 years with ConAgra Foods Inc., which morphed into Swift & Company.  Along the way, he and his wife formed Yancey Investment Company, Inc., with considerable holdings in real estate and other investments, “I’ve turned all that stuff over to my son and grandsons now, I know it’s in good hands!”

STRADER AND HIS CPA, DEBBIE MARLOWE

According to Debbie Marlowe, his accountant, he has not lost his passion as a numbers man, “I wish everyone brought their tax paperwork in as well prepared as Mr. Strader!”

Strader is a lifetime member of College Place United Methodist Church.  He and his wife, Nessie “Nip” Myrick Strader, were well-traveled – it would be easier to list world-wide venues they did not visit rather than those visited.  Nessie Strader died in 2004 after 66 years of marriage.  They had one son, three grandsons, and two great-grands.

At his 100^th birthday bash, Strader philosophized, “I’ve done a lot of dumb things in my life, but God has always been there to pull me through.

   

WW II CORPSMAN HAS STRONG CONNECTIONS TO GUILFORD COLLEGE AND COMMUNITY

James Campbell “J.C.” White entered Guilford College three times: in 1942 after graduating from Curry School; in 1946 following World War II; in 1950 after care-giving his parents through a seize of illnesses. 

Pragmatic beyond his 92 years, “After one year in college, I knew the draft board would be coming for me, so I went to them first.  It was Army-Navy alphabetically, so the W’s went Navy.  One year of pre-med at Guilford placed me in Navy Hospital Corps School.  One autopsy took all plans of medical school off my plate.”

He worked for the Postal Service after dropping out of college to take care of his parents.  “That was a great job, paid well and gave me time to help with my parents.”  It also gave him time and resources to invest in rural family land that was becoming less rural by the moment – it was near the intersection of Friendly Road and Dolley Madison Road.

His third enrollment at Guilford College was more typical – he graduated in 1952 with a degree in history.  He was already aligned with Greensboro history – he was delivered by Dr. Wesley Long. 

In the war zone, it took White a while to find his LST-456 duty station.  “The Navy flew replacement crewmen to their ships wherever they were posted.  Before my ship could be located, dysentery and dengue fever put me in a Brisbane, Australia sick bay.

J. C. WHITE AND FIRST COUSIN DURING WW II

That wasn’t bad duty – major league baseball stars, Phil Rizutto and Johnny Mize were there.  Rizutto’s bunk was next to mine.  When I left for New Guinea, he asked me to send him back some guineas.  Another memory – Rizutto received more letters from more women than anyone I ever knew!”

White caught up with LST-456 in the New Guinea theater, but did not follow through on his bunk-mate’s request.

WHITE'S LST-456 WAS ACTIVE IN PACIFIC THEATER 

As the junior corpsmen aboard ship, he spent much of his time giving shots.  “I know some of those shots were quite painful.  I don’t think I could do that now, at my age.”

With editorial license, I find that strange – As a sea-going Marine 60 years ago, corpsmen uniformly assured me, “This shot won’t hurt a bit!”

White recalls one sailor who wanted to choose his own doctor, “We were off the coast of Borneo.  I was the only corpsman on the ship when two crew-members got in a fight.  One suffered a split scalp but didn’t trust me to fix it.  ‘That’s fine with me, I told him -- go ahead and bleed to death – it’s your call.’ 

He changed his mind and I sutured him up, but he complained afterwards that my stitching left his bald head looking just like the lacing on a baseball.  I told him to grow lots of hair and no one would notice.”

White added, “We had a doctor aboard for a short while – he was a pediatrician – I never could figure that out!”

LST-456 earned eight combat campaign stars during the war, several of them after White came aboard.  He became a golden shellback when his troop carrier crossed both the Equator and International Date Line.

LST-456 EXTRACT SURRENDERED JAPANESE FROM LUZON 

He has indelible memories from the Philippines, “We beached our ship on Luzon to take on Japanese troops as prisoners of war.  A Japanese major went ashore with a bullhorn to coax them out of the jungle and to surrender their arms.”

He well remembers the day the war ended, “We were below deck watching Gone With the Wind for the umpteenth time.  Anti-aircraft guns started firing from all over the place, and the announcement came over the PA system, ‘The war is over.’ “

Memories were also made after sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge, “ Welcome Home, Boys had been painted on the Alcatraz water tank.”

Even then, he wasn’t home free, “Several of us weren’t paying attention and got on the wrong train in Chicago.  The conductor was going to kick us off, but three women passengers talked him out of it.  We got to Atlanta, where we caught another train to Greensboro.”

White traces his Quaker heritage back to Cane Creek’s Simon Dixon.  Late in life, he married Winifred Lincoln, an Englishwoman and daughter of a British engineer working in the U.S.  She had a son and daughter.  Winifred White died in 2014.

The son has also passed away, but his step-daughter, Joan, is around to dote on White, “She is the daughter I never had.” 

J. C. WHITE AND BOB BENBOW -- WW II LST SAILORS IN DIFFERENT THEATERS
BUT TOGETHER AT FRIENDS HOME -- GUILFORD

White spent most of his working career with Dillard Paper Company, “I couldn’t have chosen a better place to work.”  His venture into real estate is a stand-alone story.  Parcels of his land were once owned by a Payne family.  They had a daughter named Dolley.

   

   

  

BENBOW'S NAVY SERVICE A TESTIMONY FOR PEACE

On January 1, 1942, John R. “Bob” Benbow attended the first Rose Bowl game played away from Pasadena, California.  (Duke Stadium, Durham, NC – Oregon State 20, Duke 16). 

On January, 19, 1943, Benbow joined the U.S. Navy.  After boot camp, he went aboard the Navy’s first tank landing ship, LST-1. 

Of 1000 LSTs manufactured during the war years, Benbow’s was the first to float.  “We left New York on April 14, 1943 with a full load of tanks, trucks, jeeps and lots of supplies.  We even carried a 131-foot landing craft tank on our main deck.  Pontoons were attached to each side of the LST for unloading tanks and heavy equipment.

Bermuda was our first port of call – it was the first and last friendly call for the next two years.”

BOB BENBOW IS OAK RIDGE, NC NATIVE AND
GRADUATE OF OAK RIDGE MILITARY ACADEMY

Arzew and Bizerte, along the African Coast, were less friendly, “We got our introduction to the real war there – air raids, bombs, and firing our anti-aircraft guns at enemy planes.”

Sicily was even less hospitable, “We were bombed almost every day and sometimes at night – just enough to keep us up and wear us out.”

LST-1 made several supply shuttles back and forth to Africa.  “On one trip, we took on 400 German and Italian prisoners of war and transported them to Africa. 

On another trip, I met the Army doctor who had come aboard for the Invasion of Sicily.  He was a major and I was enlisted, but we developed a special bond – his name was Dr. Maurice LeBauer, from Greensboro, North Carolina.

TROOPS OFFLOADING AT SALERNO, ITALY

The September, 1943 Invasion of Salerno, Italy came next for us.  We got there a few days after D-Day, but were still within firing range of the Germans.  We stayed at general quarters almost all the time.”

LST-1 went into the supply shuttle mode again, making several voyages across the Mediterranean to Northern Africa.  “We knew another invasion was being planned, but the ship was on lock-down secrecy.  After sailing, we were told – Anzio.”

There was hardly anything about Anzio that Benbow approved, “It was poorly planned and the execution was worse than the planning.  Allied lives were lost unnecessarily!”

The fact that U.S. ships were raided by Luftwaffe bombers and received heavy barrages of fire from inland gun placements -- including Germany’s infamous railroad gun -- surely clouded Benbow’s perspective.  Many companion LSTs were hit and some sank at Anzio.

COMBAT LOADING AT SALERNO FOR ANZIO INVASION

After Anzio, LST-1 returned to dry dock in Sicily, featuring rest & recuperation for the crew.  The welcome this time was friendlier than on their prior visit.

Benbow lost his Oak Ridge Military Academy class-ring in Sicily.  “That broke my heart and I looked all over for it.  After the war, I went back to Oak Ridge for one semester.  A guy from New York sent the ring to the president of the school.  He had traded a carton of cigarettes for my ring in Salerno.  Fortunately, he was a good guy -- my name and the school name was engraved inside the ring.” 

By early May, 1944 Benbow was in Swansea, Wales, enjoying what turned out to be a lull before the storm.  “This was our first English-speaking port in over a year, but even with my Welsh heritage I had a hard time with their brogue.”

LST-1 had been combat-loaded for four days when she slipped from an English port on June 5, 1944.  “I was up early the next morning – you could see ships in four directions and airplanes in four directions – that’s the only way I can describe it.

We anchored off Omaha Beach D-Day afternoon and sent a landing craft ashore with a load of Navy beach-masters.  They would supervise off-loading from the ships.”

Benbow’s second visit to Omaha Beach was on June 12, 1944.  It was a mind-changer.  “My walk on the beach that day is burned in my memory.  Those memories will haunt me forever.  Ships were sunk or partially submerged, tanks and vehicles over-turned and burned, dead soldiers were lying in the sand – body parts were still being collected.”

For decades, 93-year old Benbow did not talk or write about his WW II memories.  Eventually, he started writing – then talking -- he feels people need to know about the awfulness of war, and that war is not always the answer.

WORLD WAR II VETERAN OF FIVE CAMPAIGNS VOLUNTEERED TO SERVE
BUT PRAYS THAT WARS CAN BE AVOIDED IN THE FUTURE

The North Carolina State University graduate worked with Nationwide Insurance for 31 years.  He has been retired 33 years.  He married Reba Lowdermilk in 1949 – they have three children and three grand-children.  

In October, 2016 Benbow was among the 1942 Rose Bowl attendees invited back to commemorate the occasion – only one of the football players was still alive.

  

 

 

  

WW II VETERAN, LAWMAN, GENTLEMAN

Even though former Guilford County Sheriff Walter A. “Sticky” Burch and I have attended John Willett’s Bible Study Group together for years, he has always spurned the invite to share his World War II experiences. 

That changed abruptly when shown a February 19, 1943 photo of him leaving Greensboro for aviation cadet training in Miami, Florida.  The photo was provided by Lieutenant Colonel Frank Montgomery, USAF (Retired), who was written about in these pages on June 3, 2017. 

74-YEAR OLD PHOTO RELEASES LIFETIME OF MEMORIES
LT COL FRANK MONTGOMERY USAF (RET) (CENTER KNEELING)
LONGTIME LAWMAN STICKY BURCH (2ND FROM LEFT STANDING)

That photo and the reunion between Montgomery and Burch spawned 74 years of memories -- they flowed much faster than I could write.

Burch has almost 99 years of Greensboro connections, but claims he was born in Asheville.  By accident.  “My mother was visiting there when I was born.”

He attended Asheboro Street and Gillespie Park schools before graduating from Greensboro High School in 1938, where he lettered in wrestling, track and football.  “My father died when I was 15, but Football Coach Bob Jamieson was like a father to me.

It is an urban legend that Coach Jamieson gave me the nickname that stuck with me more than my birth name.  I played end on the football team for three years.  You can be assured, Coach Jamieson was never convinced I could catch footballs like I had ‘sticky’ fingers.  Anyhow, the name stuck.”

Burch was several years older than the typical aviation cadet.  “I went to Presbyterian College on a football scholarship but probably did more in track.  I ran the 100 and 200 yard dash and anchored the 440 relay.  One day, I ran all three events against Clemson.  We won, but that was the toughest day of my life!” 

After one year in college and one year with the Greensboro Police Department, Burch answered the call to serve his country.

“I was a gung-ho aviation cadet in preliminary flight training in Miami.  My next stop was Middle Georgia State College in Cochran, Georgia, then to Nashville, Tennessee for classification.  My first actual flight training was at Carlstrom Field, Arcadia, Florida.

Flying was fun – I loved the PT-17 Stearman we trained in and did very well during take-offs and in-flight, but not so well with landings.  Two out of three wasn’t good enough.  I was shipped out for photo reconnaissance training.    Washing out was especially embarrassing inasmuch as the Stearman had the reputation of almost landing itself!”

Burch vividly recollects, “I cried like a baby after washing out of pilot’s training.”

Even though someone else did the piloting, Burch arrived in the European Theater in time to fly combat photo reconnaissance missions before V-E Day.  “It was just the pilot and me.  We typically flew at about 10,000 feet and photographed potential targets for the next day’s bomb runs.  Our small aircraft had guns but we weren’t sure they worked.  German fighter planes got after us occasionally, but we dodged more mountains than enemy bullets.” 

MONTGOMERY AND BURCH "CATCHING UP" AFTER 74 YEARS
SEVERAL MCDONALD'S CUSTOMERS "CAUGHT UP" WITH THEM

Burch returned to the Greensboro Police Department after the war and retired with 40 years’ service – he was Assistant Chief of Police at the time of his retirement.  Tack on two terms as sheriff for a total of 48 years in law enforcement.

“I was happily retired when asked to run for sheriff.  My wife did not want me to run, and was the happiest girl in town when B. J. Barnes ‘retired me’ the third time I ran.”

Mary Jones Burch passed away in 2011 after 65 years of marriage.  The Burches had twin girls and a son, seven grands, and six great-grandchildren.

He had an answer reminiscent of Secretary of Defense James Mattis when asked if dealing with bad guys for almost half a century upset him, “Not at all, but I upset a few of them.”

Burch remains philosophical about his longevity, “It’s easy to look back over nine decades and see that the good Lord had a plan for me all along – I thank Him every day for how He has blessed me!”

A long-time member of the Congregational United Church of Christ, Burch is a member of the Oriental Shrine Club and the Greensboro Rotary Club.

MONTGOMERY, BURCH & THETFORD ENJOY CRACKER BARREL MOMENT 2017
(BURCH RECOVERING FROM SKIN CANCER SURGERY)

On September 8, 2017, High Point’s Frank Montgomery will be 94.  On October 21, 2017, Greensboro’s Sticky Burch will be 99.  Two fortunate towns to be called home by two American Patriots.

  

HIGH POINT AVIATOR HAS NO COMPLAINTS

High Point’s Frank Montgomery must have wondered where he went wrong.  As an Army Air Corps fighter pilot, why was he helping off-load Marines and equipment from a landing craft during the Invasion of Iwo Jima?  And why was a Navy Beachmaster ordering him, “Get these vehicles off the beach?”

MONTGOMERY AS P-51 PILOT FLYING FROM IWO JIMA

Montgomery was a P-51 pilot with two problems – his P-51 was in route from Guam and the Marines were yet to wrest an Iwo Jima runway from the Japanese.  Both problems were solved expediently -- Montgomery would be one and one-half kills short of becoming an Ace by war’s end.

Montgomery took a respite from active duty after the war – built a place at the beach, purchased a family farm in Trinity, enrolled at NCSU, married Cynthia Smith, and built a house for them to live in.

Recalled to active duty during the Korean War, Montgomery trained new flight instructors for the B-25 bomber at Connolly Air Force Base in Waco, Texas.  A series of moves took him to air force bases in Selma, Alabama; Dover, Delaware; Greenville, South Carolina; West Palm Beach, Florida; Iceland, Denver, Colorado; and Amarillo, Texas.

By 1966, Montgomery was flying the C-130 Hercules.  His home base for the next 33 months was Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam.  “The C-130 was noisy but versatile – there wasn’t much we couldn’t do.  We ran special operations, supported USAF strike aircraft, dropped personnel, equipment and supplies, and flew many rescue missions.”

MONTGOMERY WAS SILVER STAR RECIPIENT FLYING C-130 HERCULES (LEFT)
DURING VIETNAM WAR -- HAD 3 1/2 KILLS FLYING P-51 DURING WW II

Montgomery’s most vivid memory of Vietnam is May 12, 1968, “That was Mother’s Day.  My family was living on Okinawa at the time, but I could not get over to be with them.  Just as we were returning to base after flying most of the day, we were ordered to proceed to Kham Duc on an extraction mission.

Cork-screwing into the mountainous landing strip, we could tell the Special Forces Camp had been over-run.  We saw smoke, fires, two crashed C-130s and a helicopter along the runway as we went in.  Under heavy small arms and mortar fire, debris and wreckage down the runway -- and no visible survivors to extract -- I turned the aircraft around and prepared for a reverse take-off.

LT COL FRANK MONTGOMERY USAF (RET) SERVED DURING THREE WARS

Suddenly, U.S. Special Forces troops, South Vietnam troops and Vietnamese civilians appeared from all directions and swarmed under our propellers and into the back of our C-130.  I told the loadmaster to push everyone aboard and close the hatch – we were leaving in five minutes.”

For that Mother’s Day mission Lieutenant Colonel Frank Montgomery was awarded a Silver Star.  “When it was all over, we had brought 180 people out, plus two pigs!  The Vietnamese didn’t leave much behind!  I wish that Silver Star could have been cut into five pieces – my crew deserved it just as much as I did!”

After 28 years, eight months, 22 days, and over 20,000 flight hours, Frank Montgomery retired from the Air Force and returned to his High Point roots.  He chronicled his service during three wars and entitled it to fit his persona, “No Complaints -- I flew on the first day and I flew on my last day.”   

As a civilian, he promptly reverted to his propensity to build.  He and his sons formed Montgomery Investments, dealing with residential real estate.  At 93, Montgomery has turned everything over to his family.

Cynthia Montgomery died in 2003 – they had been married 56 years.  From the marriage came four sons, nine grands and four great-grandchildren. 

The Montgomerys were life-long members of First United Methodist Church – High Point.  “My Montgomery grandfather was a charter member of First UMC,” says Frank Montgomery.  “My Cranford grandfather gave five acres of the family farm on which Fairview United Methodist Church was built.”

After Ray Street Elementary and Ferndale Junior High, Montgomery graduated from Central High School.  He ran track for Central and set a state record for the one-half mile run in 1940.

FRANK MONTGOMERY WAS TRACK STAR AT
HIGH POINT CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL

Frank Montgomery and his brother, James, a World War II sailor, were named to the Central High School Hall of Fame in 2016.

An interesting aside, Frank Montgomery’s chronicle of his service includes a photo of him and six others who left for the Army Air Corps on February 19, 1943.  One of the “others” is former Guilford County Sheriff Sticky Burch.  Burch had never seen the photo.  When shown the 74-year old photo, he exclaimed, “That was a London Fog I was wearing!”

19FEB1943: CANDIDATES LEAVING GREENSBORO FOR AVIATION CADET TRAINING AT MIAMI, FLORIDA -- FRANK MONTGOMERY (KNEELING CENTER)
STICKY BURCH (SECOND FROM LEFT STANDING) 

Over 74 years later, Montgomery and Burch met again – but that’s another story.