This week's prompt is "planes." Planes immediately makes me think of Carl and Mildred Strand's oldest son, Howard.
Howard Charles Strand was born June 28, 1921, in Allegan, Michigan. After graduating high school, he began working for the Crescent Pipe company. In the spring of 1943, Howard enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He was sent to pilot training and then entered advanced fighter pilot training in Punta Gorda, Florida. He trained on the P-51 Mustang. When he finished training, he was going to go to Europe, but the Germans had surrendered. He requested to be sent to the Pacific but then the Japanese surrendered. They must've heard a Strand was coming and knew better than to mess with one. ;) He was mustered out of the Air Corps in September 1945. He purchased an army surplus PT-19 basic training airplane and maintained his flying skills at the Allegan airport. In late 1946 the first units of the Michigan National Guard were activated. Howard joined what would become the 172nd Fighter Squadron in Battle Creek, Michigan. He flew P-51's. In 1947 it was renamed the Michigan Air National Guard.
In 1950, when the Korean conflict started, the 172nd was transferred to Selfridge Air Force base in Michigan. Howard was promoted to a 1st Lieutenant and began flying jets. It was here that an unidentified flying object was picked up on radar. Howard scrambled to his jet and saw a shiny, metal object flying around. The object was picked up on local radar too. Neither Howard nor the ground controller had any idea what the object was. Howard filed a UFO report.
By 1954 the 172nd was back in Battle Creek, and Howard was made a Captain and the base operations manager. It seems Howard used to take delight in "buzzing" the local farmers as they worked in their fields, including his own father by flying his planes very low overhead.
In 1959 Howard was promoted to Major and base commander. In December of that year, he enlisted his son, Kenneth, and his youngest brother, Fred, into the Michigan Air National Guard. Both of them made aviation their lifelong careers.
Howard retired from the Air National Guard in 1984. He was active in the Battle Creek American Legion and was a proud promoter of the U.S. military and Air Force.
Howard's sister, Viola, also had a son who worked as an air traffic controller in Grand Rapids, Michigan after enlisting in the Navy. One of Viola's daughters and her husband have built their own airplane and flown it! A love of flying seems to be in the Strand blood.
These are just a few examples I can think of. Do you know any other relatives/ancestors who have a love of flying, or working with planes? Add your thoughts below. Feel free to share and forward.
One of my first memories was Fred and or Howard flying a jet over the farm at slightly over tree top level. That was quite impressive and I was always interested in flying after that. I joined the Navy in November 1975. They had a Navy flying Club at the Norfolk airport and I started working on my pilots license in 1976. At that time you could rent a Cessna 150 for $10 a hour and that included the fuel! I want on to get my commercial, instrument and multi engine ratings. I also became a flight instructor and did that from 1980 to 1981. After I was hired as an Air Traffic Controller I still instructed part time. Life got busy and some time in the early 90's I let my instructor license lapse. I still dream of flying again when life slows down.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story! I can't imagine being out in the field, and then a jet comes roaring over. I didn't know you had had an instructors license. Maybe you will get to fly again.
DeleteAlan - the first time I ever flew was with you in a small plane. you took me up to take pictures of the family farms. I loved it but hanging the camera out the window made me so motion sick. I never barfed but boy i was close! I've gone up several times since (most recently with friends out here in AZ that have their own planes) and love it.
DeleteI also remember Uncle Howard coming in low and hot over the farm during family reunions, and how that has affected me to this day. The Tucson air force base is just on the other side of the mountains and they fly alot of maneuvers up our valley and I still run out when I hear the planes coming. My one regret is that I didn't enlist when Howard tried to talk me into it.
Also - I talked to Howard once about the UFO he saw. Howard was a no BS guy and the fact that he saw something, could not ID it , and was willing to talk about it when asked made me a believer to always look up and pay attention.
Alan was right. I remember being way out in the field, I think getting the cows, when Howard flew over us. He was very low. He made a couple passes Our neighbor, Jimmy Germain, was mad and called mom and really complained.
ReplyDeleteHoward seems like quite the character. 😂 I'm sure there was nothing Grandma could have said to Howard to make him stop.
DeleteI could hear Uncle Howard's jet way before it flew over our farm low and fast! I absolutely loved it and gave me goose bumps to see. I would always be waving my arm off but knew he probably didn't see me. Very proud of all the pilots in my family! My husband Tom became a private pilot in June 1977 and built 3 planes. Two from plans and one from a kit. He flew two of those and ultimately sold all three of them. It was very interesting to learn and my part was riveting and bucking rivets. So in remembering Uncle Howard whose birthday was a couple days ago, we hope he "slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God"
ReplyDeleteJoyce Galloway. Howard and his buzzing the area became a local folk hero. One story was he came so low over Dumont lake he sucked up water behind his plane. One neighbor complained to Carl that his cows would not give milk for several days after he buzzed over. One time dad actually got off the tractor and crouched under it. Mom would come out and wave a dish towel. He would be so low you could clearly see him. Anyone who flew with Howard had stories of Howard. He would often fly to California to visit his Aunt Helen to get in his required flying hours.
ReplyDeleteand here is another story to show how small the world is: in the last 10 years I met Dave and Linda Hull - family of my secretary from my 911 days. In talking with Dave Hull it came out that he was Air Nat Guard, and had flown with Howard out of Battle Creek on several occasions during the years after Viet Nam. One story that made him laugh was they had to fly a training mission from Battle Creek to several bases, and arrive out here to Davis Montham in Tucson. As the commander Howard liked to be 1st to arrive - more or less to make an 'entrance'. Dave said he and a couple others conspired to beat Howard to Tucson and landed first. Boy was Howard mad but all the other guys also had rank so there wasn't much he could do but chew them out. I guess they all had a laugh over it later. Dave also knows Fred very well and they work together at the kalamazoo Air Zoo
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