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.
