I had navigated to London Paris Calcutta, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia, to the islands of the Atlantic from Greenland to Ascension Island. I had navigated to Hawaii, Philippines, Okinawa, Japan, and the islands in between
It might interest some readers to learn that I had served more than 5 years in the US Army Air Corps. I returned home to family and friends with total abstinence from use of tobacco and alcohol and absolutely faithful to my dear wife. I had also fired no gun at a human target. I can't number the times I looked out the window after flying many hours over the ocean with nothing but celestial bodies to fix my position to see a tiny speck of land that I expected to see when I expected to see it. That tiny speck was usually covered with clouds and invisible until a few miles away.
I started out making $21.00 a month and ended up making more than $400 a month. So there I was an Officer and a Gentleman separated from active duty with only two skills. One skill was air navigation the other farm hand. A big, big decision was staring me right between the eyes. What do I do so Wanda can live in the manner to which she has become accustomed? I was separated as a 1st Lieutenant. I should have been a captain. While at Romulus, Michigan we rented an unfurnished house and bought the minimum furniture in Detroit. When the furniture arrived the chair had been used and one arm was loose. I thought I was negotiating with the store but they reported me to the commanding officer. he called me in and ordered me to pay. He also advised that officers never had problems with civilians and delayed my promotion 6 months. That was the Army way.
I worked for a while helping Wanda's father build houses. Then with the help of the Veteran's Administration I trained as I worked to become an electrician wiring houses and repairing appliances. I had my own business for a couple of years.
The next few weeks in 1945 were probably the most difficult of my life. Here I was an ‘Officer and a Gentleman’ by an act of congress, out of work and with no saleable skills. All that I had ever done was work on a farm and navigate an airplane. I had earned $50 a month at one and $350 at the other. To compound the problem I didn’t know what type of work that I wanted to do. I sort of wanted to become a dentist but I was already 28 years old with a family and thought that I was too old to go to college. Seventeen years later I did earn a college degree.
Wanda’s Dad and Uncle Charlie were carpenters and building houses. I worked with them for a few weeks earning a dollar an hour. Later with the help of the Veterans program I began on-the-job training as an appliance repair serviceman. A couple of years later I had my own electrical (We Fixit) shop and doing all right.
We had purchased a home in St Matthews, Kentucky and Kay was born there. We then bought 1.3 acres in Fern Creek and Wanda’s father Rube built us a house on it. The house was 24’ X 30’ with a full basement. We used a cistern for our water supply. Cheryl was born here.
Lee with Sandi, Kay, and the appliance repair truck
Business card
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