First American Ace in WWII At the outset of WWII with Japan’s surprise attack at Pearl Harbor, and invasion of the Philippines, America needed a hero. Buzz (Boyd) Wagner’s daring accomplishments as America’s first Ace in WWII proved him to…

Medal of Honor Recipient Edward Silk was born in Johnstown Pa. on June 8th, 1916, and joined the Army in April 1941 shortly after the attack at Pearl Harbor. 1st Lt. Edward A. Silk commanded the weapons platoon of Company…

Kenneth Ivory Insight into his short but meaningful time on earth. Early Years Growing up on a farm in Cambria County meant long days of hard physical work which gave Ken a sense of accomplishment and pride of being the…

John Lipple, a personal story of December 7th December 7, 1941 was a sunny lazy morning. Petty Officer First Class John A. Lipple stayed on board the USS Arizona that morning to attend mass with a friend even though he…

Sergeant Michael Strank- US Marine Corps The Strank family immigrated to America from Czechoslovakia when Michael was a child. However, he thrived in America, learning the language and was an outstanding student attending Franklin High School. He joined the Marines…

World War II veteran James Porter Myers, Jr. from Altoona, James was a member of the 8 the Army Air Forces. He served as a tail gunner on B-17 and B- 24 aircraft, then as a bombardier in the Pacific…