MORE ON UNCLE BILL

It has been a couple of weeks, so I thought I would post mostly pictures of stuff on this one.  Since it is Memorial Day, it seems appropriate to follow up on my previous post with some additional items Elizabeth Hamilton (Barney) posted.

First, this letter, sent to Aunt Mae:

   

Second, this announcement of his graduation from the flexible gunnery school at Kingman, Arizona, just four months before he shipped out.  Notice the Bugs Bunny meme they adopted

Mom and I hope to make a detour to Kingman on our way back from California.  Of course the gunnery school is no longer there, replaced by an industrial park and small local airport.  But the old air control tower is still in place, having been declared an historic site, and protected.  It will be something just to visit the place where he was and trained.  A few facts and pictures:

From Wikipedia:

The Kingman Army Air Forces Flexible Gunnery School Radio Tower, at 7000 Flightline Dr. in Kingman, Arizona is a historic structure built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1943. It is a steel radio tower that has also been known as Kingman Army Air Field Radio Tower and as Storage Depot #41 Radio Tower. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.^[1]

It is a 54-foot (16 m) tall "Airdrome Traffic Control" (ATC) tower that was built to control air traffic at the Kingman Army Air Forces (KAAF) Flexible Gunnery School. It has a 14-by-14-foot (4.3 m × 4.3 m) "cab" with a hip roof. In 1988, the cab was empty and the tower was surrounded by fencing.

It was believed to be one of only two ATCs of its type surviving in the United States.^[2]

It is located in what in 1988 was known as the Kingman Airport and Industrial Park.^[2]

Here is a link to a history of the school:

 Kingman Flexible Gunnery School History

And, a few pictures:

The Air Control Tower:

Logo:

:

Trainee:

Well, that's more than enough...but this stuff fascinates me and helps me feel connected to the uncle I never knew.

Love to all

A Tender Mercy

Some time ago, some of you will remember I posted a series of letters my dad's brother, Bill, posted during his service in WWII, up until the time he died.  I later posted a question as to whom his last letter was addressed, identified only as "Pop and Aunt Mae", copied below. 

A little over a week ago a relative, Elizabeth Hamilton (Barney), read that mystery under Uncle Bill's memories on family search and provided the answer, appended.  Juli and I have been batting this around, but I thought some of the rest of you might find the answer interesting:

Letters: Addendum (Originally posted by Steve Lambson, Sr to jackmanlambsonyoungfraedrich.blogspot.com on 1/14/2017)

In reference to my Uncle Bill’s letters, Juli had a question: who was the “Bud” referred to in many of the letters? Was it my father, another relative or friend, or did it vary? The answer is, without exception “Bud” refers to my father. I should have noted at the outset that all the letters I possess were addressed to my father with only two exceptions…one to Bill’s father Byron, which, like the ones to my dad; and one photocopied letter addressed to Mr. Ephraim Stradling. There were doubtless other letters to other people, including his sister Dorothy (Dot), but I have no record of these. The photocopied letter introduces an additional mystery that I mentioned to Juli, and attempted a quick resolution, but such was not to be. As I said, it was addressed to Mr. Ephraim Stradling and was postmarked September 14th, 1943. As such, it has particular poignancy to me as it is the last letter we have recorded from him before his plane was recorded missing September 23rd. The letter inside is addressed “Dear Pop and Aunt Mae”. So who was Pop, and who was Aunt Mae? Ephraim Stradling would be the brother to Byron’s mother Rose Stradling, so Bill’s Great-Uncle. His wife was Eugina Elizabeth Williams. We know that Byron’s wife Myrle died when Bill was not quite two weeks old (he was born December 31st, 1921, Myrle died January 10th, 1922), Virgil and Dorothy both under 5 years old. Since the kids were farmed out to different families, it is not impossible to believe Ephraim and Eugina had some part in Uncle Bill’s upbringing (after all, My father Virgil was raised by their Great Aunt and Uncle, Mary Stradling Cook and George Cook, who had also had a part in Byron’s upbringing when Rose died). The “Aunt Mae” part, on the other hand, is more confusing. Neither of Ephraim’s wife’s two names could be shortened to “Mae”. So the plot thickens. They had two daughters and a son. We will eliminate the son, William, from contention. The daughters were Myrtle, born in 1906, and Merline, born in 1909. We have a photocopy of a photo purported to be of Myrtle and Merline holding a pre-toddler Bill on their laps, probably close to 1923 (he looks to be about a year old). Myrtle was married to Roland Brimhall in 1923, Merline to Alma Barney in 1927, so it is possible that either of these might have had a role in Bill’s upbringing, and you could probably reduce either Myrtle or Merline to “Mae”. They would both be Byron’s cousins, so technically not aunts to Bill, but here is what persuades me to believe Merline may be the elusive “Aunt Mae”. In another photocopied page I have, there is a picture of Merline and Alma Standing on a porch. On the same page is a photocopy of a picture of Bill in uniform (the one most of you have seen), and a photocopy of a news clipping reporting Bill missing in action (I will have to send this in an e-mail). Also I have a Provo Herald Veteran’s Day Tribute insert section from November 11th, 2007, with the same photo of Bill, and this tribute: “I always loved you and was proud of you - sis (Aunt Merline)”. So what do the rest of you think? Who is Pop? Who is Aunt Mae? I have some contact information for a few members of the Alma Barney-Merline Stradling Barney family. Perhaps one of them can shed some light? Love, Dad (Steve Lambson, Sr)

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• 8 May 2019

Ephraim Stradling (KWD9-3H2)married after Euginie died. He married Elizabeth Mae Wilde (KW87-QML) on the 10 Jun 1920. Elizabeth is the "Mae" you're asking about. My Grandmother,Merline Stradling Barney (KWCF-BV8), the daughter of Ephraim talked fondly of Billy as did her children, my dad, Merlin Barney and his siblings. I remember them all talking about Aunt Mae - who was Ephraim's second wife.

What a blessing...I now have a connection with Elizabeth, and thus  with another important branch of our family, the Stradlings and by marriage, the Barneys.