Ed...and a bygone era.

I'd not want to do what my neighbor Ed Hinrichs did. Flying 32 missions in World War II. Bombing raids over German cities. And yes, the thought occurred to Ed that he may have bombed some of his German relatives. But that's a dreadful thing about war. Ed never knew the victims. Maybe just as well. The bombs dropped from 12,000 feet. And Ed recalls that it was hard to hit a specific target. Depended on weather conditions. Winds often took bombs far off target. Ed's crew bombed Berlin and Ludwigshafen and Saarbrucken. So many cities. Cities I've been to. Places where Hinrichs and Broedes lived then and now. Fortunately, my paternal grandfather left Germany around 1900 and sneaked into the U.S. As an illegal immigrant. He missed World War I by declaring that he was 5 years older than his actual age. Thus he avoided the draft. He didn't wanna be sent back to Germany to fight Broedes, or anyone. Gotta give him credit for that. And for coming to America. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been born. Because it was in the U.S. where he met my grandmother. And they had three children, including my father. Anyway, Ed's ancestors also came from Germany. A generation or two before mine. Ed didn't try to avoid fighting in World War II. He enlisted. In the Air Force. And tried to become a pilot. But flunked out of training. Instead, he became a mechanic on a B-17 bomber crew stationed in England. From there, they routinely flew on dangerous bombing missions. Ed was one of the lucky ones. He survived. Most didn't. Next week, Ed will turn 90. For which I am grateful. Gives me opportunity to really get to know Ed. And to get him to talk about a bygone era. --Jim Broede