This picture shows, from left to right, me, Adele Stanley, Howard Stanley, and my first cousin John Churchman, at my house in Virginia. On November 1, 1996, Howard and his wife came up for a visit from their home in Ahoskie, North Carolina.

Howard was the rear gunner who flew with my uncle, Joseph Sailer Jr., in dive-bombing planes during World War II. Howard flew with Uncle Joe on every one of his combat missions except the last one, on which Uncle Joe was shot down, December 7, 1942. On that particular mission, Uncle Joe took along a substitute gunner because neither he nor Howard technically was sup-posed to be flying. Uncle Joe wanted to fly one more time, and picked up another gunner who was immediately available.

I had the privilege of having lunch with Howard and Adele at the Marine Corps base at Quantico, Virginia; later that evening, they joined Clenise and me and John Churchman for dinner and conversation.