BOTKINS – Memories of a wonderful life were shared by two classmates — Lawrence Piper, of Anna, and Charles Finkenbine Jr., of Lima — representing the Anna Class of 1943 at their 75th class reunion at the Inn Between Tavern Saturday, Aug. 18.
They represent what some say was “The Greatest Generation,” those young people who went straight from high school classrooms into the second world war and then back to civilian life to raise families and serve their country.
Of their military service, both served in the Army, but with widely different duties.
Piper, who served in General George Patton’s Third Army in the 35th Infantry, came into Europe in January 1944, 38 days after D-Day.
“We were trained to kill people,” said Piper flatly.
Sometimes moving 40 miles per day, they were attached to the 6th Armored Division. He said that after the area ahead was strafed by tank artillery, the infantry would move in to clear the area of any other German opposition.
“We could not walk on the road because the Germans had snipers shooting at us, so the tanks would go ahead of us,” said Piper.
Piper said he started in the Army Air Corp but after D-Day, he, like many young men, were moved into the infantry because the need was great for men on the ground. His most harrowing experience was when a shell hit a tree near him, exploding a wood fragment into his arm and breaking the bone.
“I was afraid to look after it hit me,” he said. “I was afraid the arm wouldn’t be there.
“I have felt some guilt over the years, wondering how I was able to return when so many did not make it,” said Piper. “But we did our duty.”
He said many men were enlisted for just one year, but after Pearl Harbor, “Everyone was signed up for the duration of the war.”
Also in the Army, Finkenbine worked as an engineer and test pilot in the Army Air Corp in the United States for the duration of the war. Once his war-time service was over, he remained in the military reserve, where he retired as a major after 30 years.
“I have been flying all my life,” Finkenbine said. He estimates he has logged over 18,000 flight hours in 50 types of aircraft.
He was called back into active duty several times. One time was during the Cuban Crisis, where he flew heavy equipment to Homestead Air Force Base in anticipation of a possible invasion of the island nation. At another time, he was called in during rioting in Washington during a time of civilian unrest in the 1960’s.
Finkenbine began his civilian career as manager of Auglaize Aviation at the former Port Koneta in Wapakoneta. His fondest memory of that time was teaching a high school student named Neil Armstrong how to fly.
“He would wash planes and help park and tie them down at night in exchange for flight time,” said Finkenbine. “Even as a teen, he (Armstrong) was talking about going to the moon.”
After spending a few years with Trimotor Aviation, island hopping visitors around Lake Erie Islands, Finkenbine in 1959 went on to work for Ross Aviation, which was a contractor for the Department of Energy. His duties during this tenure ranged from training Vietnam-era pilots to transporting DOE personnel and nuclear equipment. “Whatever they needed moved,” he said. He retired from Ross Aviation in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1990 as general vice president.
Finkenbine owned many planes, from a Piper Clipper to a Mooney Mite. One plane he owned, a P-40 War Hawk, is on display at National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.
As for Piper, he returned to civilian life after WWII to marry classmate Marcella Christman. After a few years serving as a mechanic at the District Seven State Highway in Sidney and then running Piper Garage in Anna, he spent 28 years as a postman walking a route in Anna. He retired from there in 1989.
“I sometimes dearly miss those people on my mail route,” he said.
A hobbist wood-crafter, he made many wooden trucks, cars, and hobby horses as Christmas and birthday gifts for the children on his route.
“Some of those toys are still around,” he said. “One guy told me when kids come over, he hides his (toy) because he doesn’t want it broken.”
Piper’s memory of life in high school were Friday night dates with 35 cent movies and 5 cent Cokes. There were no high school sports during the war due to gas rationing. Many evenings they would go to Grilliot’s Bar in McCartyville, where, Piper said, “They only sold beer so we young people were welcome.”
He said of Finkenbine, “Charles was known to have the ability to hide his mileage from his dad by unhooking the odometer.”
What impressed Piper and his classmates the most was that “Charles could reattach it (odometer) while the car was still moving.”
Upon retirement, Finkenbine and his wife Patricia sold everything and for four years traveled to almost all 50 states in a motorhome. Patricia said, “Our first trip was to spend the whole summer in Alaska with three other couples.”
Of the original 35 members of the class of 1943, six remain. Besides Finkenbine and Piper, they are Paul Brockman, of Findlay, Ohio, Minerva (Weissinger) Hauck, of Baltimore Maryland, Ruby (Fogt) Cecil, of Brownsburg Indiana, and Ruby (Weissinger) Bailey, of Pocatella, Idaho.
Both Finkenbine and Piper agreed that they have had a wonderful life.
