THE ROKR MUZIC BLOG

Veterans Day…Honor…Duty…Service. My tribute to Veterans.

Every year on Veterans Day, November 11th, I like to take some time to remember and thank those brave men and women who have served and sacrificed so much on behalf of their country.

This year, I’ll be starting my “Tribute To Veterans” ride on Saturday, November 8th and riding to pay my respects to the heroes at the Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial. There’s a special Veterans Week Ceremony on Saturday to honor a very important group of Veterans — our nation’s Prisoners of War and those still Missing in Action. This POW and MIA Ceremony begins at 12:00 noon. And, as I also like to do around Veterans Day, I write a blog post in thanks and in appreciation about a veteran that has crossed my life’s path. You’ll meet this 93 year old WWII hero in this post.

 

Thank You For Your Service Veterans.

The original date of Veterans Day goes all the way back to November 11, 1919.

The original and first Veterans Day was called “Armistice Day” and celebrated the first anniversary of the end of World War I. President Eisenhower officially changed the name of this holiday from Armistice Day to Veterans Day in 1954.

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau (2013), there are an estimated 22 million veterans in the USA. Of these Vets, 1.6 million are women. 9.3 million (47%) of these brave men and women are over the age of 65. Almost 2.0 million are under the age of 35. Click here for more information on Veteran Statistics.

 

I had the good fortune of interviewing one of the 9.3 million living veterans over the age of 65 on November 1, 2014. Let me tell you about him…

Louis C. Studer was a young, enthusiastic 21 year old college student in Ohio when he enlisted in the Air Force. After extensive flight training, he became a member of the 424th Bomb Squadron, 13th Air Force, 307th Bombardment Group. He was deployed to the South West Pacific Area Command serving honorably from 1942 – 1945.

First Lieutenant Studer, flew B-24 bombers on 44 combat missions.

Louis C. Studer. First Lieutenant. Air Force. Flew B-24 Liberator Bomber.

Piloting the B-24 Bomber was both exciting and scary at the same time, says Louis. We had 10 man crews and none of us knew if we were going to hit our targets and come back to base or if we were going to be the target that got hit. It was a 50/50 chance every time me and my brothers took off in that bomber…Yes, every mission was a 50/50 proposition…think about that for a moment.

When asked why he enlisted, Louis responded. “Young men of the day didn’t think much about it. It was just what you knew you had to do. Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941 and the country felt threatened enough that we just did what we had to do to protect her and that was to get out there and stop the enemy, as I remember it says Louis.”

History Note: It was that surprise attack by 353 Japanese bombers on Pearl Harbor that caused America to enter WWII.

 

The B-24J Liberator – Now, there was a weapon of mass enemy destruction.

According to Louis, flying that B-24 heavy bomber was not easy. In fact, it was darn right difficult to fly. It had poor flying characteristics and it was a challenge keeping it in formation.

You needed muscle to handle the controls plus, when “Flak” (anti-aircraft artillery) was around, you knew it would not take much to damage it since the fuselage was made light and somewhat weak in order to get more distance and lighten the overall load of the plane.

The Long Rangers Patch popular with Louis’s B-24 Crew.

You worked up a real sweat every flight…sweat from being scared to death and sweat from trying to fly the thing to your target, drop your bombs and fly back to base in one piece.

It was also an uncomfortable plane for me as a 6 foot 1 inch pilot. Each mission lasted between 10 to 15 hours…you had to sit there the whole time. Many of my combat missions took five hours flying time to reach target and five hours to get back…I just put it all out of my mind and concentrated on the instruments and controls, he laughed.

 

The 307th Bombardment Group was part of the 13th Air Force and included the 370th, 371st, 372nd, and 424th Squadrons.

Louis C. Studer was part of a group known as the “The Long Rangers“, so named due to their long-flight bombing missions over the wide open blue water of the south Pacific Ocean. Typical bombing missions averaged 12 hours with no landmarks to be seen anywhere. You and the B-24 crew were alone out there and you knew it.

Click here to visit the official website of the “Long Rangers” – 307th Bombardment Group. This interesting website has been created to preserve and document the history of the 307th Bombardment Group.

 

B-24 Liberator Bombing Run over Salamau, New Guinea in the South Pacific. Source: Sgt. John A. Boiteau. AP/US Army Photo. Click image above for the amazing collection of 110 photos from Gene Slovers’ website. Photos published by the Denver Post Photo Blog.

 

The South West Pacific Area Command (SWPA).

The following map gives you a sense for the vast distances involved in Louis’s combat flight area. The South West Pacific was a major area of war between the Allies and Japan. The area covers the Philipines, Dutch East Indies, Borneo, Australia, New Guinea and the Soloman Islands.

Supreme command of the South West Pacific Theatre was lead by U.S. General Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur is one of America’s great war time heroes. Click here for additional information on the General. It was General MacArthur who presided over the formal surrender of the Japanese Army on September 2, 1945.

Map: South West Pacific Area Command. Source: Joint Chiefs of Staff Documents.

 

So, how did you come about the name “Lucky Louie”?

Wedding Day…July 10, 1948. Louis & Jeanann Studer.

I gave myself that name after some pretty big events in my life. I figure I’ve been lucky and my name is Louis so, “Lucky Louie” just sounded right and fun to me.

First thing, I got lucky getting into the Air Force while still in college. Their training was excellent. It allowed me to fly 44 combat missions and live to talk about it. I flew 22 missions as a co-pilot, 22 as the pilot.

Second, I was part of a lucky Air Force Squadron. We suffered minimal losses compared to some others. Yes, there were close calls like when engines stopped working mid-air or when your hydraulics went out and you couldn’t steer that big plane properly. I had to land her on a really short airstrip once when engines went out. I was really lucky to have found a reachable airstrip and to have me and my crew survive that emergency landing.

Third…I made it out of World War II alive. Millions did not. May God Bless Their Souls. They are the real heroes.

I can talk about my war experience today because I got lucky…As an Air Force pilot in the remote corners of the South Pacific, I saw no men blown up and torn apart, no blood and guts lying in the fields, I did not crash in the jungle. My job was to get that B-24 to the target and get me and my crew back alive. While there were some real close calls, I was lucky. Many of my brothers in the war fields of Europe had it much worse than me. God Bless ’em.

Fourth, I got really lucky when I met Jeanann, fell madly in love and married her after the war in the summer of 1948.

She is the mother of my five great kids and we’ve had a good life together…after all these years, she 87 now, I still love her like the day I fell head over heals over her. She’s my sweetheart.

Fifth, hey I’m 93 and play golf once a week…this, this is lucky! So there you have it. My five reasons why I sometimes refer to myself as “Lucky Louie”.

As we were concluding the interview, Jeanann jumped in to emphasize the many sacrifices that their generation had to endure during the war while many men were out fighting.

Jeanann worked the wartime outward bound telephone lines at Ohio Bell in downtown Columbus at 16 years of age. She remembers the times as “momentous” and almost beyond comprehension as everyone tuned in to the war narrative of the day. Life changed after the Pearl Harbor attack she said…Families were broken up, the neighborhood parties stopped, worry entered everyone’s psyche. The men it seemed, were just shipped out and gone…it was a worrisome time for those left behind. Asked how she put up with Lucky Louie all these decades she said, “he’s a good man and he’s a good father and husband. I wouldn’t change a thing.” My sense is that there’s one good woman behind that WWII bomber pilot. A good woman indeed.

 

Well, Louis C. Studer. Thank you for sharing a little part of your big life with this blogger. I appreciate it very much and, a big “Thank You” for your service Sir.

 

Louis C. Studer. Early 90s. Proud of his service to help keep America free.

Louis C. Studer…early 20s. Ready to fight for freedom in America.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Me and my friends ride free and live free in America because of Veterans like Louis C. Studer. Make sure to take a moment on Veterans Day to thank a Veteran for their service.

Ride Safe Out There.

 

Motorcycle Marc

Thank You For Your Service Veterans. Thank you very much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acknowledgement: I want to thank Eric Studer for bringing his father’s story to my attention. Eric is the youngest of five children of Louis and Jeanann Studer. He and his wife operate The Retreat at Sky Ridge in Eureka Springs, AR. I now understand why his Dad & Mom are his heroes. Special thanks to Eric’s sister, Gayle Gadus for sharing family photos for this article.

Library of Congress Material: Louis sent his mother over 300 letters while away at war. His story and collection of letters have been placed in the U.S. Library of Congress cited as the “Louis C. Studer Collection-Personal Narratives, U.S. Army Air Force Corps. (AFC/2001/001/56163), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

 

Note: Copyrights and Trademarks are the property of their owners. No infringement intended. Material for this blog post was referenced from numerous sources, including interview time with Louis and Jeanann Studer. I would also like to thank the many contributors to Wikipedia.Org for the excellent documentation work they do on subjects. Please see footer of this website blog for more information.