Charles H Maehrlein

Military

Imagination....that was the word emblazed on nose of my dad's P-47D Thunderbolt. It was my mom and dad's song and it carried dad thru the war. He and his 366 th fighter squadron flew many crucial missions during the allied liberation of France. He flew cover for troop transports and gliders over the Normandy invasion, he flew missions to help turn back the German Panzer onslaught in the Battle of the Bulge. And he and his fellow pilots flew valiant sorties against Operation Bodenplatte which they in turn crushed the German airfields. Dad and my uncles were eager to join to help our country when war was declared and luckily each one of them returned home after serving their tour of duty overseas. My dad stayed in the Air Force until 1963. Upon returning to the states he then joined the Air Force reserves and served his country proudly. He has 5 daughters and 1 son, the elder three of us remember watching dad on the parade grounds in his uniform. As his eldest child I remember my dad flying, the sound of the plane was like music. To this day when I go to an air show I love the sound of the older planes taking off. Dad flew a P-51 after coming home but the P-47 is the plane he loved and we loved.

Dad has been gone since 1992 but as his daughter I keep involved with the 366th and those that are still with us. The last big reunion was in San Antonio, Texas in 2005 where the 366th and 365th fighter groups gathered. There were many in attendance.

My dad once told me it was the most wonderful experience anyone could have to be a pilot and be lucky enough to be in the Air Force. I guess that is why the day he was discharged from active duty he signed up for active reserves. He was a quiet, humble man, who loved his country and I was so proud that he was posthumously awarded the DFC that he was awarded Dec. 24, 1944 but somewhere the paperwork was misplaced and it wasn't till 2004 did it catch up to him...He never said a word about it. Charles Maehrlein had his memories and didn't need a medal to remember, but a grateful nation did remember.

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Revisions

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Contributorjmoore43
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Removed Some Punctuation in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity.

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Contributorjmoore43
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Capitalized "Fighter Pilot" in the "Role/job" field.

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Contributorsuperteddy46
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This was written by the daughter of Charles H. Maehrlein, Marilyn Maehrlein Arp

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Contributorsuperteddy46
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This message was written by Charles Maehrlein's daughter, Marilyn Maehrlein Arp