Posted by Joshua Stringer on August 30, 2012:

Elbert 'Bert' Stringer grew up in Moberly, Missouri in a rural community. He was an average student, paper delivery boy and lettered in Varsity Football at his high school. Bert used to say he'd never miss a pitch during Cardinal's games because every house on his street would have the radio broadcast playing loudly during his delivery route. As his West Point 1946 year book states, he was as stubborn as Missouri mule but was always right. Though he struggled with math, Bert was determined to enter the Military Academy and was accepted in 1942. He continued his passion for football acting as the team manager for several seasons including the '46 and '45 championship seasons. Bert was trained as a pilot, like his brother William (killed in Panama 1939 while training in a P-40, did not attend WP), and upon graduation was transferred to Ft. Bliss in El Paso, TX. His orders were to fly the A-26 twin engine bomber as a member of the military's newest branch, the Air Force, formally the Army Air Corps. It is in El Paso he met his future wife Elizabeth Orme who was a waitress at a restaurant near the base. Elizabeth was born in Alamogordo, NM and is notable for being a witness to the Atomic Bomb test at the Trinity Site while asleep in Alamogordo. They were married in Las Cruces, NM. Bert served his first tour of duty during Korean War flying the A-26. Bert's crew was incredibly successful though was force to belly land on one occasion after severe anti-aircraft fire badly damaged his plane and wounded his rear gunner. Bert kept pieces of shrapnel from his pilot's seat as a memento of this incident. All members of his crew survived the war. After his tour of duty, Bert returned to West Point in 1956 as a instructor to convey to his combat experience in combined arms operations. Bert then served a tour of duty in Vietnam flying the single engine bomber B-57. It is this tour that was his most successful with 117 confirm truck kills on the Ho Chi Min Trail to which he was rewarded for. Bert retired as a Colonel in the Air Force and moved on to a highly successful career with Northrop as a principal representative in selling the F-5 Tiger to various Air Forces around the world. Bert and Elizabeth (d. 2004) retired in Los Angeles, CA and then finally to Scottsdale, AZ. Together, they had three children, seven grandchildren and two great grand children upon his passing in 2007. Bert currently rests at the West Point Cemetery in NY. Bert was intelligent, had a dry sense of humor and devout husband, father and grandfather. He was a avid fan of college/professional football (Redskins), aviation and jelly beans. Bert, or Papa as I called him, was a major influence in my life and real life hero. Some of my fondest memories were collecting stray golf balls outside the nearby Pro Golf course in Scottsdale, AZ (to which he resold to shops as a hobby) and taught me everything I know about football. Prior to his dementia, he sat me down and went page by page of his pilots log which detailed every flight including his tours of duty and combat. He is dearly missed though I've had the pleasure of visiting him several times at West Point while living in New York City. If anyone has any further information or memories of Bert, please feel free to email me at jstringer7@gmail.com. I'd be happy to hear your stories and input on his life.

admin