Mildred "Mickey" Axton was born Mildred Tuttle in Coffeyville, KS. 1/09/1919. Mickey was a test pilot during World War II and "one of the first three Woman Airforce Service Pilots to be trained as a test pilot and the first woman to fly a B-29. Micky Axton's first airplane ride was in a WWI-era Curtiss Jenny biplane when she was ten years old in 1929.

Micky graduated from Coffeyville Kansas Senior High School in 1936 and continued her education at Coffeyville Community College, where she took many classes in science, math and physics. After she graduated from Kansas State University, Micky was selected into the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPT) at Coffeyville Community College. She was the only woman accepted into her CPT class. She earned her pilot's license through the CPT program in 1940. Micky received a letter from Jacqueline Cochran, inviting her to join the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs). In 1943, Micky began flight training with the WASPs at Sweetwater, Tex. She graduated from flight training in November 1943 and was assigned to Pecos, Tex. as an engineering test pilot. Micky was responsible for conducting flight tests on repaired aircraft to ensure they were flight worthy. In March 1944, Micky left the WASPs and returned to Wichita, Kan. to work as a Flight Test Engineer for Boeing Aircraft. On May 4, 1944, Micky became the first female pilot to fly a B-29. When the war ended, Micky returned to teaching. During the war, 38 WASPs died in service to their country. The Commemorative Air Force Jayhawk Wing in Wichita, Kan. restored a PT-19 primary trainer and named it “Miss Micky“ to honor her service. She is the only WASP to have a restored WW II aircraft named after her. "Courtesy of edenpraririe.org"

On May 4, 1944, according to Boeing Aircraft archives, she was one of the crew of nine aboard "Sweet Sixteen" the 16th of 1644 B-29s rolled out from the Wichita plant. Mickey's account of that day.

"I was back in the aft flight blister when Elton Rowley "chief of engineering flight test) called back over the intercom and said. "Micky, how'd you like to come and fly this thing?" I was absolutely in 'hog heaven"! she recalled. "So I put my parachute on my back and crawled through the tunnel which was over the bomb bay to the front. He gave me the left seat and I flew the plane? Axton said. "The problem was, it was so top secret, I could only tell my husband." Rowley did write a letter, however, verifying her feat. Micky Axton had just made history as the first woman to pilot a B-29" (Courtesy of Boeing Frontiers May 2006 Volume 5, Issue 1

Micky married David Axton June 1, 1941 and taught at East High School in Wichita from 1958-1969.

Micky's brother Ralph "Tut" Tuttle was a World War II fighter pilot who flew an estimated 250 missions and earned two Distinguished Flying Crosses and a Silver Star.

David Bontrager was born July 3, 1926 in Springer, NM. His family moved to Kansas and Bontrager attend school in Reno Co. KS. He attended two years of High School at Partridge, KS before being drafted into the Army. He entered the Army at Fort Leavenworth KS and at the encouragement of his brother (already serving) he volunteered to be a parachute rigger for the Paratroopers. It also paid $50 extra to do this job which was a bonus. David did have to make jumps and learn what jumpers do. Along with packing rigs for paratroopers he taught them how to get ready to jump. Bontrager became a squad leader and completed his military service in the United States. He did use the GI Bill to take pilot lessons when he returned home. Bontrager married and had three children. When he was in the service he had three brothers that where serving at the same time. Dan, Ira and Eli. All returned home safe and had families. At the end of his interview, David talks about his brothers. Their profiles can be found in Ike's Soldiers.

Jess W. Boughton, was born September 19, 1918 in Salina, Kansas, where he graduated from Salina High School in 1936. He attended Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science for two years before joining the 22nd U.S. Navy Construction Battalion in March of 1942. As a 'construction man' he helped build bomber runways and other military facilities with the 22nd 'Seabees' on the northern Pacific island of Attu in the Aleutians. He later graduated from Midshipman School at Columbia University and served on Cinc Pac Staff under Admiral Nimitz at Pearl Harbor and Guam. After military service, he returned to Kansas State graduating in 1947 with a degree in civil engineering. His career took him all over the world, including Africa, South America and the Middle East. He was particularly proud of his work on the Arabian Gulf and Alaskan Pipelines. He was an Episcopalian, a 32nd Degree Mason and a Shriner. He loved to fish and read, keeping a life-long journal of every book he read. His family especially misses his sense of humor and his enjoyment of humor in others. His wife of 57 years, Fae Lorene McGlaughlin followed him in death in 2002. His family includes three daughters, Ann Boughton; Cris Boughton; Jane Mason; one son, Joseph Alan Boughton; five grandchildren, Geneva McKelvie, Deedy Grant, Joshua Boughton, Sean Babjak, Elijah Mason; and two great-grandchildren Grace Grant and Connor Babjak.

Carl "Chick" Otto was born in Peirce, NE, attended school there until his junior year. At that time he took a test with the Senior boys and passed. Otto enlisted and requested the Navy but he as placed in the Army. Growing up Otto knew Johnny Carson who grew up in the same town. Otto was stationed in Europe as part of an Infantry squad but was transferred to the 94th Signal Battalion. Otto's job was to help install lines that kept the communication going for the allied forces. His specifically was a pole climber. On one occasion, Otto climbed over a fallen bridge that was knocked down, to save time and material. He carried the phone lines with him and met his unit on the other side after they walked several miles to find a  crossing over the river.

Otto was stationed in Europe near the end of 1944. He arrived in Bastogne as the Battle of the Bulge was beginning. Excerpts from his book: Remembering World War II by Carl Otto. "We crossed the channel on landing barges, I recall it was dark when we loaded but it was daylight when we landed. I recall that when I reached the end of the dropped door of the barge the wave of water was coming back down the beach and I waited unit it reached the door before I stepped off. The weather was already beginning to get very cold and I did no want to get my feet wet. The snow was beginning to fall when we were loaded onto forty-and eights. (Boxcars designed for forty men or eight horses) We landed in the city of LeHarve, France but we headed northeast toward Bastogne into the teeth of one of the worst blizzards ever to hit Europe." 

"Each car was assigned one Officer and we had a young Second Lt. who looked like he was not a day older than me, and he appeared to me to be scared to death. All of us had dug into our duffle bags and put on all of the extra clothing we could force ourselves into and were wrapped with our blankets and pup-tent around our sleeping bag. But the snow was blowing into the boxcar through the cracks and of course we were packed too tight to even think of starting a fire." I was located right next to our young Officer in charge and we were visiting as we tried to stay warm. He was a small man too. Then we had an idea. He said "You know, if you would slip your sleeping bag inside my sleeping bag and then both of us got in the combined bags we might be able to get warm." I did not hesitate a minute; we put the bags together and I scooted in with him; we were both fully dressed- boots and all, and although it was a snug fit, there was room for both of us. We were soon warm enough that we both fell a sleep. We awaken amid a few jeering jibes about sleeping together but some older guy said, "Okay you guys; knock it off. We all know they were the only two in the car who actually were warm." And that was the end of it. We soon realized the train was not moving, it was daylight, and we were snowbound in some little town in Belgium. We had bladders about to bust so we began getting out to relieve ourselves, the snow was drifting all around the boxcar. Suddenly one of the guys began digging in the snow like a dog as he said, "Let's dig it out". Well his playful gesture was a great idea as well as a warm-up exercise. All of us had a fox hole shovel, so we got our shovels out and started digging and it didn't take long for all of us to dig out that little train."

"During the course of our digging the train out some guys about twenty feet from where I was digging uncovered the frozen body of a man who was probably a railroad worker. He did not appear to be injured; he was just frozen in a twisted and grotesque position and his eyes were open and white; this was the first dead person I had ever seen and of course I will never forget that moment."  See the attached document: Carl Otto's book excerpts.

When he returned home, Otto finished school, went to college and had a career in education.

Vito Pedone was a first generation Italian-American, from Mount Vernon NY, his parents emigrated as teenager from Puglia, Italy. Vito's da Crop. Antonio Pedone, fought in WW I with the American Expeditionary Force 28th Infantry Division, in front-line combat in France. 23 years later, Vito, along with his brother and sister, the next generation, would answer the call to service in WW II as US Army Officers. Vito and his younger brother Stephen were studying Aeronautical Engineering AT NC State College, when the US entered the war. Both volunteered for US Army Aviation Cadet training to become pilots. Their younger sister Anne Pedon, graduated from nursing school and became 2nd Lt. as a US Army Nurse. Stephen was killed in September 1944 in a B-24 crash at age 22. Upon receiving his officer commission and pilot wings, Vito completed advanced flight training in the twin engine A-20 light bomber/ground attack aircraft. 1942 he was assigned to the 15th Bombardment Squadron 17th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force in England and would fly 25 A-20 combat missions across the English Channel into Nazi held Countries. Vito requested transfer to the newly formed 9th air Force Troop Carrier Command to fly c-47 Troop Carrier aircraft and prepared for D-Day. He became part of pathfinder C-47 Troop Carrier unit based in North Witham Air Field, Near Grantham, England. The military learned specially trained Pathfinder troop transport aircraft crews and paratroopers were essential to lead the way to finding and marking the correct drop zones to ensure successful deployment of all the paratroopers. Vito conducted the unit's Pathfinder School to train and prepare the C-47 crews for missions. Vito and Lt Col Joel Crouch were the pilots of the lead Pathfinder C-47 aircraft, Tail #293098, to take-off first and to lead the US Airborne Invasion Force into Normandy, called "Operation Neptune". The mission of the Pathfinder C-47 Pilots and aircrews was to fly the Pathfinder Paratroopers from England over the English Chanel to Normandy, and accurately drop them into several selected drop zones interior to the Normandy Invasion beaches. Vito's crew took-off from North Witham Air Field, England, very late in the evening on 5 June 1944. Onboard each of the (20) Pathfinder C-47 aircraft was a team of Paratroopers (Called the Stick) from the 101st or 82nd Airborne.  Vito's lead plane, Pathfinder Stick #1, Drop Zone A was led by Capt. Frank Lillyman, 101st Airborne Division 502nd parachute Infantry Regiment. Once on the ground, the paratroopers marked the (7) drop zones for the follow-on main body of paratroopers. Vito's C-47 would lead the tight formation of Pathfinder aircraft across the English Channel in total darkness, with only small Navigation lights on each plane to aid the pilot in keeping a tight formation. They flew 50 feet over the Channel to avoid German Radar. The unarmed C-47's had fighter cover protection. it was a clear moon-lit night crossing but as the they approached the Normandy coast over the Cotentin, Peninsula, a thick blank of cloud  obscured the sky and view of the ground, which made formation flying very dangerous. They proceeded inland hoping to see the ground and the drop zones. The Germans' hearing the sound of the C-47 engines began to fire. As Vito's aircraft approached the Drop Zone between Mere-Englise and Saint-Martin-de -Varreville, Vito saw a break in the clouds and they turned on the green light to signal to jump. It was 0015 hours, 6 June 1944. "Geronimo" was heard as the 101st "hit the silk". The first D-Day American forces were on the ground. Upon landing back in England, Crouch and Vito were ordered to personally report directly to General Eisenhower the details of the mission. Then they went back to their plane and got in line to transport more paratroopers to Normandy.

Vito met Geraldine "Jerry" Curtis, a flight nurse while in England. and they married in September 1943. She was a flight nurse, picking up wounded on D-Day. (see Geraldine Curtis Pedone for more information)

Vito continued on to have a 30 year military career and participated in many important moments in our nations' history, including the Pacific Atom Bomb Tests, establishment of NATO, the Cuba Missel Crisis airborne invasion, early 1960's Vietnam Conflict and the development of GPS.

Vito and Jerry operated two companies after their military service, in Alexandria, Virginia. Both are buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Charles Shay was born in 1923 and grew up as a Native American on Indian Island in Maine. He was part of the Penobscot tribe. April, 1943, at the age of 19, he was drafted into the Army. His job was to be an Army medic. Shay trained hard and would be part of the D-Day landings. He received the Silver Star for saving many soldiers from drowning on June 6. He moved through Normandy with this troop and then was sent to eastern France and Germany. Shay was taken prisoner March 1945 but liberated a few weeks later. After the war, there were few jobs or well paying jobs for an Indian man so Shay reenlisted. In 2018 he moved to France. He will be attending the 80th anniversary ceremonies in Normandy. Courtesy of AP, and The History Channel.

The only way I could be assured of going to the Navy instead of the Army was to join before I turned 18. So in late March 1944, I went to Kansas City, MO, to join on a delayed program which allowed me to finish high school. Five days after graduation I was called to active duty. On 5 Oct 1944, I reported aboard the USS Landing Craft Infantry 998, in San Diego harbor. Right after going aboard, the ship's captain told me to get more clothes. As I was flat broke, I had to wire home for money to get enough clothes to go to sea. The ship went to sea on 10 Oct taking 10 days to get to Pearl Harbor. That was my first experience on BIG water. On 1 Jan 1945 I was sent ashore to a radar school while radar equipment was being installed on my ship. Three days after returning to my ship, it left for the Marshall Islands. Our ship, now a staff ship for the Coast Guard Commander, was his command post and we were outfitted with the latest radio equipment for his convenience. As the ship left Pearl Harbor, carrying the 3rd Marine Division, the sea was rough and did I ever get sea sick. I had never been that sick before and it lasted about 24 hours. The invasion of Iwo Jima Island started on 19 Feb 1945. About 6 hours out, we could see the flashes from the big guns on the battle ships and heavy cruisers pounding the beaches of the island. About 2 hours out we could feel the concussion from the big guns. The 4th day, the Marines left our ship in the 3rd wave. Our commander wasn't very good about staying on station as he wanted to see and be seen. As a result, when the 1st US flag was raised on Mount Suribachi, our ship was just below the mount (about 200 yards away) and we could see the whole action very plainly. The surface of the harbor was covered with debris and litter of one sort or another. The first night our ship stayed in the invasion area all night, Japanese swimmers were reported in the water. Trying to blow up the ships with explosives attached to the hulls, they would get under some debris to stay out of sight while swimming. I was put on watch that night with a submachine gun on the bow and it was pretty frightening. I shot at everything I saw. The ship was at Iwo Jima 7 days and then left for Saipan and Leyte Harbor, Philippine Islands. We took on supplies and equipment and the 2nd wave troops for the new invasion. We left Leyte Harbor on 25 Mar 1945 and 6 days later we were participating in the invasion of Okinawa on 1 Apr 1945 (my 19th birthday). The Japanese 'Kamikaze' planes were very active here; one hit the ship next to us and some of our people were hit by shrapnel. We landed our troops and equipment on the second day. After the 8th day, we took our flotilla and left for the Caroline Islands, arriving on 17 Apr. On 1 May 1945 my rating for 3rd Class Radarman came through (it made little difference except for a little more pay). We left the islands on 7 Jun for Saipan again, arriving on 10 Jun 1945. I was allowed to go ashore and stay overnight with Don Billips, a close school buddy. I really enjoyed seeing someone from home. I got to see him twice more before we left for Leyte Harbor. There, we went on invasion maneuvers again, this time carrying the initial troops for the invasion of Japan proper. As the initial staging area, the harbor was completely full of ships and troops preparing for the invasion (over 2000 ships were at Leyte alone). On 10 Aug 1945 Japan announced their surrender. When the announcement was made that evening, the whole harbor went wild and the ships began shooting off their flares and pyrotechnics and spraying water from fire hoses into the air all night. When dawn came not one ship in the harbor had any flares or pyrotechnics left aboard. Japan signed the official surrender papers on 2 Sep 1945 aboard the Battle Ship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Our ship, with our flotilla, left Leyte Harbor for Sasebo Harbor, Japan (a large Japanese Navy Base heavily damaged

Onofrio "NoNo" Zicari was born in 1923 in Geneva, NY. He enlisted in 1942 and his training for the service was in California. Zicari was stationed in Scotland then Wales, later seeing fighting in France, Belgium, and Luxembourg but one battle had a big impact on him, D-Day at Omaha Beach. He was in the 5th wave to go onshore. It was brutal and where he saw his first dead soldier. Zicari was in charge of bringing supplies to shore and setting up a supple line. Back in the states, Zicari lived in Los Angeles and was a deliveryman during the 1992 Rodney King riots. He was given a patch or armband to wear and had no troubles from the rioters. Courtesy of reviewjournal.com and Memoirs of WW II.