Ralph "Gene" Lentz  grew up in Hutchinson, KS. He was in 8th grade when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and Lentz wondered if the war would still be going on when he was old enough to join. Knowing he would be drafted, Lentz enlisted in the Navy. He liked his job in San Diego and looked at the muster roll each day to see if he would be shipping overseas. That day did not come. While in the service he meet his future wife who grew up a few miles from Hutchison.