THE AUTHOR

My name is Dennis Pixler, I live in Oelwein, Iowa which is located in the northeast part of our state. My family has lived in this part of the country for many years, I have little intention of changing that. I work for the United States Postal Service in customer services, don't laugh, we really do believe in service. I have worked for the USPS for better than 20 years and doubt that much will change in that area. I am married to the same lady that I meet in college 27 years ago, I have no intention of changing that either.

As for my hobbies, I have a weakness for fast cars, photography and the study of World War Two. These interests were fostered by my father, a Fayette County Deputy Sheriff and a veteran of the Fifteenth Air Force. He has been gone for sixteen years now, a victim of a lifetime of smoking, he was only 60 years old at the time. His early death and the realization that time is passing his fellow veterans by very quickly has prompted me to create this site. Their generation paid far too much to be forgotten in the dust of time that our fast moving world creates. We must take notice of those events that occurred over fifty years ago and avoid at all cost the hatreds and weaknesses that lead our world down the road to its' most horrendous conflict.

I have always loved the aircraft of those simpler days and you will see many of them illustrated on my pages, hope you enjoy them as much as I do. As time progresses and my HTML skills improve, hopefully, I will be adding more history text, photos that I have taken myself and some that my father took while serving in Italy.

Finally, I must confess to one great prejudice that will evidence itself throughout this site. I am a hard headed lover of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. This also comes from my father, he served with the 773rd Sq of the Fighting 463rd BG (H) from its inception until the time that he left the service. He was the line crew chief for a B-17G called the Leading Lady. This was a radar equipped pathfinder ship in which the usual belly turret was replaced by a radome, pretty high classed for its' day.

The USAAF inventory included many great planes and it took all of their varied abilities and the talents of their pilots and crews to make the great contribution to the war effort that it did. If you should feel offended or shorted in any way please contact me via e mail and I will try to make amends.

RALPH E. PIXLER

I dedicate this page to my father, Ralph E. Pixler, the veterans of all services living and dead and their children that keep the memory alive.

Thanks for stopping,

Dennis R. Pixler

I HAVE BEEN A LIFE MEMBER OF THE FIFTEENTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION
FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS. IF YOU ARE TRYING TO LOCATE SOMEONE
CONNECTED WITH THE 15TH YOU MIGHT TRY CONTACTING THESE FINE PEOPLE.
ASK IF THEY WOULD PUBLISH YOUR LETTER IN OUR
PUBLICATION CALLED, "SORTIE."

15TH AF ASSOC

THEY CAN BE REACHED AT.

FIFTEENTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION
BOX 6325
MARCH AIR FORCE BASE
CALIFORNIA 92518

AN ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP IS $20.00, LIFE MEMBERSHIP IS $150.00

I have been reading the histories of WW II since in was a little fellow. Started out looking at my father's unit history and just went on from there.
��My personal library includes in excess of 800 volumes and I am sorry to say that I have not yet read them all. I will change this list from time to time, listing the books and authors that have affected me most deeply.
��You will soon see that my favorite type of history is the journalistic, or diary. These are first person accounts that share the emotion of the time with you, memories are fresh and no one has started to second guess the other fellow. They may not be perfectly objective at all times but I prefer them to today's revisionist histories.

MY FAVORITE LINKS

C5 CORVETTE

PURCHASED 6-7-01

THE DREAM CAR THAT LIVES UP TO ALL OF THE HYPE!

PICTURED BELOW IS OUR GOOD FRIEND BECKIE.
SHE POINTED THE VETTE OUT TO US THOUGH SHE LOVED IT HERSELF.
BECKIE HAS RECENTLY BEEN APPOINTED AS A POSTMASTER. CONGRATULATIONS!

BUICK PARK AVENUE

PURCHASED �SEPTEMBER OF 2000

SURPRISINGLY AGILE WITH PLEANTY OF POWER.

WITH A REALLY NICE RIDE.

THE 1999 CHRYSLER LHS

PICKED ONE OF THESE UP ON 6-6-98
TRADED OFF IN SEPT. OF 2000

HOTTER THAN AN AURORA AND A GREAT PRICE!

CHRYSLER

��Walter Percy (1875-1940), an American automobile manufacturer, was a founder and the first president of the Chrysler Corporation. The company makes Chrysler, Dodge, Eagle, and Plymouth cars. Chrysler served as president of the company from 1925 to 1935, and as chairman of the board of directors from 1935 to his death.
��Chrysler was born in Wamego, Kans. His great interest in automobiles began in 1908 when he bought his first car. He became works manager for the Buick Motor Company in 1912, and four years later became president of the company. Next, he became a vice president of General Motors Corporation, and retired as a millionaire in 1919. In 1920, Chrysler returned to business as manager of the Willys-Overland Corporation. In 1924, while president of the Maxwell Motor Corporation, he and his associates produced the six-cylinder Chrysler automobile.
��Chrysler Corporation introduced the high-compression engine and torsion bar suspension to the automobile industry. Other engineering features introduced by the company include the alternator, full-time power steering, and unitized body construction. The company manufactured the modified Redstone missile that helped launch the first United States satellite.

MYSELF, 1995 AURORA .

FOR A FOUR DOOR THIS OLDS WAS HOT.

OWNED FROM 11-95 THRU 6-6-98

Olds, Ransom Eli(1864-1950)

American automobile manufacturer, born in Geneva, Ohio. A mechanic, Olds began to experiment with horseless carriages in the 1880s. In 1885 he built a successful steam-propelled three-wheeled vehicle. Ten years later he constructed a four-wheeled automobile powered by a gasoline engine. In 1897 he founded the Olds Motor Works, the first automobile factory and the first to use an assembly line. About 12,000 Oldsmobiles were produced between 1902 and 1904, when Olds sold his interest in the company. From 1904 to 1924 Olds was president, and from 1924 to 1936 chairman of the board, of the Reo Motor Car Company. This company produced the Reo, a popular automobile of the 1920s.

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USE YOUR BROWSER'S BACK COMMAND TO RETURN TO THE MAIN PAGE.

BOMBERS	FIGHTERS	TRANSPORTS	RECON-TRAIN	ATTACK

THE ENEMY	THE AUTHOR	THOSE WHO SERVED	MY COLLECTION	PIN UPS	MY DAD'S WAR