Technical Sergeant Joe Girz flew 57 combat missions during WWII as a Radio Operator in B-26 Martin Marauder bombers. Between August 1944 and May 1945, he and his crewmates flew bombing missions in support of Allied ground operations in Italy, France, and Germany. Compiled from diaries, interviews, and official mission records, his first-person memoirs have become a compelling story of those challenging times and are a thrilling retrospective about true patriotism, courage, and survival—not uncommon traits in those we now refer to as the Greatest Generation.

Moderator: Tom Girz has been researching his family history for 25+ years. He has written the life stories of many members along several family lines back into the late 1500s and is currently working on his father’s WWII memoirs. A career USAF employee for 32 years, he is an experienced and compelling public speaker, having given talks on this topic multiple times.