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Marriage: Children:
  1. Ellen Elizabeth Waber: Birth: 18 Feb 1951 in Detroit,MI. Death: 6 May 1996 in Farmington Hills,MI

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Notes
a. Note:   INTRODUCTION My grandfather "Tom" had many different phases of his life, achieving alevel of success in whatever he did that would have been impressiveenough had this been his only accomplishment. He had what he termed"different lifetimes," when he had career goals that led him in onedirection before jumping into another field that took him in a separatedirection. In every career path he took, he had the opportunity tocontinue with what he did but he was never one to let ambition get thebest of him. Once he found his true calling in life as a Lutheranminister, he stuck with it for good. It should be noted that he was neverbaptized in a church (he was baptized as an adult in his 30s), and nevergrew up attending church on a regular basis. He became a fully ordainedminister only ten years after his baptism. This timeline stretches two of those "lifetimes," when he was alieutenant in the Army Air Corps and an aspiring professor from theUniversity of Illinois shortly after the war. It also extends well into athird "lifetime," his career with WXYZ in Detroit. The primary source forthis timeline comes from personal documents he kept together for manyyears. Several documents contain handwritten notes from my grandfather(unless where otherwise noted), and these notations are added in asfootnotes into the timeline. There were some gaps in the record, some of which has been explainedthrough interviewing my grandmother (Betty Waber) and father (John T.Waber). For starters, from what was gathered, my grandfather went to bootcamp at some very poorly constructed facility in Fresno, CA, which thegovernment later used as a Japanese interment camp. This being 1942, atime when they were in a hurry to prepare as much men as possible, he wasone of literally hundreds of new recruits at this place. He and severalof the men contracted pneumonia shortly after coming here. Already beingundersized, he was only 120 pounds. While here, he became good friendswith Carl Glade, who helped him pass the obstacle course part of his bootcamp test by actually sneaking out after lights out and actually takinghim out to the obstacle course to show him what to do, etc. The two ofthem, who both had radio programming backgrounds, were given specialpermission by the commandant to go over to the local radio station inFresno and air wartime propaganda programs, commercials, etc. One funnything about this was that they were granted use of the general's jeep,and every time they came into or out of the base all the soldiers wouldstand at attention and salute them. During the war, Carl Glade was aradio operator aboard the planes. His plane was shot down and he was heldin a German POW camp for the remainder of the war. He looked like askeleton when he was released. Afterwards, he was the best man at mygrandparents' wedding, dying a few years afterwards from cancer. Due to his abilities as a typist, my grandfather's first job in themilitary out of boot camp was actually the equivalent to anadministrative assistant. Shortly thereafter, he found his way to ScottField training to become a radio operator. Once he completed this course,the Army gave him the option of shipping out to sea then or going toMiami Beach for OCS. He chose the latter. In the gap between his completion of Cryptographic school in ChanuteField, IL and his eventual deployment overseas, he was holed up for awhile in Tennessee "awaiting orders." When he finally debarked for Africain April of 1944, his voyage over was a very rough one. They encounteredrough seas and the Liberty ship being overloaded way past its load linecaused it to sway violently. Of his time in Africa, it was kind of odd because he knew some German,having taken this in college, and was under the impression they weregoing to use him in some capacity involving the German language butinstead they sent him off to French-speaking north Africa. While inAlgiers, he stayed with a friendly French family who had a son fightingfor the French Underground. North Africa at this time was a very volatileplace. Rommel was driven out of Africa prior to my grandfather's arrival,but the Germans were still close enough to launch air raids. There werealso many Vichy French sympathizers living there who fought against theAllies. On top of it all was the native population of Morocco and Algierswho were eager to capitalize off the weakened condition of the French todrive them out of their country. Many of these natives saw the Allies asa threat to reestablish French control in the area after the war, and sodid not take too kindly to Allied enlisted men and officers. In Bizerte,he stayed with an Italian family who lavished him and the others withlarge feasts. Tom made the mistake of filling up on the spaghetti, whichwas only the appetizer. To his shock and amazement, they came out with aneven larger course, which he could not finish. My grandfather's experience in Africa consisted of a lot of traveling.His "detachment" was spread out all across North Africa in tiny littleoutposts, many of which had only 2 or 3 men. In places like Senegal, somemen actually lost their nerve and had to be replaced. He made the journeyboth by plane and by jeep, and it was during one of these runs by planethat he almost lost his life. A pilot escorting him to Gibraltartemporarily lost control of the plane, regaining the controls just feetaway from crashing into the Rock of Gibraltar itself. One interestingfact about him was that he never drank, and being an officer, he hadration cards for whiskey and other better alcohol than the enlisted menwho were stuck drinking beer out of a can. As a favor to the men, onholidays he would sneak off and cash in his ration cards, bringing backenough alcohol for everyone. His journey back aboard the Sea Fiddler waswithout much fanfare. The small Liberty ship came in behind a massivebattle ship complete with its own brass band. By the time the Fiddlercame rolling into the harbor, very few people stayed behind to welcomethem home. As seen on the timeline, he came down with appendicitis duringtransfer from Love Field in Dallas. While on a 45-day recuperationperiod, he has honorably discharged from service and placed in the ArmyReserves, later taking up a commission as a 1st Lt. in the Air ForceReserves. PERSONAL INFORMATION FROM ENLISTMENT RECORD Army serial number: 36408563 Date of birth: 27 Jul 1920 Chicago, IL Height: 5 ft 6 inches Weight: 120 lbs Eye color: grey Complexion: ruddy TIMELINE OF THOMAS VEDDER WABER'S WWII SERVICE 16 Sep 1938 Enlisted in the Headquarters Battery 119th Field Artilleryof the Michigan National Guard as a Private 1st Class. 19 Jun 1939 Completed course in Field Artillery School 26 Jun 1939 Promoted to the rank of Corporal in the Michigan NationalGuard. 1 Sep 1939 Germany invades Poland, official start of WWII. 10 Oct 1939 Honorably discharged from the Michigan National Guard. 1939-1942 Attended Michigan State College (now Michigan StateUniversity). Was a student reporter for the Michigan State News andworked for the radio station WKAR in Lansing. 7 Dec 1941 Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, US declares war on Japan.Germans declare war on the US. 16 Feb 1942 Registered for Selective Service at the Michigan Statecampus in East Lansing, MI. 15 Oct 1942 Received official notice from the Ingham County, MISelective Service Board of 1-A classification. 6 Nov 1942 Transferred to the Enlisted Reserve Corps to finish educationat Michigan State College (now Michigan State University). 8 Nov 1942 Allies launch Operation Torch to recapture North Africa fromthe Germans, Italians and Vichy French. 20 Nov 1942 Officially recalled back to Active Duty status 21 Nov 1942 Received a physical, which included smallpox and typhoidvaccine Feb 1943 Sends a telegram from Fresno, CA; later records indicate heassisted in radio productions from Fresno. Attends Radio Operators andMechanics training at Scott Field, IL. 13 May 1943 Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and the Axis driven out of Africa. 21 Jul 1943 Completes course for Radio Operators and Mechanics at theArmy Air Forces Technical School in Scott Field, IL. 22 Jul 1943 Promoted to rank of corporal in the Army Air Corps 3 Sep 1943 Allied invasion of Italy 21 Sep 1943 Enters into AAF Officer Candidate School in Miami Beach, FL. 1 Oct 1943 Appointed to the Honor Council of the OCS in Miami Beach, FL. 10 Nov 1943 Takes a 12 day leave 12 Nov 1943 Honorably discharged from service to accept commission as a2nd Lieutenant 13 Nov 1943 Officially graduates from OCS Class 1943-I. Promoted to therank of 2nd Lieutenant; receives commendation for work with the OCS HonorCouncil. Upon interview with staff, they recommend he go through trainingin AAF Cryptographic School in Chanute Field, IL for CryptographicSecurity Officer. 21 Nov 1943 Ordered to report to duty to be transferred to Chanute Field,IL. 6 day delay expected. 22 Nov 1943 Arrived at Chanute Field, IL. Assigned to Officers Quartersin Building T-499. 18 Dec 1943 Completed the courses in Cryptographic Security OfficersSchool. Assigned to the 22nd Army Airways Communication Service SquadronHeadquarters in Lynbrook, Long Island, NY. 19 Dec 1943 Officially departs for Lynbrook, Long Island, NY. 3 Jan 1944 Relieved of duty from the 22nd AACS headquarters in Lynbrook,NY and reassigned to a detachment of the 22nd at La Guardia Field,Flushing, NY. 10 Jan 1944 Relieved from assignment with 22nd detachment in La Guardiaand reassigned to 1st Overseas Processing Squadron, AACS, New Smyrna, TN. 18 Jan 1944 Arrived at Smyrna Air Field in Smyrna, TN 4 Apr 1944 Assigned to 1st Overseas Processing Squadron, ShipmentSB-411-A(c) 14 Apr 1944 Left the New Smyrna Air Field in Smyrna, TN 21 Apr 1944 Leaves from Camp Patrick Henry, VA. Shipment numberSB-411-A-(c) 9 May 1944 Arrives in Oran, Africa 10 May 1944 Assigned to the 18th AACS Detachment 4 in Algiers, Africa 12 May 1944 Arrives in La Senia, Africa 15 May 1944 Transferred from the 18th AACS to the 56th AACS 16 May 1944 Arrives in Algiers 17 May 1944 Transferred to 112th Detachment, 56th AACS (86th AAF BaseUnit Section I), Tunis, Africa 18 May 1944 Arrives in Tunis 31 May 1944 Assigned to temporary duty in Bizerte, Tunisia, Africa 3 Jun 1944 Granted a four-day leave 6 Jun 1944 Beginning of D-Day Invasion of France 6 Jun 1944 Arrives in Bizerte 24 Jul 1944 Returned to Algiers for temporary duty 29 Jul 1944 Stationed in the headquarters of the 56th AACS; giventemporary duty to Telergma (Algeria), Tunis (Tunisia) and Bizerte asdesignated courier to handle cryptographic materials. 30 Jul 1944 Temporary duty in Tunis, Telergma, and Bizerte as courier. 3 Oct 1944 Appointed as Assistant Intelligence and Security Officer andGroup Cryptographic Tech Inspector for the 56th AACS, Algiers, Africa. 4 Oct 1944 Temporarily assigned to Tunis and La Senia, Africa asdesignated courier of cryptographic material 4 Nov 1944 Temp. duty to La Senia, Algeria, Cazes Airbase, FrenchMorocco, Marrakech, French Morocco, Tindouf, Algeria, Atar, Mauretania,Dakar, Senegal to inspect and coordinate cryptographic facilities and asdesignated courier of cryptographic materials. Sgt. Jared Wengeraccompanied him on this mission. 17 Dec 1944 Given primary duty of Group Tactical Inspector. 11 Jan 1945 Temp. duty to Bizerte, Tunis, Maison Blanche, Algeria and LaSenia to make group cryptographic inspection. 17 Jan 1945 Promoted to the rank of 1st Lieutenant 24 Jan 1945 Temporarily assigned to Casablanca as the designated officialcourier of cryptographic material relative to mission. Purpose of missionwas to safeguard the passage of the President en route to the Summitmeetings at Yalta. 8 Mar 1945 Unit receives commendation for their handling ofcommunications and intelligence during the President's visit to and fromYalta. 7 Apr 1945 Given title of Assistant Group Security and IntelligenceOfficer and Assistant Group Air Inspector. 30 Apr-31 May 1945 Temporary duty in Bizerte, Tunis, Maison Blanche, LaSenia (Oran), Algiers, Casa Cazes, and Port Lyautey for inspection ofcryptographic materials. 8 May 1945 Allies accept unconditional surrender of Germany, end of thewar in Europe 25 June 1945 Relieved from duty as Air Inspector. 20 Jul 1945 Assigned with 112th to the 706th AAF Base Unit, Algiers. 15 Aug 1945 Japan surrenders, end of WWII. 27 Aug 1945 Relieved from duty with the 112th AACS and transferred to the111th AACS Headquarters in Casablanca. 6 Sep 1945 Assigned to the 52nd Detachment of the 111th AACS squadron. 12 Sep 1945 Given official duties as Station Communications SecurityOfficer with additional duties as Detachment Training Officer andDetachment Historical Officer. 6 Oct 1945 Appointed as Detachment Commanding Officer of the 52nd inCasablanca. 27 Oct 1945 Relieved from duty with the 52nd and transferred to 103rdAACS Squadron in Love Field, Dallas, TX. 4 Nov 1945 Left for the United States from the port of Casablanca aboardthe Liberty ship Sea Fiddler 19 Nov 1945 Arrived in the United States in Camp Patrick Henry, VA. 21 Nov 1945 Embarks for Love Field, Dallas, TX, via rail travel 26 Nov 1945 Was due to be transferred from Love Field to St. Louis, butwas delayed on account for the fact he had an attack of appendicitis. Dueto this delay, was forced to pay for own Pullman berth on the ride backhome and await reimbursement from the government. 3 Dec 1945 Departed from Love Field, opting for 45 days recuperation athome. 5 Dec 1945 Arrives in East Lansing, MI. 21 Jan 1946 Puts in formal request to be relieved from active duty. 30 Jan 1946 Relieved from the 103rd AACS in Chanute Field, IL andtransferred to Patterson Field, OH for separation. 5 Feb 1946 Officially released from active duty status. 2 Apr 1946 Honorably discharged from service. Enters into the ArmyReserves as a 1st Lieutenant. 1946 Finds employment back with the radio station WKAR in East Lansing,MI as educational program director. 5 Jun 1946 Becomes a charter member of the Air Force Association 20 Nov 1946 Takes an active role in campaigning for Proposal No. 1,dealing with the creation of the Air Force as a separate branch of theArmed Forces. 1 Jan 1947 Accepts a position with the University of Illinois's School ofJournalism as an instructor in radio production and direction. Alsobecomes program director for the university's radio station, WILL inUrbana, IL. 13 May 1947 Begins Saturday broadcasts of "Wings Over Illinois" topromote aeronautical research. This role brings him in contact withRoscoe Turner, a former WWI pilot and barnstormer who became aworld-class air racer during the 1930s. Turner once held the air speedrecord for coast-to-coast flight. Jul 1947 Takes show "Wings Over Illinois" on the road, doing on-locationbroadcasts from Chanute Field, Scott Field and Glenview Naval AirStation, IL. 18 Sep 1947 The United States Air Force created as a separate branch ofthe Armed Forces. He becomes a charter member of the US Air ForceReserves. Apr 1948 Joins the Armed Forces Communications Association. 1948 Left Illinois to take a position with WXYZ in Detroit. Hisintention was to get experience working with television to help in hisgoals with being a professor. 5 Jul 1949 Assigned to the 1918th AACS squadron, Scott AFB, IL. 26 Apr 1950 Relieved from the 1918th and reassigned to the 3rd AACSsquadron, Ann Arbor, MI. 27 Jun 1950 US intervention in the Korean War begins 6 Jul 1950 Relieved from the 3rd AACS. 12 Feb 1953 Given stand-by reserve status. Andrew Thank you very much for the very interesting auto-bio on Tom. Laurie read it to Faith and me and we all enjoyed it . It brought back many memories of course. Eleanor and I were about the same age and she spent several summers on the farm with us. Tom, much younger, didn't stay but one or two short periods. Tom once asked my Dad "Which horn does the cow blow?" e.g. Another time Tom placed a milk pail under one of the cows - Tom told my Dad "I put the pail under the cow but she wouldn't do anything"!!! Keep up the good work! Jim A. Excerpt from Grace Lutheran Church website: Pastor Thomas Waber was brought on staff as a part-time pastoralassistant. He served us faithfully until failing health caused him toretire. --http://www.cuaa.edu/~lcglcrt/history.htm Hi Andrew! Thanks for keeping me in the family "loop". I appreciate it verymuch. Did I ever tell you that when I was in high school (Lutheran High)our choir was invited to sing at Wjbk-Channel 7 at the Macabees buildingin Detroit. I think it was1951 or 52. In any case your grandpa Tom was Ibelieve one of the first news anchors and did those quiz programs andother vaariey shows. He made a point of greeting me directly, which madequite an impression on my girlfriend. The highlight of the occassion wasa visit by the Hollywood movie star Jeff Chandler (well known in thosedays). Your grandfather was a gracious host-- you can be very proud ofhim. We leave for Australia, New Zealand, and Taheti (sp?) right afterThanksgiving and will be home shortly before Christmas. Next week(Nov.15th) is deer hunting at the cabin near Hillman Mich. My wife madeit clear not to bring anything home. We celebrate our 50th weddinganniversary next August 2nd, Hope everyone is well-- lets keep in touch. Regards--Cousin Bob Thank you for the clipping--please send a copy to Art since he has hisfather's papers---when He came back from the war, they were supposed tohave their jobs back, but someone else had his job at WKAR--that is whenhe sent resumes out and found the teaching job at ( I for got the name ofthe school, but you have it)--he loved his students and was happy whenthey graduated and found jobs. but he saw TV coming and sent resumes tostations that were thinking of starting TV--so he auditioned at WXYZradio and the rest is history! he never went back to teaching, excepthis Bible Study classes---love,G


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