30
| SUNRAYS
JANUARY 2013
ONLINE:
SCTXCA.ORG
Bill Wolfe
—
He’s our Flyboy! He was in the
Army Air Corps and was a flight instruc-
tor throughout the war. After the war, he
joined the U.S. Air Force and was a flight
instructor for another 10 years. Then, he
flew corporate aircraft out of New York for
big companies. He retired from flying at
age 65. Bill received every
flight medal that could
be issued by the FAA
and the Air Force. He had a Senior Flight
Instructor’s medal, so he needed no clearing
authority. He’s been married to his Fran for
68
years—they have five wonderful kids and a
slew of grandchildren and great grandchildren!
Olen Jones
—
He lost his mother to pneu-
monia when he was 11 years old. He was
raised by two wonderful grandparents. He
was drafted at the age of 18. He was in the
27
th Infantry Division sent to the Marshal
Islands. In ’47, he transferred
out of the Army and into the
Air Force. He spent a few
years in Germany and a
total of 30 years in the
military. He then worked for an aerospace
firm (LTV) and for 23 years was a wind tun-
nel engineer! He’s been married to his sweet
Peggy for 14 years.
Larry Wharton
—
Enlisted in ’43. He
was a member of the
Aircorp cadets. He
was commissioned
in ’44, and his sister, who had her Pilot’s
License and her PhD by age 16 (whoa!),
flew in to pin on his wings! After the war,
Larry went to college and medical school.
He had the second largest OB practice in
Austin. Later, he went into psychiatry
and worked for many years with people
struggling with alcoholism. He started the
hugely successful Stratford
House, a halfway house
in Austin, and was re-
cently honored with
a Lifetime Achieve-
ment Award with
the Austin Recovery
Center.
Ernie Columbus
—
Called to active
duty in ’41 in Penn-
sylvania for the Na-
tional Guard, he
was shipped to the
European Theatre
of Operations in Germany and France. Er-
nie received a Bronze Star for his combat
service. After the war, he joined the Air
Force. He was a recruiter in Dallas, Chief
of Operations in Iceland, and an Admin-
istrative Assistant to a Brigadier General
in London. After military service, he was
Director of Admissions for the American
Institute of Foreign Studies;
he retired as Vice Presi-
dent. He married dur-
ing the war and was
married to his sweet-
heart, Pauline, for 68
years. They had two
wonderful kids.
Clarence “TEX” Chachere
—
Graduating
from Texas A&M in electrical engineering
in January 1943, he went directly into Of-
ficers’ Candidate School. He was sent to sev-
eral specialty programs to prepare to go into
the ‘pool’ for Communications at Supreme
Headquarters. After all that training, he
learned he was not needed, so he was sent
overseas as an instructor with the 8th Air
Force at the base in Wharton,
England. Tex came back to the States in ’46. He
spent eight years in the Reserves. After the war
he was hired by Gulf Oil and was an Engineer
and Production Superintendant for 37 years.
During the war, he married a little Scottish gal.
Together they had two boys and two girls. (He
now has five grandchildren and a ‘GREAT’ on the
way!) Tex married his good friend, Mae, in 2002.
