Page 9 - Aerotech News and Review, April 19, 2019

High Desert Hangar Stories
Lockheed remembers one of its own: Mac comes home
Four County Men To Be Returned From Europe
Remains of four Tulare county Air Force men who died in the European theater during World War II are be- ing returned aboard the U.S. Army Transport Lawrence Victory, the army announced today.
Aboard the ship are the bodies of S/Sgt. Donald S. Coday, son of Harve E. Co- day, 144 East Honolulu street, Lindsay; 1st Lt. Joseph L. Fluty, 533 North Locust street, Visalia; 2nd Lt. Wal- ter L. Penttila, son of Lauri Penttila, rural Porterville; S/ Sgt. Leonard F. Rickert, next of kin Ada Louise Bates, rural Porterverille.
A total of 216 remains are being returned aboard the ship upon instructions of next of kin residing in California.
by Bob Alvis
special to Aerotech News
address, living in a little two story house that was built in 1915 on a shady street in a Visalia residential neighborhood.
Mom and Dad had returned to the community that was the keeper When researching history, it’s often hard to not become emotion- of so many cherished memories of raising a family before the war ally involved when that history deals with the passing of a soldier. years. But something was still missing as they settled into their new The life that is cut short is also a tale of family and friends, and how life, trying to connect to the past. An important piece of their former they came to cope with such a tragic loss in a world at war. life was in a grave in an English cemetery, as far as one can get from The telegram from the war department to Lieutenant Fluty’s par- rural Visalia. Then came the day when a Western Union Telegram showed up at their front door, much like the one a few years prior. It simply stated that, if desired, the remains of 1st Lt. Joseph Fluty could be returned to American soil, or left overseas in an American
ents was one of many that were finding the mailboxes of American families every day during the years of World War II.
When the dreaded Western Union man showed up on the doorstep of 607 North Sycamore Street in Burbank, the door opened to the unspeakable pain that would now be received in the message that a beloved son, brother or uncle was never coming home. As we saw in the second installment of this story, the Lockheed family was also feeling that loss.
As the wheels were turning in the upper ranks of management to honor one of their own, the employees also felt it was their duty to come up with a gesture to show the family their understanding of the loss.
What sparked my interest in this story was a chance article I saw in a Lockheed Star publication from World War II, that told of Lockheed employees pulling together to plant a tree in the honor of Lieutenant Fluty in the yard of the family home in Burbank. A simple gesture that those involved hoped would ease the pain, as a living tribute in their yard that would grow tall and strong every day and remind the family of the love of many for a fallen son and brother.
When the war came to an end, many families were left to find their way back from the communities and industries that had sprung up around the war production world. With their service to the war effort on the home front ended, they felt the need to try and recapture the lifestyle they’d had before Uncle Sam came calling for so many. The Fluty family was no different, and a less hectic life in Visalia in the San Joaquin Valley pulled at their hearts. Before long they had a new
Veterans cemetery.
In the Times Delta newspaper dated July 1, 1948, it was reported
that the remains of four Tulare County Airmen who had died in the European Theater during World War II were being returned aboard the U.S. Army Transport Lawrence Victory. One of those Airmen was the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Fluty.
I’m sure the celebration of life was a community affair with many folk attending who had contact with our young aviator over his life. And I’m sure it brought peace of mind to the family that their beloved “Mac” was now back home and his final resting place could be visited when the urge came to connect with the soul of a beloved son. But this story still has a lot of holes to be filled like: what ever happened to the P-38 specially constructed by Lockheed in Burbank that was flown into combat in Lieutenant Fluty’s honor? What ever happened to the P-38 that Mac was flying on the day he was lost?
One thing I did discover was that the tree that was planted at the Fluty family home in Burbank survived for many years, with families who lived there afterwards never knowing that the shade in their front yard was courtesy of Lockheed employees, in honor of a fallen hero. Feeling the desire to walk this history, I found myself one day on North Sycamore Street, going for a walk in search of a particular tree. I was disappointed when the street number revealed a million-
See FLUTY, Page 10
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April 19, 2019
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