• Carlos (Carl) first entered the Army Air Force in 1942 and went through an intensive flight training program at Miami Beach, Florida - Basic Training - Aviation Cadet; Carlstrom Field - Arcadia, Florida - Flight Training 1st phase; Gunter Field - Montgomery, Alabama - Flight Training 2nd phase; George Field - Illinois - Advanced Bomber Training; Harlington, Texas - B24 Bomber Training; Topeka, Kansas - Flight crew training; Tucson, Arizona - Phase training.  Then on to Norwich, England - 490th Bomb Group - B-17 Bomber Pilot with 35 combat missions over Germany and Romania until war ended in 1945.  Carl recalls...

• "On one mission over Germany, we left England with 12 B-17's and came back with only 3. In every mission, we encountered considerable flak and German Messerschmitt Fighters. The 1000 plane raid on Berlin in the spring of 1945 - Hundreds of planes in formation ahead of us, beside and behind - an unbelievable sight and experience. Right after the war, we made a food drop to residents of Holland - on the field the Dutch spelled out 'Thank You, Boys'."

• Carl was awarded the Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters and EAME Campaign Medal with 3 Bronze Battle Stars.

• After the war he was stationed in Texas as flight instructor to Navigators & Bombardiers as well as flight training to both Mexican and Nationalist Chinese pilots. 

  Carl was Honorably discharged from active duty in 1947 from Randolph Field, Texas.  He was a member of the US Air Force Reserve until Sept 1957 since its founding in 2001 Carl was a member of the Lexington Veterans Association.

        Carl and his wife, Trudy, lived in Sutton Walk.