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World War II
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Emmet County cemeteries, as of Veteran's Day 2005, included the remains of 1396 U. S. veterans who had served in wars dating back to the Civil War.
In one of those cemeteries, Wallingford Lutheran, lies an Air Force colonel who was raised on a farm in Twelve Mile Lake township in Emmet County and attended a country school in that township. He was graduated in 1935 from Graettinger High School in adjoining Palo Alto County, and from Estherville Junior College in Emmet County in 1937. Imprinted on his grave marker in addition to his name and birth/death dates is the following information indicating the three wars involving the United States during his service in the Army Air Corps: "WW II, Korea, Vietnam, an American Fighter Ace."
An ace is a combat pilot who has downed five or more enemy planes. During a war, fighter planes protect large bomber formations from enemy fighter planes.
Emmet County's only ace, Ernest Kermit (Hawk) is listed in a book entitled American Fighter Aces Album which was edited by Col. J. Ward Boyce, USAF (Ret.)
Ernest K. Osher was born March 26, 1918 to Edward B. Osher and his wife Kate Jensen Osher who were living at that time on a farm in Section 28 in Twelve Mile Lake Township, Emmet County. Ernest was the fifth of nine children, six boys and three girls, born to Edward and Kate.
The Osher boys had an early interest in flying. An older brother, Gilford, built his own airplane which was powered with a motor from a Model A Ford. His airstrip near the small town of Wallingford was nicknamed "Wallingford International." From it he operated a crop dusting business. During the war Gilford was a test pilot at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Until hunting of game using an aircraft was declared illegal, the Osher boys used Gilford's homemade airplane to hunt fox.
Ernest Osher enrolled in the first government-sponsored Civil Pilot Training course offered by Estherville Junior College; the class began in September 1940. The flight instructor was Harry Coffie, local flying enthusiast, lawyer and farmer. To be eligible for the course an applicant had to have completed a year of junior college or be a graduate. Ten students enrolled in the class and received free instruction. All ten had made their cross country flights by December 20, 1940 when they completed their ground school examinations given by a Civil Aeronautics Authority inspector and became qualified for private pilot licenses.
After his junior college education, Ernest enrolled at Iowa State College in Ames.
On March 15, 1941 he joined the Army Air Corps and took his primary and basic flight training at Corsicana and Randolph Field before graduating on October 31, 1941 at Kelly Field, Texas where he was commissioned a lieutenant. While he was training in Texas, cameras were used instead of guns when squadron members participated in dogfights. Ernie had a picture of the plane flown by each of the other members in the crosshairs of his camera while none of the other members had a picture of his plane. As a result he was made Squadron Leader.
When Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was attacked by the Japanese on December 7, 1941 he was in Portland, Oregon flying P-36s and P-43s with the 55th Pursuit Group.
On May 18th, 1942 he participated in activating the 82nd Fighter Group in Los Angeles flying P-38s with the 95th Fighter Squadron. He was with that group when it was sent to the British Isles for training in Spitfires and P-38s at Eglington, Ireland. The ocean liner "Queen Mary" transported the group to England and a British destroyer came to meet the huge vessel. The destroyer was to cross just ahead of the big liner but a misjudgment of speed of the "Queen Mary" caused the destroyer to be cut in two. Ernest had his camera poised in a porthole to get a picture of the destroyer when he felt a thud. He clicked the camera and when it was developed he had a picture of half of the destroyer before it sank.
Ernest was married August 12, 1942 in Central City, Nebraska to Betty Lorraine Hatch of Olympia, Washington, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Hatch of Spokane, Washington.
The combat training in Ireland ended in December 1942.
Osher then began combat by flying escort to Ninth Air Force bombers on strikes from North African bases. On January 29, 1943 he scored his first victory by downing a Messrschmidt-109 over Tunis, Tunisia. On the following March 22 he scored his second by destroying another Messrschmidt-109 and also damaged a a plane northeast of Bizerte, Tunisia.
On May 5, 1943 he met up with six Italian Savoir Marchetti-82s over the Sicilian Straits. He downed one, but then was attacked by a German fighter during which battle he downed the Messrschmidt-109 and damaged another. That day gave him two more victories.
He became an ace on May 11, 1943 when he shot down another Me-109 over Marsala, Italy. In an article in the Estherville Daily News, May 12, 1943 Osher described that encounter: "I saw two Messrschmidts driving to attack our bombers as they were coming off target [over Marsala]. As I turned my P-38 to head them off one turned and made a head-pass at me [the planes almost collided]. I was thrown back by his propwash, then as I looked back he slowly rolled over and dived straight down in a spiral. Others in my flight saw him hit the water. When I landed I found one of his explosive bullets had gone straight down that blast tube of the upper right machine gun in my plane's nose and jammed the drive." On that occasion a chunk of flying metal missed him by about six inches and became imbedded in his plane's panel board. He credited the plane's armor plate with saving his life.
Osher completed 52 combat missions in North Africa and Sicily.
He had the highest regard for the speed and maneuverability of the P-38F-15 43-2112, nicknamed the "Sad Sack" for a cartoon character in Stars and Stripes, an Army newspaper. That P-38 had accounted for his victories, five confirmed and two damaged.
He was never injured while he was piloting his fighter plane. However, he did have an injury in Africa during a German air raid as he was making a hurried trip to an air raid shelter during a blackout and fell over a log. He suffered two broken teeth and facial cuts.
After seven months in Africa and being promoted to major on July 6, 1943, he was reassigned to command the 95th Fighter Squadron of Ninth Air Force's 82nd Fighter Group.
When World War II ended Osher remained in the Air Force. On October 19, 1950 he was promoted to colonel. In January 1970 he retired. By that time he had been decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 12 Oak Leaf Clusters and the Air Force Commendation Medal with one OLC.
He died September 26, 1980 at the age of 62 after a three-month illness when he was living in Maitland, Orange County, Florida. He was buried in Riverside Cemetery (now called Wallingford Lutheran Cemetery) in Emmet County, Iowa, on September 29, 1980. Buried near him is his only son, Ernest Kermit Osher, Jr. who was born March 4, 1948 in Germany and died August 28, 1948 at Walter Reed hospital in Washington, D. C. Surviving him in addition to his widow were daughters Sandra Lee Bell, Springfield, Virginia; Janice Lee Lohse, Orlando, Florida; Susan Louise Rice, Orlando, Florida and Laura Kay Binns, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Also surviving were brothers Almer Osher, Polson, Montana; Gilford Osher, Wallingford, Iowa; Leonard Osher, Ruthven, Iowa; and John Osher, Alamo, California. Surviving sisters were Esther Thu, Graettinger, Iowa, Ruth Nelson, Des Moines, Iowa; and Geneva Knutsen, San Diego, California. Funeral services were held at the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Orlando. The Wallingford American Legion Post under the command of Chet Torreson served as pallbearers and conducted military services at the cemetery.
Written and contributed by: Ruth M. Hackett, Estherville, Iowa, 51334.
Sources:
Aces of the Mighty Eighth, Jerry Scutts and John Stanaway, Osprey
Publishing, 2002
American Fighter Aces Album, edited by Col. J. Ward Boyce, USAF (Ret.)
Estherville Daily News, Estherville, Iowa
Graettinger Times, Graettinger, Iowa
Seattle Times, Seattle, Washington
Osher family scrapbook assembled by Esther Thu, Graettinger, Iowa.
