Christmas Day was on a Tuesday in 1945.  Early that morning – at about 9:00 A.M. – Jack Stearns Barrows and Gilbert Marvin Crolius left the Crolius residence telling Mrs. Crolius they were going to the airfield at Ontario, California to look at a plane which was for sale.  Gilbert Crolius worked for the American Airplane Company, while Jack worked for a lumber company.  Both boys, 17 years in age, had about 10 flight hours each as student pilots. Sometime after 1:00, the two boys took off from Ontario Field in a stolen C-47 “Skytrain.”  Eyewitnesses stated, “…after taking off, the plane gained altitude rapidly and suddenly went into a spin, diving almost straight down” crashing into a vineyard about 01:55. [1]

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Corporal Lawrence “Larry” Spencer married Ms. Barbara Kelley in 1950, and remained married to her for 62 years until he passed away! [1] But, he was a bachelor during his service in the military.  And he enjoyed his leave, and a large portion of his diary is devoted to the women who left an impact on his life.  There appears to be a couple of pages torn from the journal, but the ladies that remain are listed below….

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When the world went to war in 1939, ordinary men and women were called to lead extraordinary lives.  Lawrence “Larry” Truman Spencer grew up in the city of Elmira, New York living with his parents Frank and Nellie.  After the war, he returned to Elmira and passed away there on February 21, 2012. [1] But, two things point to the adventures he had during the Second World War and the impact they had on his life.  First, the part of his obituary that read, “He proudly served in the United States Army Air Corps.” [2] Second, he left a diary of his service in a booklet, “My Life in the Service.”

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