Wayne Charles Porter (1923 - 2012)

Born 19 Dec 1923 in Braceville, Trumbull, Ohio, United States

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Biography

Wayne Charles Porter

He is the son of Charles Lurandus Porter (1889–1953 )^[1] and Elsie May Hudson (1892–1976) ^[2]

Information paraphrased, in part, from the obituary.

HAMPTON -

Wayne was a graduate of Ravenna High School and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. After his high school graduation he began military service in the Army Air Corps. His final assignment was at Langley Air Force Base, where he retired in 1970. He continued working for an additional 10 years at Computer Sciences Corporation in Hampton.

Wayne was an active member of the First United Methodist Church of Fox Hill and served as a past chair of the Building Committee and as an usher. He was a member of the Searchers Sunday School Class.

He was also a member of the James L. Hale Chapter of American Ex-Prisoners of War and served as the Virginia State Commander for two years. He often represented his community at patriotic events honoring our nation's veterans and spoke about his experiences as a POW at schools and other special events.

Birth

Wayne was born in Braceville, Ohio, 19 Dec 1923

Marriage

He marriedMargaret Hart 1946

Military Service

Lt. Col. Wayne Porter was a Prisoner of War during World War II.

After his high school graduation he began military service in the Army Air Corps, serving during WWII. as a bombardier, he completed 30 missions before his plane was shot down and he was held as a POW in Germany for seven months. After the war, he was commissioned as an officer and served in the United States Air Force for 28 years. He served during both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. His final assignment was at Langley Air Force Base, where he retired in 1970.

[note: Korea and Vietnam categories need further detail, check his service records, the following badge needs correcting]

Wayne Porter is a Military Veteran.
Served in the United States Army Air Corps 02 Jun 1942-1970
rank= Lt. Col.

/ See him listed as a POW

Local Veterans Remember And Reflect On Their Lives

May 30, 2004| By STEPHANIE HEINATZ - Daily Press

HAMPTON — Watching the dedication stirred memories many former soldiers have struggled to forget, and ones many now strive to keep intact.

For two hours Saturday afternoon, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Wayne Porter sat close to his wife, Peggy, in the front row of a small conference room at the Hampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

His 80-year-old eyes stayed glued to an oversized projection screen broadcasting the formal dedication ceremony, 17 years in the making, of the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

His arms, no longer covered with a battle dress uniform, remained crossed over his chest. His feet, no longer protected by hard combat boots, remained fixed on the floor beneath him.

Mostly he sat straight-faced, giving way to laughter only when energetic World War II-era songs were played and the good memories of that time crept into his thoughts.

Mostly he sat motionless, moving only to salute the flag, stand to be recognized as a decorated World War II veteran or wipe his eyes in an effort to fight tears that never fell.

"This day is a long time in the making," Wayne said just seconds after the ceremony ended. "It's a shame those veterans who've already passed on missed it."

The memorial, made of bronze and granite, sits on seven acres between the memorial honoring the president who fought to create this country -- George Washington -- and the president who battled to preserve it -- Abraham Lincoln.

It was built in honor of the 16 million Americans who wore a military uniform during the war, the more than 400,000 who died and the millions who maintained life on the home front.

Because many veterans couldn't bear the thought of heading to D.C. and battling the thousands of people who showed up to watch the dedication live, the VA hospital invited veterans to view the ceremony from its campus.

"World War II was the most significant event in the history of mankind," P.X. Kelley, chairman of the American Battle Monuments Commission and retired Marine Corps general, said at the dedication.

It was a conflict, Kelley said, that affected everyone.

"That's so true," Peggy said. "No matter who you were, where you were or what you were doing, the war was a part of you."

Peggy and Wayne, both originally from Ohio but now residents of Hampton, went through World War II together, only separated.

"Right after I graduated high school, I enlisted into the Army Air Force," Wayne said. "I was 18 then and it was join or be drafted. It was 1942."

Wayne's high school sweetheart, Peggy, was still finishing up school and was forced to watch him head off to war.

"That's just what we did at that time," Peggy said, trying to dilute the importance of what Wayne was a part of and the support she gave him. "The young men grew up and went to war. That's just the way it was and we knew that. And us ladies waited for them."

Once Wayne finished basic training, he was sent overseas as part of the crew of a B-24.

"I was a bombardier," Wayne said. "I was the guy who dropped the bombs."

Meanwhile, back in Ohio, Peggy supported the country's war effort.

"We lived by rations," Peggy said. "We saved aluminum cans and toothpaste tubes. And I wrote him letters every day."

"And Wayne was very good at writing me back," Peggy said. "Until he got shot down."

Wayne said he wrote to Peggy as often as he could and always the night before he left for a mission because "I never knew if I would make it back."

He wrote before flying into Normandy on June 7, 1944, and before flying missions into southern France, Italy, Romania and Greece.

It was on his 30th mission that he almost didn't make it and was glad he wrote the letter the night before.

"In October 1944 we got shot down over Germany," Wayne said. "Only five of the 11 crew members survived. I lived in prison camps for seven months before I was liberated. I even celebrated my 21st birthday in a prison camp."

Three weeks after Wayne was shot down, Peggy got a different kind of letter.

"I got a telegram from the War Department that said he was missing in action," Peggy said. "Then I got another one saying he was a prisoner of war. There are things that happen in life that you can't do anything about and that was one of them. So I just waited."

Peggy waited for many more months and finally, years after he had left, got to wrap her arms around him again.

"She picked me up at the bus station when I returned from the war," Wayne said, looking lovingly at Peggy. "I married her then, and later, after the Air Force separated from the Army, joined again and made a career out of it."

Wayne served for 28 years and retired in 1970 out of Langley. Peggy waited for him again when he deployed for the Korean War and for Vietnam.

Watching Saturday's long-awaited dedication of the memorial honoring the world's second war, both Wayne and Peggy said it brought back those memories.

"When these men came home from the war, all we wanted to do was get on with our lives and try and pick up where we left off," Peggy said.

"But as we get older, we have time to reflect on our lives. Today was a time to reflect." *

Death

Lt. Col. (ret.) Wayne Charles Porter, 88, entered into eternal rest on Monday, Feb. 13, 2012, at Sentara Careplex Hospital.

Burial

A memorial service with honor guard held for Wayne . Friday, Feb. 17, at the First United Methodist Church of Fox Hill, in Hampton.

Albert G. Horton Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery, Suffolk, Suffolk City, Virginia - Find A Grave Index ^[3]

Family

Wayne is survived by Peggy, his wife of 66 years. He is also survived by their children, Patricia Arthur (Ron), Robert Porter (Shelley), Mary Gore (Tom), Janet Holden (Ricky), and David Porter (Cyndi); grandchildren, Mary Anne Valadez, Robert Michael Porter Jr. (Natasha), Stephanie Kehrer, Katie Seguin (Brian), Timothy and Matthew Holden; six great-grandchildren, Sarah, Cassandra and Miranda Valadez, Samantha Seguin, Holley Bohn, and Robert Michael Porter III. Another great-grandchild will be welcomed into the family next month. A brother, Nelson Porter of McDonald, Ohio, also survives him, along with several nieces and nephews.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by two brothers, Walter and Wendell Porter; and four sisters, Betty Jane and Opal Porter, Georgia Piatt and Lura Williams.

His father Charles Lurandus Porter married 21 Mar 1914, Trumbull, Ohio, Age: 24, (born 4 Aug 1890 Charleston, Ohio, Elsie May Hudson Age: 22: (born 17 Mar 1892, Windham, Ohio) ^[4]

Father's Name: Nelson Porter Mother's Name: Lura Mecca

Spouse's Father's Name: Smith Hudson Spouse's Mother's Name: Ida M. Burton

Research Notes

Name: Charles Lurandus Porter

Name Note: Manager

Event Type: Marriage

Event Date: 21 Mar 1914

Event Place: Trumbull, Ohio, United States

Gender: Male

Age: 24

Marital Status: Single

Birth Date: 4 Aug

Birth Year (Estimated): 1890

Birthplace: Charleston, Ohio

Father's Name: Nelson Porter

Mother's Name: Lura Mecca

Spouse's Name: Elsie May Hudson

Spouse's Gender: Female

Spouse's Age: 22

Spouse's Marital Status: Single

Spouse's Birth Date: 17 Mar

Spouse's Birth Year (Estimated): 1892

Spouse's Birthplace: Windham, Ohio

Spouse's Father's Name: Smith Hudson

Spouse's Mother's Name: Ida M. Burton

Digital Folder Number: 004017150

Record Number: 11

Reference ID: cn 3473

GS Film Number: 905556

Digital Folder Number: 004017150

Image Number: 00319

Indexing Project (Batch) Number: M02348-7

Sources

1. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/179119593/charles-l_-porter
2. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/178936905/elsie-m-porter
3. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/192078546/wayne-c-porter
4. ↑ "Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X8ZR-G5L : 26 August 2019), Ida M. Burton in entry for Charles Lurandus Porter and Elsie May Hudson, 21 Mar 1914; citing Marriage, Trumbull, Ohio, United States, cn 3473, Franklin County Genealogical & Historical Society, Columbus; FHL microfilm.