Lawrence Gross is vet of month
December 11, 2019 at 12:55 a.m.
By David [email protected]
Aside from his service to his country, Lawrence Bernard Gross, 96, has been married to his wife, Athalia, for over 74 years.
Before reading Gross’s information to the county commissioners Tuessday, County Veterans Affairs Officer Rich Maron said, “We really have a wonderful person to represent the honor we’re giving this morning.”
Gross was born Aug. 19, 1923, in Pierceton, to Earl and Katie Gross, the fourth of seven children. Five of the six boys grew up and served in the Air Force, Navy or Marines.
After graduating from Pierceton High School in 1941 and receiving several flying lessons at Smith Field in Fort Wayne, Gross decided to become a pilot and enlisted in the Army Air Force.
At the age of 20, on June 13, 1943, Gross entered pilot’s training in the Primary, Basic and Advanced Flying Schools in Texas. On May 23, 1944, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and received his Silver Wings and a pilot rating.
In 1947, the Army Air Force became a separate service as the U.S. Air Force, Maron said.
Lawrence and the former Athalia Dill, of Pierceton, were married June 16, 1945, and traveled to Langley Field, Va. It was the first of many places they called home. They then went from there to Lawson Field, Georgia; Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina; Elmendorf Air Force Base, Anchorage, Alaska; Sewart Air Force Base, Smyrna, Tenn.; Naha Air Force Base, Naha, Okinawa, Japan; and Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, Goldsboro, N.C.
Lawrence and Athalia celebrated 74 years of marriage this year. They have a daughter and son-in-law who reside in Arizona; a son and daughter-in-law in Pennsylvania; two grandchildren; a great-grandchild; two step-grandchildren and one step-great-grandchild.
During his tours, Gross flew a variety of planes, including the P-40, B-24, C-46, C-119, C-123 and C-130. He transported cargos of fuel, passengers, paratroopers and bombs for Vietnam.
“Lawrence is an extremely decorated veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam. This is our first veteran, in the years that I’ve been here, that was a part of all three of our wars,” Maron said. “And he has medals and awards too many to mention this morning. I saw his discharge, and believe me, it’s the most medals that I think I ever saw on a discharge.”
He said Gross was most proud of his Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star and the Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters.
Gross’s duties during his 28 years of service consisted mainly of instructor pilot, standardization check pilot, squadron operations officer, staff operations plans officer for the western hemisphere and the pilot for the general of the 19th Air Force.
Gross retired in August 1970 as lieutenant colonel with a rating of command pilot with over 9,000 hours of flying time.
Maron said all of the veterans the county has honored have been impressive, but Gross’s was the “finest” biography he’s had the privilege of reading.
When Maron asked Gross if he had anything to say, Gross just told him, “Thank you.”
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Aside from his service to his country, Lawrence Bernard Gross, 96, has been married to his wife, Athalia, for over 74 years.
Before reading Gross’s information to the county commissioners Tuessday, County Veterans Affairs Officer Rich Maron said, “We really have a wonderful person to represent the honor we’re giving this morning.”
Gross was born Aug. 19, 1923, in Pierceton, to Earl and Katie Gross, the fourth of seven children. Five of the six boys grew up and served in the Air Force, Navy or Marines.
After graduating from Pierceton High School in 1941 and receiving several flying lessons at Smith Field in Fort Wayne, Gross decided to become a pilot and enlisted in the Army Air Force.
At the age of 20, on June 13, 1943, Gross entered pilot’s training in the Primary, Basic and Advanced Flying Schools in Texas. On May 23, 1944, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and received his Silver Wings and a pilot rating.
In 1947, the Army Air Force became a separate service as the U.S. Air Force, Maron said.
Lawrence and the former Athalia Dill, of Pierceton, were married June 16, 1945, and traveled to Langley Field, Va. It was the first of many places they called home. They then went from there to Lawson Field, Georgia; Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina; Elmendorf Air Force Base, Anchorage, Alaska; Sewart Air Force Base, Smyrna, Tenn.; Naha Air Force Base, Naha, Okinawa, Japan; and Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, Goldsboro, N.C.
Lawrence and Athalia celebrated 74 years of marriage this year. They have a daughter and son-in-law who reside in Arizona; a son and daughter-in-law in Pennsylvania; two grandchildren; a great-grandchild; two step-grandchildren and one step-great-grandchild.
During his tours, Gross flew a variety of planes, including the P-40, B-24, C-46, C-119, C-123 and C-130. He transported cargos of fuel, passengers, paratroopers and bombs for Vietnam.
“Lawrence is an extremely decorated veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam. This is our first veteran, in the years that I’ve been here, that was a part of all three of our wars,” Maron said. “And he has medals and awards too many to mention this morning. I saw his discharge, and believe me, it’s the most medals that I think I ever saw on a discharge.”
He said Gross was most proud of his Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star and the Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters.
Gross’s duties during his 28 years of service consisted mainly of instructor pilot, standardization check pilot, squadron operations officer, staff operations plans officer for the western hemisphere and the pilot for the general of the 19th Air Force.
Gross retired in August 1970 as lieutenant colonel with a rating of command pilot with over 9,000 hours of flying time.
Maron said all of the veterans the county has honored have been impressive, but Gross’s was the “finest” biography he’s had the privilege of reading.
When Maron asked Gross if he had anything to say, Gross just told him, “Thank you.”
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