October - 2003

Reporter - Carolyn Hoppes

Flying High...

Marvin Armstrong was born February 2,1921 on a farm near Wann, Oklahoma. There
were four boys and 2 girls in the Armstrong family. Marvin went to grade school and high school in Wann. He enjoyed sports especially baseball and basketball. While he was
growing up he remembers going fishing and hunting in the woods for squirrels and possums. While he was in his teens the country was suffering from the Great Depression. During those tough times when he was about 13 he helped herd cattle for 25 cents a day.

Marvin attended Coffeeville Junior College in Coffeeville, Kansas. He was an average student with one exception. He loved math, especially geometry. He got his first car, a 1923 Model T Ford. Then, in September of 1941, he made a life changing decision and enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He was in the middle of aircraft maintenance school when Pearl Harbor was bombed. When his schooling at Shepard Air Force Base in Texas was complete he was sent to Wendover Air Force Base in Utah. In Utah he attended gunnery school and trained as a flight engineer on the upper turret of a B-17. The Air Force was desperate for ground maintenance personnel so Marvin took on that job.

In September of 1942, he was sent to England where he was crew chief on a B-17. Marvin says that their planes were sent on bombing missions every day over Europe. It was his job to keep them flying. In 1944 Marvin and several hundred men were selected to go on a shuttle-bombing mission to Russia! The men all left England by boat and landed in Egypt. There they picked up needed supplies and rode in the back of a truck all through Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Iran. At Tabriz, Iran, they boarded a train to Russia. They all ended up in Miragrad, near Kiev, Russia. While there, Marvin and his group fueled and repaired incoming B-17's. On a cold November day in 1944 they left Russia to return to England taking the same dangerous route back.

Once back in England Marvin caught the eye of a sweet young English girl named Lilian McDonough. She stole his heart and he asked her to many him. Too soon the newlyweds were separated when Marvin was sent home in 1945. Lilian stayed in England. Marvin was stationed at Grand Island, Nebraska and discharged in September of 1945 with the rank of Master Sergeant. Lilian came to Oklahoma in April of 1946 and was finally able to join her new husband. They both decided to settle in South Coffeeville. Marvin had a variety of jobs but tragedy struck when their only child was drowned.

Wanting a fresh start Marvin and Lilian decided to move and ended up in Portland Oregon. Marvin decided to re-enlist in the Air Force and he was stationed at Spokane, Washington for nearly 12 years. He went with the 98th Bomber Group on temporary duty assignments over seas. Marvin found himself traveling to Okinawa, Japan, Guam in the Philippines and England. During the Korean War he was stationed in Japan for 8-1/2 months. In 1958 he was stationed at Mather Air Force Base at Rancho Cordova and after 2 years there, it was back to Okinawa, Japan for another 3 years. It wasn't until 1963 that Lilian and Marvin returned to California where he was stationed at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield. Finally
in 1964 Marvin retired form the Air Force. But he couldn't stay away from airplanes, so he got a job with United Airlines as a mechanic at their overhaul base. He worked for United for nearly 20 years and retired again in 1983.

Lilian and Marvin decided to move to Hayward and bought a home not far from the old Western Garden Nursery. In 1977 they moved into the Tropics Mobile Home Park. Marvin and Lilian loved to go bowling and many nights you would find them at the Holiday Bowl in Hayward. They also had a motor home and loved to go traveling. Marvin loved fishing for trout on nearby lakes and streams and owned several boats over the years. Their favorite spot was Newman, California on 1-5 where the San Joaquin and Merced River converge. Late in 1995 Lilian's health began to fail and they sold their motor home. After a lengthy illness she passed away in 2001.

Marvin said that all his life he usually had a dog. One of his favorites was a great big German Shepherd called "Bill" that they had back on the farm. Old Bill was so devoted to the boys in the family that he waited until they all returned safely from the war before passing away at the ripe old age of 17 years.

Today Marvin is an avid gardener. He can often be seen out tending his fruit trees, which include peach, apricot, tangerine and orange. He complained that one night a pesky raccoon climbed up his apricot tree and proceeded to devour about thirty of his apricots leaving the half eaten fruit scattered about. I guess Jeanne Larson isn't the only resident with raccoon issues! Marvin also grows tomatoes, zucchini cucumbers and lettuce.

Even though Marvin is retired he still gets up before 4 AM each morning. Work habits are hard to break. He exercises about 30 minutes and takes a walk round the park every morning and evening with his buddy Al Harvey. Sometimes you might even see him on his bicycle. Marvin says there have been lots of changes in the park since 1977, all for the better. Enjoys our monthly breakfast and likes going to the Computer Club meetings. He says he's not a surfer on the web, but likes to e-mail friends and family. He complained that he spends too much time going to the doctor. Otherwise he is quite satisfied with his life here in the Tropics. Marvin told me that, "I think humor is important. You have to laugh. It's good for you and me too!" I hope Marvin remembers that the next time he sees that pesky raccoon.

I would like to thank Marvin for sitting down and chatting with me. The more you know about a person, the more you appreciate who they are and what truly amazing things they have done in their lives. Getting to know someone like Marvin is what makes living in the Tropics so great. Keep flying high Marvin!

-Carolyn Hoppes