James “Lotz” H. Lotzgesell, Jr. was born Nov. 7, 1921. Graduating from Sequim HS in 1938, he was at the UW when Pearl Harbor occurred. Leaving college, he flew seaplanes during WWII. While on the Chester they bombarded Paramushir I. On the Nashville, MacArthur’s Philippine invasion flagship, he flew in five island landings – winning an Air Medal and on Dec. 13, 1944 a kamikaze killed 133, wounded 190. In 1945, Dad was in an airplane crash.
After WWII, he married Shirley Harper. The Korean War found Dad flying P2V patrol bombers. VP-2 flew from Kodiak to the Arctic Circle, west above Siberia, then down the Bering Straits – probing for radar and submarines. Towards war end, at Oahu, he flew DC-6Bs - linking both sides and middle of the Pacific. Volunteering for intelligence in the mid-50s, he participated in the U-2 program in Wash. DC. His next assignment Morocco, in 1961 he was sent to Norfolk - and involvement in the Cuban Missile Crisis. In Summer, 1963 he retired as LCDR.
In Port Angeles, he worked ten years as a bank officer. Subsequently, he ran a motel, taught real estate, made cabinets, and drove school bus. He also became a PC guru. When, in the late 90s, mill smoke forced Shirley to leave, they spent time in N, Calif., then moved to Oak Harbor in 2005.
On June 21, 2013, our beloved “Jimmy” passed away. Surviving are wife Shirley, children Dana Lotzgesell, Tonah Potter, Bonnie McWilliams, and grandchildren Cari, Amy, Seth, Jeffrey.
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