John C. Haberman

After graduating from high school in 1941, John worked briefly in a factory wl night school classes in mechanical drafting. He was hired as a draftsman by ers United Company in Pittsburgh. John enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces and was sworn in on Dec. 9, 1942. red military and academic training in Florida and Illinois before becoming an ion Cadet. Given a choice to enter pilot or bombardier training, he chose lardier. After preflight training at Ellington Army Air Forces Base in Texas, he red aerial gunnery training at Laredo, Texas. His advanced bombardier training dland, Texas, where he also received instruction in aerial navigation. Upon receiving his bombardier wings and officer's commission, he was sent fc training on the B-24 Liberator bomber at Westover AAFB, Mass., before being ed overseas, where John and crew flew a combat tour with the Fifteenth Air Forc Heavy Bombardment Group, flying from a base in Southern Italy. He also flew y with the 461' Group before the war ended in Europe. Targets included oil ries, railroad yards, other heavy industry and airfields in Austria and Germany. John was awarded the Air Medal with Cluster and two Purple Hearts. He also the European Theater Ribbon with five battle stars. The 376th Bomb Group itsel xl fifteen battle stars and was honored with three Presidential Unit Citations. After the war, John majored in journalism at Indiana University, where he was !cl an Ernie Pyle Scholar. He also served as Chief Editorial Writer on the Indiana Student newspaper, the first to receive this title at the school. He was given his :.lor's degree in 1949 and worked for the next two years as a reporter with the Dn (Ohio) Daily News before he was recalled to active duty with the Air Force in , during the Korean War. He served for two years as a public information officer Headquarters, Air Materiel Command, and was editor of the command newspape Again separated from military service, he opted not to return to the newspaper for the moment and traveled to Southwest Florida, where he golfed and "combed les before opening in 1954 what apparently was the first convenience store in er County. Several years later he sold the business and turned up in Southern ornia, where he joined the former Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, working on the desk before labor unions "struck" the publication in 1967. He moved on to an ge County paper before being hired in 1970 by The Los Angeles Times.

Arrangements under the direction of Weaver Mortuary, Beaumont, CA.