May 2019 Oskaloosa Bandstand Flag Notice

Earl E. Macksey
October 26, 1919 – January 3, 2018
United States Army
The flag flying over the bandstand during May is in honor of Earl Macksey.

Earl Ellis Macksey, son of Thomas Dennis and Lena Belle Tessman Macksey, was born October 26, 1919, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Earl was a 1937 graduate of Oskaloosa High School. March 1, 1942, he began his career with the United States Postal Service. He served exactly one month with the Postal Service before being drafted into the U.S. Army, April 1, 1942. Given his aptitudes, Earl was sent to Bombardier School in Childress, Texas where he graduated and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant. He was assigned to the 305th Bombardment Group and deployed to the European Theater on August 25, 1944, where he was stationed in Chelveston, England. Earl was dual-rated as both a Bombardier and Navigator of the B-17 heavy bomber often referred to as the “Flying Fortress.” His decorations included the Air Medal for Meritorious Achievement in aerial combat. He transferred to the Army Air Corp., October 29, 1942, and served in Europe with the 305th Bomb Group and the 364th Bomb Squadron.

January 1, 1945, on his 30th mission over Germany, while targeting Magdeburg, Germany, in which he was a bombardier/navigator, his plane, a B-17, was shot down and he was taken prisoner-of-war. Five of the ten crew members were lost that day. Among them was Oskaloosa native Jay S. Baas, the Co-Pilot. Jay is interred at Arlington National Cemetery. Earl was one of the crewmen able to parachute from the stricken aircraft and was captured. He was held at Stalag 1, north of Berlin, near Barth, Germany by the Baltic Sea and held for four months. He revealed that he was treated decently by the Germans. However, it was found that Earl was given very little food, suffered physical and emotional abuse, and was living in frigid conditions. But true to Earl’s nature, he never complained. Following his discharge, Dec. 19, 1945, he stayed in the Army Reserves for a total of 20 years and was discharged as a Major. Earl also resumed his employment with the Postal Service after his overseas service. He worked as a clerk at the Oskaloosa Post Office for 39 years and retired in January 1981.

Earl’s sister, Rose, and future wife, Joan Marie Boyle, were roommates at Marycrest College in Davenport. They would meet in the chapel to pray for Earl’s release from the P.O.W. camp and Earl’s safety.

While visiting his sister, Rose, at Marycrest, he met his future wife, Joan Marie Boyle. They married, June 16, 1947, at St. Patrick’s Church in Iowa City. They were blessed with six children with two sets of twins. Earl was a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church and the American Legion.

If you are interested in flying the flag of a veteran above the bandstand, contact Shawn Langkamp at Langkamp Funeral Chapel & Crematory at 641-672-2181 or www.langkampfuneralchapel.com Contact Us Link.

Posted by on May 1 2019. Filed under Bandstand Flag Memorial. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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