| Bio Sketch |
|
- Notes:
-
Biographical Sketch
Submitted By Alma Harings
Peter J. Harings Jr. was born on 17 June 1920 in Chippewa Falls,
Wisconsin to Peter J. Harings (1877-1972) b. Chippewa Falls & the
former Louise Larson of Norway (1906-1978).
Pete Jr. joined the US Army Air Corps in 1941 and became a second
lieutenant in 1942 when the 510th fighter squadron, 405th
Fighter-bomber group originally formed. He served at Walterboro, SC as
an intelligence officer, and served in the European Theatre when the
510th transferred to England early in 1944.
Our nations involvement in WWII was almost in full swing when Peter &
Anita realized that he could be shipped out at any time. They were very
much in love and had privately vowed to marry one another, even though a
formal date for marriage had not been set yet. Faced with the hard
realities concerning the current state of world affairs, Anita was
suddenly fearful that her Bo might never return once shipped over seas.
Given this, she asked Peter for his hand and He eagerly accepted.
ANITA & PETER were married (for the first time) on January 22, 1944
in a civil ceremony in Anita's hometown of Eau Claire Wisconsin. Anita’s
father, (Henning Bylander) was a good friend of Judge Farr-- also of Eau
Claire and arranged for the Judge to perform the ceremony at the local
County court house.
At that time Anita was a Lutheran and Peter was a practicing Catholic.
They both would have preferred a church wedding but was unable to come
to an acceptable arrangement between themselves or their families. The
young couple realized that time was of the essence so they opted for the
civil ceremony.
Anita's parents held a reception for the newlyweds at their home in
Eau Claire. The couple finally boarded a train later that same afternoon
heading for Chicago. (See photo) Anita said that she enjoyed her first
dinner as Mrs. Peter Harings that evening while being entertained by Cab
Calloway. Hi De Ho!!
As previously mentioned, Pete was serving as an intelligence officer in
the Army Air Corp & was stationed at Walterboro, South Carolina. He
received his orders and was scheduled to ship out with his squadron
during the second week of February. So after their quick civil ceremony,
they spent the remainder of time together leisurely travelling south by
train toward Walterboro.
Pete's father, a very strict and devout Catholic, was concerned that
this new union had not been properly blessed. Before they left Eau
Claire, Mr. Harings demanded that they have a priest bless their union
before Peter Jr. leave for England. A Catholic wedding ceremony had
been arranged and took take place on base as soon as they arrived in SC.
(As told to me by my mother in law, Anita Bylander Harings, during the
summer of 2003)
Their union ultimately produced 3 sons. (Peter John Harings, III was
born on 14 Jun 1953) (Michael Harings 25 Oct 1958) & (John Harings 18
Oct 1963).
After his discharge in 1945, Peter joined the Air Force Reserves. In
1946 he went back on active duty, where as a captain he was an
instructor for three years at the US Air Force Intelligence School.
After a tour of duty in Tokyo, Japan, he completed active duty in 1950.
He went on to graduate from the U of Wisconsin in Madison with a
Bachelor of Science degree in 1952 and a Master of Science degree in
geography in 1953. He worked as a cartographer for Johnson Printing Co
in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and as a sales representative at Winnebago
Corp in Menasha, Wisconsin prior to his retirement in 1987.
He was discharged from the Air Force Reserves in 1966 as a lieutenant
colonel.
He was a member of Lions International and the Veterans of Foreign
Wars.
After suffering a long illness, Peter died at his home in Prescott Valley,
Arizona on Monday, 21 Feb 2000. His wife Anita and oldest son, Peter
was by his side when he passed that day.
Memorial services were held at St Lukes Episcopal Church in Prescott,
with the Rev Paul Crowell officiating. It was a beautiful ceremony with a
brother from the 510th in attendance. (Note: Sunrise Funeral Home in
Prescott AZ helped the family with all of the arrangements)
The Lieutenant Colonel’s ashes were ultimately laid to rest at the
National Memorial Cemetery in Phoenix AZ. The military honoured his
passing on that day with a seven-gun salute that was touching beyond
words. His survivors included his wife, Anita; sons, Peter III of
Winslow AZ; John of Tucson AZ & Michael of Ca.; Surviving Sisters:
Helen Storm of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Lucille Prueher of Kremmling
Colorado & Catherine Nelson of Freedom, Ca.
Peter had 3 grandchildren at the time of his passing.
Alma Harings
aharings@cox.net
(Unrelated Historical Note of Interest by Alma: The base at
Walterboro SC mentioned above ultimately became the airfield where the
Tuskegee Airmen trained for combat during WWII and is now the
location of their Memorial. For anyone not familiar with this
extraordinary group, I highly recommend reading about their history and
awesome legacy. )
|