IOWA AVIATION MUSEUM

Ronald Eugene Narmi was born in Council Bluffs on June 27, 1933. Growing up he loved to build model airplanes.  As a boy in WWII he watched Army Air Force glider pilots train at Eppley Airfield in Omaha while standing…

Stephen is best known as the Guidance Officer in NASA’s Mission Control that saved the first landing on the moon. Stephen G. Bales was born in Ottumwa, Iowa on October 7, 1942.  His interest and career in space were most…

James McClain was born at Des Moines on March 10, 1923 and attended high school at Waterloo followed by Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls. In 1942, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps.  After completing Navigator training, he…

Merlyn Hans Dethlefsen was born June 29, 1934 at Greenville, IA. He was raised in Royal IA and graduated from Royal High School in 1951 at the age of 16, with honors. He attended Iowa State University for two years.…

Philip Larry Turner was born in 1938 at Red Oak, Iowa, and grew up on a farm near Elliott. After graduation from Stennett High School, he attended Iowa State University and University of Nebraska Omaha where he was a member…

James R. Zangger was born July 18, 1949, in Sioux Falls, SD, and grew up near Larchwood, Iowa. His parents, Russell and Dolly Zangger, established an airport on the family farm and were flight and ground school instructors. Jim began…

Burns Maxwell Byram II was born June 1, 1924, at the family farm south of Chariton. His family later lived in Rock Rapids and Toledo. After graduation from Toledo High School in 1942, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps.…

Thomas Lowell Weir was born in Bedford on July 31, 1938, and grew up on the family farm. At age 15, Lowell took his first flying lesson on Christmas Day, sparking a lifelong passion for aviation. After graduating from Bedford…

John Langer was born in Denison on February 7, 1936. At Denison High School, he studied as an aviation mechanic apprentice before graduating in 1954. He earned his private pilot’s license at age 17. He served in the United States…

Connie Rex Younger was born July 18, 1939, near Elmo, Missouri to Rex and Margaret Younger. After attending schools in Elmo and Maryville, Connie joined the United States Navy as a Naval Musician. Following four years of service, Connie earned…