Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, Arizona)
~18 Sep 2016
Gerrit "Gary" Scholten died peacefully September 2, 2016 at the age of 96. Born in Boyden, Iowa, he was part of the "Greatest Generation", flying B-29s in the Pacific in WWII and then making a career of the Air Force as a navigator before retiring to Tucson in 1973. Predeceased by two sisters and his wives, Evelyn and Lou, he is survived by wife, Adela; daughter, Jacqueline and brother, Victor, as well as his many stepchildren, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Christian County Headliner (Nixa, Missouri)
~29 Jul 2015
It was a long sequence of events that caused Scholten to put down roots in Nixa in the late '40s. A world war, a military career and a chance meeting with one woman in particular: Evelyn McCauley, who grew up and lived in Nixa at that time.
Scholten enlisted in Sioux City, Iowa, and joined the Army Air Corps in July of 1941. Having a pilot's license already, he figured he would be fast-tracked to the cockpit of an airplane.
"I had a pilot's license already and I was sure I'd be a pilot," Scholten said. "But when they examined my eyes, I had a slight astigmatism. So being a pilot was out and they ran all the test scores on me and I scored a nine as a pilot, a nine as a navigator and eight as a bombardier. There were so many pilots in the pipeline that they made me a navigator. It was a disappointment, but in the end it was a godsend."
From Iowa, Scholten was sent to school at Drury College in Springfield where he met a young woman who caught his eye.
"When I was at Drury, going through my preparation to go to navigation school, I met Evelyn," Scholten said. "She was giving out cookies to all the G.I.s and I liked what I saw and I tried to find her the next day. I saw her coming down the steps of one of the buildings on campus and stopped her and asked her name. She was going to the library and I went with her. That was the beginning of our romance. We were married in February of 1945."
During World War II, Scholten was stationed in the south Pacific at the air base on Tinian Island, which is about 5 nautical miles southwest of Saipan. There were two bases on the 39-square-mile island, one to the west and one to the north. Scholten was stationed on the west airfield.
"I graduated navigator school and served in World War II on B-29s and I was able to fly 10 missions total over Japan," Scholten said.
While on Tinian, Scholten heard of a new aircraft at the north airfield and he and some fellow airmen decided to investigate.
"We heard they got a new B-29 Superfortress on North Field and we piled in a Jeep to go see it, because it had reversible-pitch propellers that we didn't have," Scholten said. "They told us it was top secret and we couldn't see it. So we turned around and went back to our base. It wasn't very long after that we found out what it was all about. I never saw the Enola Gay, but that's what the 'top secret' was all about."
After completing his next mission, he charted a course for Hiroshima for a flyover.
"The last mission I flew on a B-29 was a relief aid food drop to the prisoner of war camps in Japan on Kyushu Island," he said. "On the way back, we flew over Hiroshima and saw the devastation. I thought to myself, 'one bomb did this?' To me, everything had a reddish tint to it. I saw a metal tower on one end and a tower on the other and nothing in between. I couldn't believe it. I was shocked."
Scholten finished his tour of duty in February of 1945, and went directly to the reserves. He married Evelyn and moved to Nixa where he worked for her father, Orville, and then opened a business and founded the legion post.
"I came out and I was looking for a job and I worked for Evelyn's dad, milking his cows and doing farm work for about a year and a half," Scholten said. "Then I started my own business on Main Street in downtown Nixa, south of Highway 14, called Gerry's Hardware and I specialized in plumbing, electrical and well pump pulling. It was open from late 1947 to 1950. The first year after World War II, I was a member of the legion post in Ozark. In 1947, I left to start the post in Nixa and they elected me as commander. I was there until I went back into active duty. We worked hard in being active in the community. Nowadays, the American Legion has their hands full."
During his first summer in Nixa, Scholten got a lesson from the locals on a tradition that still lives strong today.
"Sucker Day in Nixa was like nothing I've seen anywhere," he said. "When the suckers were running, every store had a notice in the window: 'Gone Fishing.' We only had a population of about 500 back then and everybody closed their shop and went fishing. That was quite an experience."
~18 Sep 2016
Gerrit "Gary" Scholten died peacefully September 2, 2016 at the age of 96. Born in Boyden, Iowa, he was part of the "Greatest Generation", flying B-29s in the Pacific in WWII and then making a career of the Air Force as a navigator before retiring to Tucson in 1973. Predeceased by two sisters and his wives, Evelyn and Lou, he is survived by wife, Adela; daughter, Jacqueline and brother, Victor, as well as his many stepchildren, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Christian County Headliner (Nixa, Missouri)
~29 Jul 2015
It was a long sequence of events that caused Scholten to put down roots in Nixa in the late '40s. A world war, a military career and a chance meeting with one woman in particular: Evelyn McCauley, who grew up and lived in Nixa at that time.
Scholten enlisted in Sioux City, Iowa, and joined the Army Air Corps in July of 1941. Having a pilot's license already, he figured he would be fast-tracked to the cockpit of an airplane.
"I had a pilot's license already and I was sure I'd be a pilot," Scholten said. "But when they examined my eyes, I had a slight astigmatism. So being a pilot was out and they ran all the test scores on me and I scored a nine as a pilot, a nine as a navigator and eight as a bombardier. There were so many pilots in the pipeline that they made me a navigator. It was a disappointment, but in the end it was a godsend."
From Iowa, Scholten was sent to school at Drury College in Springfield where he met a young woman who caught his eye.
"When I was at Drury, going through my preparation to go to navigation school, I met Evelyn," Scholten said. "She was giving out cookies to all the G.I.s and I liked what I saw and I tried to find her the next day. I saw her coming down the steps of one of the buildings on campus and stopped her and asked her name. She was going to the library and I went with her. That was the beginning of our romance. We were married in February of 1945."
During World War II, Scholten was stationed in the south Pacific at the air base on Tinian Island, which is about 5 nautical miles southwest of Saipan. There were two bases on the 39-square-mile island, one to the west and one to the north. Scholten was stationed on the west airfield.
"I graduated navigator school and served in World War II on B-29s and I was able to fly 10 missions total over Japan," Scholten said.
While on Tinian, Scholten heard of a new aircraft at the north airfield and he and some fellow airmen decided to investigate.
"We heard they got a new B-29 Superfortress on North Field and we piled in a Jeep to go see it, because it had reversible-pitch propellers that we didn't have," Scholten said. "They told us it was top secret and we couldn't see it. So we turned around and went back to our base. It wasn't very long after that we found out what it was all about. I never saw the Enola Gay, but that's what the 'top secret' was all about."
After completing his next mission, he charted a course for Hiroshima for a flyover.
"The last mission I flew on a B-29 was a relief aid food drop to the prisoner of war camps in Japan on Kyushu Island," he said. "On the way back, we flew over Hiroshima and saw the devastation. I thought to myself, 'one bomb did this?' To me, everything had a reddish tint to it. I saw a metal tower on one end and a tower on the other and nothing in between. I couldn't believe it. I was shocked."
Scholten finished his tour of duty in February of 1945, and went directly to the reserves. He married Evelyn and moved to Nixa where he worked for her father, Orville, and then opened a business and founded the legion post.
"I came out and I was looking for a job and I worked for Evelyn's dad, milking his cows and doing farm work for about a year and a half," Scholten said. "Then I started my own business on Main Street in downtown Nixa, south of Highway 14, called Gerry's Hardware and I specialized in plumbing, electrical and well pump pulling. It was open from late 1947 to 1950. The first year after World War II, I was a member of the legion post in Ozark. In 1947, I left to start the post in Nixa and they elected me as commander. I was there until I went back into active duty. We worked hard in being active in the community. Nowadays, the American Legion has their hands full."
During his first summer in Nixa, Scholten got a lesson from the locals on a tradition that still lives strong today.
"Sucker Day in Nixa was like nothing I've seen anywhere," he said. "When the suckers were running, every store had a notice in the window: 'Gone Fishing.' We only had a population of about 500 back then and everybody closed their shop and went fishing. That was quite an experience."
Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, Arizona)
~18 Sep 2016
Gerrit "Gary" Scholten died peacefully September 2, 2016 at the age of 96. Born in Boyden, Iowa, he was part of the "Greatest Generation", flying B-29s in the Pacific in WWII and then making a career of the Air Force as a navigator before retiring to Tucson in 1973. Predeceased by two sisters and his wives, Evelyn and Lou, he is survived by wife, Adela; daughter, Jacqueline and brother, Victor, as well as his many stepchildren, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Christian County Headliner (Nixa, Missouri)
~29 Jul 2015
It was a long sequence of events that caused Scholten to put down roots in Nixa in the late '40s. A world war, a military career and a chance meeting with one woman in particular: Evelyn McCauley, who grew up and lived in Nixa at that time.
Scholten enlisted in Sioux City, Iowa, and joined the Army Air Corps in July of 1941. Having a pilot's license already, he figured he would be fast-tracked to the cockpit of an airplane.
"I had a pilot's license already and I was sure I'd be a pilot," Scholten said. "But when they examined my eyes, I had a slight astigmatism. So being a pilot was out and they ran all the test scores on me and I scored a nine as a pilot, a nine as a navigator and eight as a bombardier. There were so many pilots in the pipeline that they made me a navigator. It was a disappointment, but in the end it was a godsend."
From Iowa, Scholten was sent to school at Drury College in Springfield where he met a young woman who caught his eye.
"When I was at Drury, going through my preparation to go to navigation school, I met Evelyn," Scholten said. "She was giving out cookies to all the G.I.s and I liked what I saw and I tried to find her the next day. I saw her coming down the steps of one of the buildings on campus and stopped her and asked her name. She was going to the library and I went with her. That was the beginning of our romance. We were married in February of 1945."
During World War II, Scholten was stationed in the south Pacific at the air base on Tinian Island, which is about 5 nautical miles southwest of Saipan. There were two bases on the 39-square-mile island, one to the west and one to the north. Scholten was stationed on the west airfield.
"I graduated navigator school and served in World War II on B-29s and I was able to fly 10 missions total over Japan," Scholten said.
While on Tinian, Scholten heard of a new aircraft at the north airfield and he and some fellow airmen decided to investigate.
"We heard they got a new B-29 Superfortress on North Field and we piled in a Jeep to go see it, because it had reversible-pitch propellers that we didn't have," Scholten said. "They told us it was top secret and we couldn't see it. So we turned around and went back to our base. It wasn't very long after that we found out what it was all about. I never saw the Enola Gay, but that's what the 'top secret' was all about."
After completing his next mission, he charted a course for Hiroshima for a flyover.
"The last mission I flew on a B-29 was a relief aid food drop to the prisoner of war camps in Japan on Kyushu Island," he said. "On the way back, we flew over Hiroshima and saw the devastation. I thought to myself, 'one bomb did this?' To me, everything had a reddish tint to it. I saw a metal tower on one end and a tower on the other and nothing in between. I couldn't believe it. I was shocked."
Scholten finished his tour of duty in February of 1945, and went directly to the reserves. He married Evelyn and moved to Nixa where he worked for her father, Orville, and then opened a business and founded the legion post.
"I came out and I was looking for a job and I worked for Evelyn's dad, milking his cows and doing farm work for about a year and a half," Scholten said. "Then I started my own business on Main Street in downtown Nixa, south of Highway 14, called Gerry's Hardware and I specialized in plumbing, electrical and well pump pulling. It was open from late 1947 to 1950. The first year after World War II, I was a member of the legion post in Ozark. In 1947, I left to start the post in Nixa and they elected me as commander. I was there until I went back into active duty. We worked hard in being active in the community. Nowadays, the American Legion has their hands full."
During his first summer in Nixa, Scholten got a lesson from the locals on a tradition that still lives strong today.
"Sucker Day in Nixa was like nothing I've seen anywhere," he said. "When the suckers were running, every store had a notice in the window: 'Gone Fishing.' We only had a population of about 500 back then and everybody closed their shop and went fishing. That was quite an experience."
~18 Sep 2016
Gerrit "Gary" Scholten died peacefully September 2, 2016 at the age of 96. Born in Boyden, Iowa, he was part of the "Greatest Generation", flying B-29s in the Pacific in WWII and then making a career of the Air Force as a navigator before retiring to Tucson in 1973. Predeceased by two sisters and his wives, Evelyn and Lou, he is survived by wife, Adela; daughter, Jacqueline and brother, Victor, as well as his many stepchildren, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Christian County Headliner (Nixa, Missouri)
~29 Jul 2015
It was a long sequence of events that caused Scholten to put down roots in Nixa in the late '40s. A world war, a military career and a chance meeting with one woman in particular: Evelyn McCauley, who grew up and lived in Nixa at that time.
Scholten enlisted in Sioux City, Iowa, and joined the Army Air Corps in July of 1941. Having a pilot's license already, he figured he would be fast-tracked to the cockpit of an airplane.
"I had a pilot's license already and I was sure I'd be a pilot," Scholten said. "But when they examined my eyes, I had a slight astigmatism. So being a pilot was out and they ran all the test scores on me and I scored a nine as a pilot, a nine as a navigator and eight as a bombardier. There were so many pilots in the pipeline that they made me a navigator. It was a disappointment, but in the end it was a godsend."
From Iowa, Scholten was sent to school at Drury College in Springfield where he met a young woman who caught his eye.
"When I was at Drury, going through my preparation to go to navigation school, I met Evelyn," Scholten said. "She was giving out cookies to all the G.I.s and I liked what I saw and I tried to find her the next day. I saw her coming down the steps of one of the buildings on campus and stopped her and asked her name. She was going to the library and I went with her. That was the beginning of our romance. We were married in February of 1945."
During World War II, Scholten was stationed in the south Pacific at the air base on Tinian Island, which is about 5 nautical miles southwest of Saipan. There were two bases on the 39-square-mile island, one to the west and one to the north. Scholten was stationed on the west airfield.
"I graduated navigator school and served in World War II on B-29s and I was able to fly 10 missions total over Japan," Scholten said.
While on Tinian, Scholten heard of a new aircraft at the north airfield and he and some fellow airmen decided to investigate.
"We heard they got a new B-29 Superfortress on North Field and we piled in a Jeep to go see it, because it had reversible-pitch propellers that we didn't have," Scholten said. "They told us it was top secret and we couldn't see it. So we turned around and went back to our base. It wasn't very long after that we found out what it was all about. I never saw the Enola Gay, but that's what the 'top secret' was all about."
After completing his next mission, he charted a course for Hiroshima for a flyover.
"The last mission I flew on a B-29 was a relief aid food drop to the prisoner of war camps in Japan on Kyushu Island," he said. "On the way back, we flew over Hiroshima and saw the devastation. I thought to myself, 'one bomb did this?' To me, everything had a reddish tint to it. I saw a metal tower on one end and a tower on the other and nothing in between. I couldn't believe it. I was shocked."
Scholten finished his tour of duty in February of 1945, and went directly to the reserves. He married Evelyn and moved to Nixa where he worked for her father, Orville, and then opened a business and founded the legion post.
"I came out and I was looking for a job and I worked for Evelyn's dad, milking his cows and doing farm work for about a year and a half," Scholten said. "Then I started my own business on Main Street in downtown Nixa, south of Highway 14, called Gerry's Hardware and I specialized in plumbing, electrical and well pump pulling. It was open from late 1947 to 1950. The first year after World War II, I was a member of the legion post in Ozark. In 1947, I left to start the post in Nixa and they elected me as commander. I was there until I went back into active duty. We worked hard in being active in the community. Nowadays, the American Legion has their hands full."
During his first summer in Nixa, Scholten got a lesson from the locals on a tradition that still lives strong today.
"Sucker Day in Nixa was like nothing I've seen anywhere," he said. "When the suckers were running, every store had a notice in the window: 'Gone Fishing.' We only had a population of about 500 back then and everybody closed their shop and went fishing. That was quite an experience."
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