PERRYSBURG – It was early 1943, and Edgar Willis was living a pretty good life.
At age 29, he had his Ph.D., was working as a broadcaster in Ann Arbor, Mich., and raising two sons with
his wife, Zella.
But with World War II raging and the outcome looking downright bleak, Willis knew his calling was
elsewhere.
"I was married and I had two little boys and the war was going very bad for the allies. … It looked
it as if England was going to be invaded.
"I just decided that I needed to do more and I volunteered my services," said the 98-year-old
Navy officer who today becomes the oldest veteran to fly with Honor Flight Northwest Ohio. The
organization, which takes veterans to the capital for a whirlwind, all-expenses-paid day tour of
memorials and Arlington National Cemetery, makes its last trip of the season today.
When Willis volunteered his service, he had no inkling that he would sail into history.
He was commissioned on May 17, 1943 and later assigned to a battle cruiser, the USS Alaska. It was sent
into the Pacific area and served in two battles that closed out the war, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
In the latter battle, fought in 1945, Japanese suicide planes, also known as kamikazes, sunk 34 American
ships. And, Willis said, on each of the 82 days of battle, 3,000 people died.
Toward the end of Okinawa in March 1945, the Japanese launched a ferocious attack on another American
battleship, the Franklin. With its deck lined with planes ready to take off and drop bombs, it became a
firestorm when the Japanese took aim.
As a flight-director officer, Willis was trained to use radar to detect incoming enemy aircraft.
"They didn’t quite sink the carrier Franklin and the Japanese sent another plane in. I was
responsible for spotting it and they shot it down."
Willis documented the war battles and his life story in the book, "Civilian in an Ill-Fitting
Uniform."
He decided to write it just a few years ago and it was published when he was 96.
"I just wanted to tell the story and it’s also more than just a memoir of World War II, it’s a
memoir of my life. It’s how I met my wife, had my children," said Willis, who is an emeritus
professor of communication at the University of Michigan.
In addition to the two sons, he had another child after the war, and also eight grandchildren and 21
great-grandchildren.
One of his grandsons, Anthony Weaver of Perrysburg, talked with his grandfather for a series of
interviews about the war and life that can be found on YouTube.
When he started writing about the war, Willis drew on daily letters that he had sent his late wife Zella.
Some things – such as learning how to march – he’ll never forget.
Turns out, Willis recalled with a chuckle, there’s a big difference in knowing how to march and in
knowing how to give orders on how to march.
For a July 4 parade in Philadelphia, he was asked to lead some of his men from the Alaska. He realized he
was in trouble with the marching as the street began to curve.
"Unfortunately we had to make a turn and I ran the platoon into a crowd."
At age 98 and residing in an assisted living facility, Willis said his writing days are probably over.
Today’s flight could change that as he shares the day with 79 other veterans.
"I’m looking forward to hearing some of their stories."
On the Net:
www.edgarewillis.com/media/