First Lieutenant
United States Army Air Force
Milton Albert Blaul, Jr., the only son of Milton A. and Ann Blaul, was born in Burlington, Iowa on 26 May 1915.
A 1933 graduated of Burlington High School; Milton later attended Grinnell College, the State University of Iowa, and Park’s Air College in St. Louis, Missouri.
On 28 December 1940, Milton married the former Patricia Churchill in Burlington. From this marriage they had one son, Arthur, who was born on 17 September 1942.
Milton enlisted in the United States Army Air Force and report to Randolph Field in San Antonio, Texas for training. He was then transferred to San Antonio’s Kelly Field for further training, where he earned his wings on 15 November 1940. A highly regarded pilot, Milton gained wide recognition for landing his plane on one wheel at Kelly Field in San Antonio, Texas, without injuries or damage. The feat was given prominent attention in the San Antonio Express: “First Lt. M. A. Blaul, Jr., piloting the navigation trainer; Capt. Jack Sward, a squadron commander; and Sgt. Richard Perry, crew chief, were aloft on an engineering flight. As they approached the field for a landing, the right wheel jammed. Attempts to free the fouled gear were futile. The left wheel could not be retracted, so a relatively safe belly landing was out. The alternative was bail out or land on one wheel. They decided to land the plane. By holding the plane with the right wing up and very carefully keeping the ship off the runway until the speed had been checked, Lt. Blaul go the plane down with only slight damage to the right wing. When he radioed the control tower of his intentions to land on one wheel, the word passed around the field. By the time the plane made its approach for landing, hundreds of Kelly Field flyers and employees had lined the hangar line to watch.” While stationed at the United States Army Air Force Navigation School in Hondo, Texas, Milton was the 837th School Squadron’s Junior Commanding Officer. Milton and seven others were killed when their plane crashed at Hondo Air Field in early October 1942.
Surviving Milton is his wife and son; his parents living in Burlington and one sister, Ann Louise Blaul of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Source of information:
1. The Burlington Hawk-Eye Gazette, 3 October 1942, page 1.
2. National Archives, World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel for the State of Iowa.
3. The Burlington Hawk-Eye Gazette, 4 August 1942, page 2.
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