Biography: Alexander Ganyu

Alexander Ganyu, commonly known as “Al.”, served in the United States Army Air Corp in World War II as a pilot.  Since a young boy, he would go to the local airport and watch the planes as they would take off. From then on he knew he would fly airplanes. Mr. Ganyu went through training at various bases around the country, including Nashville, and Florida. He acquired his wings on March 4th, 1944 and became a Second Lieutenant as a twenty year old. Afterward, Ganyu learned how to fly the B-17; a known bomber for World War II.He picked up his crew in Nebraska then headed to South Dakota to complete combat crew training. When training was fully complete, Mr. Ganyu and his crew flew over seas to see combat. On October 16, 1944, the crew flew their first mission to Cologne, Germany. Many of those missions were decoy missions; however, they did see combat in every mission they flew.  The crew had to engage in combat against many German forces including FLAK, bursting bombs in air, bullets, et cetera. Mr. Ganyu was in the war until April 1st, 1945. Then he came home for a debriefing period. From Ganyu’s services he acquired an Air Medal with six clusters. He is still in contact with his living crew members today and has occasional visits with them.  “These are the best years of your life. Take a hold of it and use it to your advantage.  You are going to have families, you are going to go to school, you are going to make money; and it works. This is the greatest country in the world, and you have the most opportunities. Go with it.”