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Show 6 TIMES Nov. 29, 2012 HILLTOP TIMES Merry Christmas Photo by CAMERON MCLEOD Special to the Standard-Examiner A closeup of the photograph of Flohr and his crew. DOG TAGS From page 4 covered Flohr was a navigator on a B-17 bomber and had flown eight missions into Germany. The young man crashed once in England but survived. There were two or three more flights; then his name showed up on a list titled "Deceased, nonbattle." He died in England in 1943. They couldn't just stop there. How did Flohr die? The two were able to find Flohr's co-pilot, who is a retired Air Force colonel living in Texas. The man remembered Flohr and how he died: There was a pre-bombing mission and Flohr missed his ride back to the aircraft. He had to walk back and it was a blackout — all lights were out so the Germans couldn't see where to bomb — so it was pitch dark outside. Flohr was accidentally hit and killed by a military vehicle. "I made it my mission to find his family," Tim L. Kutz said. "I knew he grew up in Bronx, New York." They discovered Flohr's niece, Arlene Flohr, an attorney working in New York City. She knew nothing of her uncle, other than that he had died during WWII. Tim L. Kutz was able to track her down just a few days before July 4 last summer. He spoke with her over the phone. "She said she couldn't believe someone would do all that research for someone they didn't even know," he said. "I told her, 'That's what we do in the military. We take care of each other.' She was very grateful." The elder Kutz sent the dog tags via Fed Ex, and Arlene Flohr presented them to her family on the Fourth of July. Arlene Flohr, speaking with the Standard-Examiner from New York via phone, said she was surprised when Tim L. Kutz called her out of the blue, but "we were pleased that someone would put so much time into this. We are very grateful about that." Flohr said she knew very little about her uncle. "I didn't know he was stationed in Utah and still have no idea how the dog tags got there," she said. The Kutzes determined Je- From Your Friends at Boot Barn® "She said she couldn't believe someone would do all that research for someone they didn't even know I told her; 'That's what we do in the military. We take care of each other' She was very grateful." -4\11110 011 • // TIM L. KUTZ recalling his conversation with Arlene Flohr 1." rome Flohr was stationed in Utah in 1942, and maybe early 1943. Branden Little, an assistant history professor at WSU who teaches military issues, was fascinated to hear about the dog tags and the Kutz research. "Who would have known the residue of war would surface through an old dog tag found out in the desert?" Little said. "The fact this duo pursued the history of these dog tags is commendable." Flohr died in October 1943, which Little says was several months into the aerial campaign, a combined bombing defensive. It was a multinational operation, a joint effort with the British and American military. That was a month before the United States began to thrust through the central Pacific. It was a point at which the U.S. was very weak militarily, but was trying to push farther and farther into Naziheld Europe and into the Japaneseheld regions of the Pacific, Little said. The fact that Flohr was killed in an accident, amid his own military, brings attention to the fact that there are military members who do get killed due to friendly fire or accidents, Little added. "Here is a crew member on a bomber who dies on an air field because he gets run over," he said. "It's a tragedy." 4, ..,11/), • 4 tj 0 ( a At Boot Barn you'll find more boots, jeans, hats, shirts and belts for the entire family. BOOT BARN® AMERICA'S FAVORITE WESTERN & WORK STORE NOW OPEN in Riverdale off 1-15 at 5600 South, next to Piano Gallery Photo courtesy Tim L. Kutz and Tim Kutz Dog tags belonging to Lt. Jerome Flohr (center) were found in the West Desert near Wendover. Store Hours: M-F 10-8, Sat 10-6, Sun 12-5 *Tel: 801-776-1903 |