Obituary: Dale E. Karger / Auto parts store owner, firefighter, flying ace in World War II
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Dale E. Karger did not brag about being the youngest surviving ace pilot from World War II, but if you asked him enough questions, he'd oblige you with stories.
As a young man, he and his fellow "Yoxford Boys" flew with Chuck Yeager in the 357th Fighter Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps, shooting down Nazi planes over Germany. Fifty years later, he returned to the group's base in Lieston, England, with some fellow veterans and had an audience with Queen Elizabeth II.
But Mr. Karger, of Brighton, lived most of his life in blissful obscurity, raising a family, running an auto parts store and volunteering with the local fire department.
He died Oct. 5, following a brief illness. He was 83.
Born in Templeton, Armstrong County, and raised in Stowe, he was 19 when he rose to ace status after shooting down his fifth enemy plane north of Munich in January 1945. He was one of a few pilots to down one of the German Me-262 jets.
He flew solo missions in planes named after his sweetheart, "Cathy Mae" and "Cathy Mae II."
When he returned home, he married Catherine Mae, the young woman whose name decorated his planes.
He would wear a brown leather flight jacket when he helped out at his father's Esso gas station, remembered Bob Steffanus, then a child of 3 who stopped by with his own father.
"I'm 65 now," said Mr. Steffanus, an airplane buff whose heroes were fighter pilots. "I remember counting the swastikas, up over his shoulder. It had the 357th Fighter Group emblem that Chuck Yeager belonged to and 364th Squadron on there.
"Above his wings was a jumble of 111/2 yellow swastikas. Those represented the airplanes he destroyed in WWII. He shot down seven, shared in an eighth and destroyed four on the ground, by strafing airfields. It was an extremely dangerous thing to do."
In Mr. Karger's later years, his daughter, Lynne Diane Moore, of Santa Fe, N.M., said, he regretted the grim reality behind these victories for the Allies.
"He realized those pilots were just like him," she said. "They were there being patriotic and he ended their lives. He'd say, 'They were kids just like I was.'"
Another of Mr. Karger's fans from the younger generation, Tom Dowlin, of Beaver, said, "I knew him all my life and I didn't realize he was a World War II pilot." After reading about Mr. Karger online, Mr. Dowlin said he went to his father's good friend's house and spent a couple of hours interviewing him in 2000.
Mr. Karger will appear in a documentary film Mr. Dowlin made. It showcases interviews with World War II veterans from Beaver County and will debut Nov. 15 at the Beaver Area Heritage Foundation's Charter Day dinner at the Seven Oaks Country Club.
As a civilian, Mr. Karger owned and ran Beaver Valley Auto Parts, NAPA in Beaver for more than 35 years, and volunteered with the Brighton Township Volunteer Fire Department for more than 40 years.
In addition to Ms. Moore and his wife of nearly 63 years, he is survived by a son, Dale C. Karger, of Industry; another daughter, Karin Dee Adrian, of Stafford, Va.; his brother, Robert Karger, of McKees Rocks; his sister, Lois Robinson, of Mobile, Ala.; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
He was interred last Wednesday with full military honors at the Beaver Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Beaver Valley Church of God, 1013 Beaner Hollow Road, Beaver, PA 15009.
First Published October 15, 2008 1:58 am
