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Delbert Herman
Thielke was born in Appleton, MN on November 9th 1923. Growing
up, he learned to speak German from his family members before he
learned English from neighborhood children. He attended high school
in Appleton, where he met Myra Carol Iverson while working on the
school paper together. He enlisted in the Navy while still in school
and went into the service the day after he graduated, proposing to
Myra before he left.
After first participating in pilot's training
at Wold-Chamberlain Field in Minneapolis, Delbert was sent to St.
Olaf College in Northfield for additional training. However, as the
advanced cadet training stations were full, Delbert ended up being
trained as an Aviation Ordnanceman Third Class. Delbert served
aboard the USS Shipley Bay for the entirety of his career in the
Navy, acting as the aviation ordnance storekeeper for the attached
squadron. He also assisted with clean up operations on Iwo Jima.
After the war ended, Delbert and Myra married and moved to Chicago
where Delbert attended the Ray Art School for a degree in Commercial
and Portrait Photography. |
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