Bill Husted By Charlotte Burrous

He dreamt of flying aircraft, but when lightning struck the cable, it took the opportunity away. The plane "didn't catch fire, but one engine froze up," said 88-year-old Bill Husted, who joined the military prior to World War II. He was flying the aircraft, which provided sleeve and flag targets for the bombers and fighter aircrafts. During the late spring of 1943, he was flying about a mile off shore of Delaware when lightning struck the aircraft three different times. "It hit the cable and came up through the airplane," Husted said.

He turned the airplane around and flew over the beach, where he crashed on a farm. He walked away, but he could no longer pass the pilot's license. He had an opportunity to fly over Germany when he was sent there after the war to clear up the debris. Born June 24, 1919, on a farm near Cornell, Ill., which had a population of 210, Husted worked on the farm until two years after he graduated from high school. He worked for a short time for the public service company of Illinois as a lineman for about two years, but when he saw the storm clouds gathering over Europe, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, making $21 a month, during the winter of 1940 and 1941.

"I was sure the United States couldn't stay out of it," he said.

After boot camp, Husted was assigned to Lowery Air Force Base in Denver in March 1931. "I remember being intrigued by the Rocky Mountains," he said. "I hadn't seen anything like that in Illinois." When he was not on duty, he spent all his spare time wandering around the mountains. One time, he drove up to Echo Lake, where he hiked up the trail to the top of Mount Evans. Along the way, he saw numerous mountain sheep. "They were fantastic," he said. Husted was assigned to North Carolina, where he joined the squadron, which provided targets for anti aircraft and fighter aircraft, which was a part of the Coast Guard in those days. It changed after the war was declared in 1942.

After lightning struck the plane near Delaware, Husted went back to Denver to train in bomb site maintenance. Because of his achievements, the Army sent him to Yale, where he was commissioned as an officer.

"I didn't stay long enough to achieve a degree, but I earned an associate's in political science," he said.

After completing a course at Yale, he was assigned to the Pacific, where he served in a high explosive unit. It was his duty to get rid of the bunkers with high explosives with at least 20 pounds of TNT. To do this, he crawled up to the bunkers under the line of fire to put the charge in the firing port. When he lit the charge, it blasted off almost instantaneously.

"In a day or two, you'd get the sand out of your system," Husted said. "It was pretty shattering, but it was very effective."

He continued serving on various fronts in the Pacific, but declined to talk about it. Husted was sent to San Francisco, Calif., on Dec. 3, 1945, where he intended to be discharged to go back to college; however, because of his experience with high explosives, he was sent to Germany, where he spent more than a year clearing up the ammunition from vehicles, aircraft and tanks, as well as debris left over from the war. While working on the Elbe River, he and his crew had to blow up an entire island because it was filled with explosives.

 After he married Jayne on Oct. 12. 1947, he volunteered for electronic school and then was trained in long range radar and airborne radar. In the 1950s, Husted spent several years in England as one of the first troops who were stationed in England since the war. After his tour in England was over, he was sent back to the U.S., where he studied communications and cryptology. He was assigned to ENT Air Force Base in Colorado Springs for a short time; however, he was then sent to command headquarters in Anchorage, Alaska. When he finished his tour, he was a project manager. It was at this time, he and his wife talked it over and decided to retire after a 25-year career.

Husted moved to Monument, where he leased a ranch to raise horses and steers for about a year; however, he was called back to investigate claims for the Department of Defense. After a couple years, he decided it was not the life for him so he resigned. HIs carer was not over yet; he was talked back into working for the government another 20 years. All together, he served his country for more than 41 years.

Husted went into Masonry at El Paso Lodge No. 13, where he received his third degre in June 1959. He went into York Rite and later Scottish Rite. In 1960, he went through the fall ceremonial and became a Al Kaly Shriner. He remained in active in Masonry and Shrinedom for several years. As the captain of the Alaskan Patrol Marching team, he took a team to the East West Shrine Game in 1962. He dropped out Shrinedom for a short time, but in 1983, he called Nile Temple in Washington, D.C. and requested to be reinstated, which he was. A month later, he demitted back to Al Kaly Shrine, where he became involved with the Little T's, Director Staff and the Mule Train as an associate member. Currently, Husted serves as a hospital representative.

"I like to join units if I can participate," Husted said. "I worked with the ceremonial staff as a prompter and I rang the gong." Husted and his wife have four children, four grandchildren, four great-grandchildren with one on the way.