The Veterans Day celebration at the Omena Historical Society included a wonderful story of two local veterans – Joan and Charles “Bud” Van Pelt. At last week’s event, Bud’s son, Tom Van Pelt, presented a digitized copy of many of Bud’s pictures from WWII to the Omena Historical Society (OHS). It is a fascinating collection of both pictures from the war in the Pacific, and pictures of Bud and Joan, who met during the war.
Bud was a photographer in the 2nd Combat Camera Unit assigned to the 20th Bomb Command in Kharagpur, India. He flew bombing missions throughout the pacific Theater, including China, Japan, and Manchuria. The collection includes pictures that he took.
Joan was a lieutenant serving as a nurse transporting American soldiers home from Europe and German soldiers on the return. Joan and Bud met and corresponded during the war, and were married in the Omena Presbyterian Church in 1946.
