Our Hero

My dad, Allen Spencer has always been my hero. I know my mom, Collene Spencer and my sisters, Cheryl Masterson, Caryl Reed, Alena Stevens, and Allyn Hadlock have always felt that way too. Dad was our hero, because of the wonderful life he worked to give us, but mostly because of the solid Christian upbringing he and our mom provided us. Dad was the best “Girl Dad” ever. He treated his girls, including Mom like princesses. We weren’t wealthy, but we felt like royalty anyway…and that was before we knew much about our relationship to nobility in England.

There was another relationship to England for our family too. Dad served as the top turret gunner and the flight engineer on a B17 Bomber, stationed at Great Ashfield, Suffolk, England. It was a base in the middle of the English countryside, surrounded by civilian towns and farms. These people knew all too well how important the United States military presence was to their safety, and indeed their very lives. This was another place where my dad’s heroic side was on display. If one of those men had revealed information about their upcoming missions, the entire area could have been attacked and destroyed. So important was their mission over there, and so grateful were the people of that area, that memorials were erected to remember…forever, the sacrifice made by the brave men of the 385th Heavy Bombardment Group, U.S. Army Air Forces. The memorials were placed so that generation, and future generations would remember the sacrifices made to save their lives by men who were a part of something greater than their own lives…to protect the lives of people they didn’t even know. That was the war that my dad was a part of…when he was barely more than a teenager.

At Great Ashfield, Dad earned the awards for his service. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, signifying that he had shot down four German planes, and two Gold Stars, signifying that he had taken part in two major aerial engagements. In all he would take part in 35 bombing missions before he was honorably discharged on October 3, 1945. Many of the stories of Dad’s service years were never told to his daughters, because he was a part of the generation of people who did not talk about their war years. They went in, did their duty, and didn’t brag or whine about it. They felt like it was their duty and that was it. No wonder my mom, sisters, and I felt like Dad was a great hero. Today would have been my dad’s 102nd birthday. Happy birthday in Heaven Dad. We love and miss you very much.