ERNEST PEREZ.
Navigator · 329th Squadron · Of Santa Paula, CA, CA.
The man.
Assigned to 329th Bomb Sqdn., 93rd Bomb Wing from September 1944 to June 1945. Flew 23 combat missions, eight as lead crew navigator. Married in Norwich, England on May 20, 1945.
Service record.
Before and after.
Born May 25, 1922 in Santa Paula, CA. Joined USAAC October 1942. Commissioned as navigator in Hondo, TX in April 1944.
After combat tour, assigned in 1946 to Military Mission in Cali, Colombia; taught the Colombian Air Force's first rated navigator students. Served in the Berlin Airlift (July 1948 to February 1949) as navigator and squadron supply officer. Completed high school by correspondence in 1948; BA from Sacramento State College (1955), MA from Stanford University (1957). Flew over 5,000 hours. Assignments included B-47 units with SAC (1958-63), military observer in El Salvador/Honduras Conflict (1970), and a Vietnam tour (1971). Retired from the Air Force May 1972 as lieutenant colonel. Hired by Santa Clara County, CA in May 1972; retired April 1990 as director of the county's Equal Opportunity Program. Married Stella Smith in Norwich, England on May 20, 1945 -- she was serving in the British Navy. Lives in San Jose, CA; one daughter, four sons, eight grandchildren.