Louis Hamblin-World War II Ace fighter pilot

I finally finished this portrait of Louis Hamblin, who was a fighter pilot during WW II over the Pacific. He was my mom, Vivian's younger brother and he had two other brothers that were also fighter pilots in the same theater of war; Len Spencer Hamblin (I was named after him)  and Darwin Hamblin. During the war my dad, Harold, was on a battleship somewhere below them in the Pacific.

Uncle Lou liked kids 'cause he had a whole bunch of them and interestingly enough they are all cousins of mine! After the war and a college degree, Uncle Lou taught here in Byron for a couple of years and then for a time in Powell, but he spent a lot of years teaching and coaching in Mt. View, Wyoming.

Uncle Spencer didn't make it back and Uncle Lou got permission from the Navy to look for him or his plane where he was last seen flying as his flight group was finishing a mission.  That was somewhere near Palau. When you think what they all did for us (that generation) and then came back and lived humble but very important lives...it kinda brings a lump to your throat.