IRVING C. STRONG
August 22, 1922 – April 28, 2014
Personal Life:
“Born August 22, 1922 in Hillsdale, Strong attended Lincoln Paul Revere schools.”* “At the end of the first semester of the 11th grade, I read the paper, saw what was coming, quit and joined the Army on Jan. 17, 1940. I was the first one in Hillsdale to go after leaving school.”* Eventually, he married his 1st wife, Barbara Jean Strong. They had two sons, Steven and Brian. Years later Irv married his 2nd wife, Florence Strong. Together they have 5 children and 9 grandchildren. After, retiring from The United States Air Force, Irving came back to Hillsdale to care for his mother, Vera Carr. He took a position at Hillsdale College working in maintenance at the Dow Center.
Military Life:
1937-1945 Served in the United States Army Air Corps
1948 – 1967 Served in the United States Air Force
Irving retired from military service as a Master Sergeant after 27 years. “He learned to be an instructor in bombing and gunnery and then spent a year on instruments for the B-17 before switching over to B-29.” *
Awards and Decorations:
Good Conduct Medal
Air Crew Wings
Bombardier Wings
Community and Service Organizations:
American Legion 2 Time Recipient of the Hillsdale County Veteran of the Year
4th of July Committee oversaw fireworks for 31 years
Parade Committee 20 years
Hillsdale veterans Council Chairman
Irving loved air shows, model trains and family time and he described life this way, “Hillsdale is my hometown. I guess you can call me a homing pigeon because I always come back home. Hillsdale still has a hometown atmosphere. Im comfortable around here.”
*Hillsdale Daily News Staff writer Nancy Hastings