20th Veteran of the Quarter, Louis Unfried, US Air Force
September 21, 2015
A US Veteran of the Pacific Campaign in World War II, Louis “Loucy” F. Unfried entered the US Air Force in February 1943. He trained to be a fighter pilot, but transitioned into Bombers as a Flight Engineer where he figured fuel consumption, inspected aircraft, and supervised overhauling and maintenance of aircraft. He flew the B-17, B-24, and B-29 airplanes during the war and logged 300 hours overseas and an additional 200 hours in the states. He flew many bombing missions from Guam to Japan.
One specific story he shared included a time when he was given orders to fly a B-17 off an island in the South Pacific. The original crew had taken ill and had landed on the island out of necessity. When approaching the island, he asked the pilot to circle the island 4 times so that he could record, in addition to winds and ocean current, exactly how big the island was… the runway was very small and all information was critical to getting the crew off the island. As a one man crew, Louis took several days to prepare the plane by stripping off everything that would possibly weigh it down, almost to the point of scraping off the paint! When the day came for takeoff, he practically splashed his way across the ocean before he could get the B-17 up in the air to land his fellow airmen safely in Guam.
In January of 1946, Louis separated from the US Air Force and worked as the Chief Production Supervisor for the Martin-Marietta Aircraft Company and he and his wife, Sue, made their home in Taney County.
Louis has been actively involved in the community since his retirement from the Air Force. He has served the Forsyth Disabled Veterans Chapter 55, holding every officer position through the 23 years as a member and was long-term chaplain for the Chapter. He has helped hundreds of homeless and needy families in many ways and was absolutely the go-to-guy for area Veterans. When Branson opened the VA Clinic his efforts helped start the first DAV Transportation System in Taney County by purchasing a van and giving rides to Veterans to area VA Hospitals.
Louis has dedicated his life to serving this country and his fellow Veterans. He is truly a hero.
To nominate a local Veteran for the Branson Bank Veteran of the Quarter, please visit our website: www.bransonbank.com or stop by any of our Branson Bank location to pick up a Nomination Form. Veterans are chosen by a panel of their peers.
THE PROUD. THE STRONG. THE LOYAL. OUR VETERANS!