Irving Schaffer

T/Sgt Irving J Schaffer, was in the 321st Bomb Group, the 448th Bomb Squadron in the MTO, WW II.  Flew as Gunner/Radio/Photographer in the B-25 Mitchell.  Irving earned the DFC, Special Award for Valor, Completed 65 Combat Missions, has the Air Medal with 5 Oak Leaves.  He flew with a variety of Pilots, and over some of the most dangerous targets, including Toulon, France, the Po Valley, Italy.... etc.

Red Skies at Night;  The secret and illegal war diary of a hero who lived the crazy existence of aviators in "Catch-22" Corsican bomber bases. Prompted by his empathy for Gulf-War Syndrome sufferers, the author reveals his WWII experiences, often sustained only by his enduring love for his bride-to-be back home. Unadorned by literary artifice, the raw daily jottings of a serviceman are a tremendously revealing look into the life of B-25 bomber crews in the United States Army Air Force during the latter days of the war. Millions of readers (and movie goers) are familiar with the setting, since this is also a near duplicate of the experiences of Joseph Heller that inspired his fictionalized version of events in his masterpiece Catch-22. The remakable part of the similarities is how life imitated art or vice versa.

 Irving J Schaffer, 1918 to 17 March, 2011
93, of Phoenix passed away on March 17, 2011. Born in Amsterdam, New York, Irving moved to Arizona in 1960 with his wife, Shyrle. A decorated WWII veteran, Irving published his wartime Diary, "Red Skies at Night". Irving was a past President of the Board of the Kivel Nursing Home and the Jewish Federation. He owned The Gentry, a fine men's clothing store. Irving was a loving father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and husband. Family was the number one most important thing to him. Survivors include his wife of 65 years, Shyrle; daughters Linda Gayle Yedlin and Barucha (Eliezer) Parkoff; sister Geri Furst; 13 grandchildren and 33 great-grandchildren. Graveside services were held yesterday at Beth Israel Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to Hillel Jewish Student Center at A.S.U., 626 East La Jolla Drive, Tempe, AZ 85282 or Kivel Campus of Care, 3020 N. 36th Street, Phoenix, AZ, 85018. Arrangements by Sinai Mortuary.

More to Come, Barbi Ennis Connolly, 321stBG Historian.  PRINCESSBARBI_B25@msn.com