On Sept. 12, a true American and Texan hero passed away, and the Patriot Guard Riders were honored to escort Maj. Ernest Herzing — a WWII bomber pilot and POW — to his final resting place at the Houston National Cemetery today.

Maj. Herzing’s son wrote this letter about his father:

My father Ernest Herzing, passed away September 12th at the age of 86. He was a great father and loving husband with an interesting past. After graduating from High School in Del Rio Texas at the age of 16, he attended Texas A&M until WWll called him to service in the US Army Air Force. After Flight training he was assigned to ferry B17s to England where he began training to be a command pilot for the new B24 Liberator. On his 2nd bombing mission deep in Germany his plane was attacked by German ME109’s. During the battle his plane, riddled by bullets had 2 engines on fire before he gave the signal to bail out. He was the last one to leave the plane which blew up seconds after his parachute opened. Captured by the German Forces, he spent 13 months as a POW before being liberated by Russian forces in 1944.

He returned to the US as a decorated Veteran and performed high security missions for the military. In the 60’s He achieved the rank of Major while in the service of the Continental Air Command based at Ellington Field. After leaving the Air Force Reserve he had several business and retired as a 20 year Houston Chronicle Distributor. He was a proud member of Cypress Masonic Lodge #1323 along with his son Michael. He lived his life on the on the Level and the Square.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Yvonne Herzing, children: Steven Herzing and wife Candy, Judith Gore and Michael Herzing and wife Cyndi. Grandchildren: Corky Gore, Christopher Gore, Timothy Gore, Joshua Herzing, Travis Herzing, and Natalie Rose Herzing.

Please join us as we honor this hero from our greatest generation.

His wife has been blind for the last 35 years, and he has spent those years taking care of her.

Truly a life well lived.

_______

In a remarkably coincidental story from Houston last week — just four days prior to Maj. Herzing’s death, another WWII pilot passed away in Houston:

Klaus Gerlach, a fighter pilot in Germany’s Luftwaffe in World War II who shot down numerous U.S. and British planes and who was shot down three times himself, died Monday in a Pasadena hospital. He was 83.

In his first two crashes, Gerlach escaped serious injury, but in 1945 he crash-landed his single-seat Focke-Wulf 190 fighter in a field in southern Germany, said his daughter, Patsy Sewell.

[snip]

He was credited with flying 250 missions and downing 13 British and American aircraft. He was awarded the Iron Cross, Sewell said.