William Robert Peck was a member of the U.S. Air Force and stationed at the SAC base in Omaha which, at the time was only fifty miles north of where we lived in Auburn, Nebraska. Robert was my mother's sister Leora's son, second son I think. My Aunt Leora had died a few years earlier, and my parents had a very deep, emotional attachment to all of her children. Robert was old enough to join the service, but while he was stationed in Omaha he spent many weekends with us, driving back and forth.
My story is just that; my story. He could have been many things other than what a little five year old sees, but this is how I saw him, and I adored him as I would an older brother.
Robert was a ladies' man, or so he made me think. The girlfriends he had at his beck and call were endless. Not only were there girls, but they were beautiful girls. When Robert spoke about his girlfriends his eyes twinkled, and that ornery, mischievous look was there, as if he knew secrets that he could never tell. He was an enigma to me, an ever-changing riddle that I was never able to answer. I was convinced that no woman could resist the charms of this man, but for the life of me, I can't remember once that he ever produced one of these women in our presence. I didn't notice or care at the time. I loved him dearly, and was so happy when he came to visit.
Robert was a tease. I think this is why I liked him so much, and I know I wanted to be a tease just like him. He teased me relentlessly. He told me stories, poked good-natured fun at me, tickled me, and called me names. He was the first to call me "Skinny Minny". Later, when I got a little older he would say, "Skinny Minny. She ain't skinny. She's just tall; that's all." I would gush with glee when he teased me, and I hated if he stopped. Robert told dirty jokes to my dad, and showed him girlie pictures. He was good to my mom, and he and his brother Ed sent gifts to my mom, and to me, while they were stationed overseas.
Too bad Robert didn't teach me how to know when not to tease or when to stop. I remember one day when I was about 10 standing at the front door of my grandmother's house where we were living. Robert was showing my dad a picture and I wanted to see it. I believe he was laughing when I first began to beg to see it, but the laughter stopped when I reached up to grab the picture and tore it; a big tear almost up the middle of it. He was angry, my dad was angry and embarrassed, and I was crushed. I couldn't believe I had done that. I was so ashamed and so sorry, but it was done, and I doubt that there was much teasing the rest of his visit.
Robert took me for a ride one day in his MG, and I was so thrilled that he would do that for me. I climbed into the low, black, bucket seat, and my legs and feet were straight out in front of me. I couldn't believe it! I had never been in a sports car before, and this was so exciting. I didn't realize how close to the ground you were, and how the world looked from down there, riding along as if you were in a little red wagon, but enclosed and going fast.
The hospital visit we were making followed a car accident that totalled his car, but I don't remember what kind of car it was. As I recall, it's a wonder it didn't total him, but he recovered and has gone on to live a full life.
It was a few years before Robert married, and when he did I can remember the shock that went through our household when we met her. Robert's wife was not at all what we expected him to bring home to us. Lois was tall, about six feet tall, she was a little on the heavy side, and she was not the beauty queen that all of us had supposed he would choose. Instead, Robert had chosen a good, solid woman of strength and good humor. She fit right in with us, happy and down to earth. I think she made him a very good wife, and she gave him two children while they were stationed in Germany. I think they were both very happy together.
Lois was killed in a terrible one-car accident on her way to work one day when they lived in Kansas. I think this was devastating for Robert and his children, and I have never heard him speak of it. His sister, Lois, related the news to us. Robert has since remarried a very nice woman whom he met through a camping club, I believe. I have met her and like her very much.
The best memories of Robert for me were his teasing and the love that I felt for him and from him when he came to visit. I have a picture of him holding me in his arms that I love. I love the look on his face when he looks at me, and I remember the love that I carried in my heart for him. I grew up, and life goes on, but my memories of Robert have not faded, just distanced.
Below I have included Robert's service information that he supplied for me.
William Robert Peck
yob;8-13-1929
ENLISTED USAF:2SEPT 1950
BASIC TNG LACKLAND AFB TEXAS
TECH SCHOOL FORT BELVOIR
VIRGINIA-LITHOGRAPHIC PRINTING
LAWSON FIELD FORT BENNING GA
MOUNTAIN HOME AFB IDAHO
WHEELUS AFB TRIPOLI LYBIA
SCOTT AFB ILLINOIS
OFFUTT AFB OMAHA NEBRASKA
TECH SCHOOL MISSILE ELECTRONIC TNG\
LOWERY AFB DENVER COLORADO
ASSIGNED TO MISSILE SCHOOL AS INSTRUCTOR
MISSILE LAUNCH SCHOOL ORLANDO AFB FLORIDA
MISSILE LAUNCH CREW HAHN AFB GERMANY
p.s.
Today, December 17, 2010, I went back to read through this memory of Robert, and I realized I have left out a very important part of his life. I don't know how old he was at the time, he must have been in his early teens, that he contracted polio. Polio was a very deadly and frightening desease back in the 40s and 50s, and it wasn't until Jonas Salk developed a serum to fight it that it began to fade away. One of the first vaccinations I received after I was born was the polio vaccine, which left a small round scar on my right shoulder. Robert had polio before the vaccine was developed, and I have been told that he spent months in an iron lung. You will have to research this monster of a machine to get any answers to questions you might have about it. I have no knowledge of how it worked, but I've seen pictures of it. Frightful!
Robert lived through this horror, but he was left with a withered arm and leg. I don't remember which side these were on, but I remember his hand and arm being shorter and very limited in its use, and he walked with a decided limp. How he got into the air force is a mystery. But I know he never allowed this to interfere in the things he wanted to do it life. I'm sure I neglected to mention this before because it was such a part of him that after a while you just didn't notice it.
