Ralph Lee Minker was 18 when he entered Army Air Cadet training on his way to becoming a B-17 bomber pilot. He exchanged letters with his parents and two sisters throughout the war. After completing combat in 1945, he returned to Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1947. Ordained a Methodist Minister in 1952, Reverend Minker served eight churches in the Delaware and Maryland Conference of the United Methodist Church before retiring in 1990. In 2005 Ralph Minker was inducted into the Delaware Aviation Hall of Fame. Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 1995, Rev. Minker was active in planning the book and proud when it was published. He passed away from complications of the disease on August 5, 2008.
Sandra O'Connell and Ralph Minker were married in March 1980. Reading the Minker family correspondence and a meeting in 2000 with WW II historian, Harry Butowsky, led inevitably (after five years of work) to An American Family in World War II. She was the lead researcher and writer on Ralph’s missions and the home front issues. Prior writing experience includes nine years as technology editor for HR Magazine. Sandra has a Ph.D. from New York University.
Dr. Harry A. Butowsky serves as historian and web manager with the National Park Service History Program in Washington, DC. He is the author of World War II in the Pacific, a National Historic Landmark Study, six other Landmark Studies as well as sixty articles on military, labor, science and constitutional history. Dr. Butowsky teaches History of World War I and World War II at George Mason University, his Ph.D. is from U. of Illinois.
