Despite the awesome power of the German Luftwaffe, B-17 pilot Jesse Ruffner never faltered in 30 bombing missions over Germany that earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross with a double oak leaf cluster.
"Dad recalled that one of the most difficult tasks that he had to perform during his tour of duty was the day that he had to tell his crew that -- despite having completed their required 25 bombing missions, which would have entitled them to return to the United States -- they'd have to continue their bombing runs over Germany," Jeffrey Ruffner said.
Jesse A. Ruffner, 84, of Latrobe, Westmoreland County, died Monday, Nov. 14, 2005, at his home. He was a retired product manager for Kennametal Inc.
"He often said that going back to his crew, while they were celebrating what they thought was their last bombing mission, was worse than the bitter cold that he and his crew endured during their long bombing missions," his son said.
The lengthy bombing runs could take as long as 14 hours.
"At the altitudes they were flying, it was nothing for the temperature to dip to 45 degrees below zero," Jeffrey Ruffner said. "And as Dad grew older, you could see what the frostbite had done to his face."
Born in Unity, Westmoreland County, Mr. Ruffner was one of five children of Charles and Alma Betler Ruffner. His father was employed both in the mines and in construction.
"Dad often recalled how he and his sister had to ride the Bridges milk truck in the morning to get to Latrobe High School," his son said. "If they missed the milk truck, they had to walk five miles to the school and five back."
Following graduation from high school in 1940, Mr. Ruffner began working for Kennametal at the Chestnut Ridge Plant in Derry Township. World War II would interrupt his work there, but he returned in 1946 and remained there until retiring in 1981.
"Dad started his career at Kennametal by sweeping the floors," Jeffrey Ruffner said. "He worked himself up until he was the No. 2 man in the product department."
He said his father had the chance to make the Army Air Corps his career. "When he called home to tell his mother, she told him that the service was no kind of life if he wanted to find a nice girl and get married. He followed my grandmother's advice and returned home."
In 1948, Mr. Ruffner married Mildred Bibby, a resident of Yukon, Westmoreland County, whom he met at a dance.
"I soon realized what a fine man he was," his wife said. "We truly loved each other."
"And years later," said his son, "when Dad would look around and see his large family, he'd say, 'You know, I wouldn't have done anything different.' "
Mr. Ruffner is survived by his wife, Mildred Bibby Ruffner; four sons, Larry, Dale and Brian, all of Latrobe, and Jeffrey, of Middletown, Dauphin County; nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren; and a sister, Marie Ritenour, of Latrobe.
He was predeceased by three brothers, Edward, Jay and Gene Ruffner.
Friends will be received from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m. today at the John J. Lopatich Funeral Home Inc., 601 Weldon St., Latrobe.
Military services will be held at 9 a.m. Thursday in the funeral home with American Legion Post 515 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3414.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Thursday in St. Bartholomew Church, Crabtree, Westmoreland County. Burial will be in Calvary Hill Cemetery, Crabtree.
