Love of flying dominated Mount Prospect man's life

Just three years ago, Craig Irwin of Mount Prospect took his father, Fred L. Irwin, to Chicago Executive Airport, formerly Palwaukee, and started filming.

Mr. Irwin was a retired lieutenant colonel in the Air Force, who had been a B-17 pilot in the European Theater during World War II.

He was the last of the four "Flying Irwin Brothers" from tiny Spooner, Wis., so dubbed by a writer who wanted to document their story of flying during World War II in a book.

Mr. Irwin was the third of the brothers and perhaps the most decorated. He was awarded the Purple Heart, two Bronze Stars, four Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Army Occupation Medal, among other citations.

The former 14-year Mount Prospect resident was 93 when he died July 2.

"He never thought of himself as a war hero," said his son, Craig, a sports editor for ABC 7 in Chicago. "That was just his job."

One of his many stories captured that day on film detailed how he had survived a crash in Yugoslavia after his plane had been damaged by enemy fire.

Mr. Irwin was part of the bombing raid in 1943 on the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania, believed to be producing one-third of the fuel oil for the Nazi war machine.

The fields were heavily defended and Mr. Irwin's plane lost two engines on the right, and the crew ultimately had to bail out of the bomb bay doors. Once they landed, he said, a group of Serbs led them away from the Nazis, and took them "underground" on a three-month trip toward the Danube River, where they were rescued.

Mr. Irwin married his wife, Pearl, in October 1944, and they began a life together in the Air Force that would take them to live in nine states, including Hawaii and Alaska.

They moved so much, family members said, that each of the four children were born in different states.

During their years in Great Falls, Mont., Mr. Irwin trained for the Berlin Airlift, and he ultimately flew countless loads of coal and food to the blockaded city.

"He'd tell stories of throwing handfuls of candy to the children as they landed," Craig Irwin said.

In the latter part of his career, Mr. Irwin was assigned to Military Air Transport Services, where he flew large cargo planes. When he retired from the Air Force in 1964, he was operations officer for Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.

During his retirement, Mr. Irwin flew cargo for Zantop Air Transport before he purchased his own single-engine plane to start his own company.

"He just loved to fly," his wife Pearl said. "It truly defined who he was."

Besides his wife and son, Mr. Irwin is survived by his children Janice (the late George) Livingston, Michael Irwin and Jim Irwin, as well as four grandchildren.

A memorial service will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 100 S. School St. in Mount Prospect.