In 1943 the tide of World War II had started to turn, as Allied forces prepared for an invasion of Europe with a bombing campaign against German cities, factories, and infrastructure.
That same year, 19-year-old Delawarean Ralph Minker joined the U.S. Army Air Force. He became a B-17 pilot and would fly 38 bombing missions over Germany between October 1944 and May 1945. A loyal Delawarean, he named his plane the "Blue Hen Chick."
During the war Captain Minker maintained an active correspondence with his parents and teenage sisters at home in Wilmington. In addition, he saved and later organized his wartime memorabilia into a comprehensive scrapbook.
This correspondence and collection of mementos form the basis of a new exhibit at the Historical Society of Delaware. The donation of this incredibly rich collection to the Society has enabled it to develop an emotive exhibit that reflects the pilot's courage in returning to bomb Germany again and again, and the strength and ingenuity of his family who struggled to cope with wartime needs and support their absent son and brother. The Minker family's experience vividly shows how World War II demanded the best from all Americans.
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