The Air Transport Command was created by the US Army Air Force during WWII and given two primary missions. One was to deliver supplies and equipment between the US and its active war zones and the second was to ferry new aircraft from their manufacturing plants in the US to wherever they were needed for operational use throughout the world. Raymond Lyczko a 22 year-old Amsterdam native and a 1942 graduate of Wilbur Lynch High School, had enlisted in the Air Corps Reserve in June of 1943. Just over one year later, he had earned the silver wings of a navigator, received his commission as a Second Lieutenant and an assignment to the Air Transport Command, out of Long Beach California. From there, this son of Mr. and Mrs. Steve Lyczko and brother of Bessie, navigated supply missions to both theaters of war. On April 19, 1945, Lyczko was on such a mission somewhere over North Africa when his plane…

You can read the rest of my story about this gallant Amsterdamian in my new book “A Year’s Worth of Amsterdam Birthdays.” To order your copy, click here.