Paul Scheffler, U.S. Marine Corps

Tonight I had the honor of meeting Paul Scheffler, a lifelong Ann Arbor resident and former Marine who served in the Pacific Theater in WWII.

He joined the Marines in 1942 at age 22. Prior to that, he worked for the City of Ann Arbor, and he was responsible for clearing Stadium Boulevard so the B-24 bombers from Willow Run could pass through the city on their way to Consolidated Aircraft’s Texas facility to be fitted with guns.

Production at Willow Run had by no means ramped up at that point; in fact the first completed bomber was not produced until October 1, 1942 and only 107 bombers had been made by December of that year (and not even half of those up to Army standards.) So clearing Stadium to let an occasional bomber through was still an option at that point, one that would not have been possible at peak production at Willow Run of a-bomber-an-hour in 1944.

And as for clearing the path, rremember, we’re talking about a heavy bomber with an impressive 110′ wingspan!

Paul told us that they had special trucks made, with two engines, to transport the planes, and that they traveled at 90 mph once on their way to Consolidated Aircraft’s plant in Fort Worth. Soon gas rationing and speed limits to conserve rubber kicked in. As production increased, eventually the bombers were fitted right at Willow Run, in the building that is now Hangar 1 of Willow Run Airport. They were test flown over Detroit, then flown to their destinations. Later still, the crews were brought to the planes, and Hangar 1 was filled with cots for the crews waiting for their planes to roll off Willow Run’s twin assembly lines.

As a Marine in WWII, Paul served at Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima. In between bouts of action, he liked to be assigned to the Officer’s mess. He didn’t mind peeling potatoes, because those officers left a lot of steaks uneaten.

Thank you for your service, Paul!