Charles R. Laudie
Army Air Corps
Capt WWII 1942-1946
Honors Earned: Purple Heart, Distinguished Flying Cross, American Campaign Medal, Air Medal, Oak Leaf Clusters, WWII Victory Medal, French Legion of Honor.
Bob was born in Independence, Missouri, on September 8, 1919, one of four sons of Ada and Andrew Laudie. He graduated from William Chrisman High School in 1937 and received an A.A. from Graceland College (now University) in Lamoni, Iowa, in 1940. He was employed by Lockheed before entering the Army Air Corp aviation school in January, 1942. During WWII Bob was a navigator/bombardier on B26’s in England. He flew 73 missions including two to Utah Beach on D-day.
Bob married Mildred Ensley in Sacramento, California, on December 22, 1946. He received his B.A. from San Jose State University and M.A. from Stanford with post-graduate work at University of California, Berkeley. Bob began his teaching career in 1949 at Los Gatos, California. Later, they lived in Concord, Walnut Creek, and Cloverdale, California, before moving to Iowa City in 2005.
Bob was principal of large California elementary schools for 33 years. He opened the (1200 student) elementary schools of Oak Park and Woodside in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District. In 1963-4 he was an exchange principal in Hawaii.
Bob was a HAM radio operator (WA6SZT) on the San Joaquin Net and later in Iowa City. He helped build the Walnut Creek, California, Community of Christ Church, worked on the Happy Valley Church campground, and renovated the Cloverdale Historical Society.
On August 5, 2016, Robert “Bob” Laudie was presented the French Legion of Honor Medal from Major General Robert Sentman (Ret.) The Legion of Honor is the highest national decoration. For two centuries, it has been rewarding the outstanding merits of citizens and designating them as models of French civic service.
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