Cyrus Black Stafford, Jr. was born in May of 1916, the son of Cyrus Black Stafford and Laura Montgomery Stafford. Most people called him “Cy”, but in my family his nickname was“Buddy”. Buddy’s sister, Nena, was my grandmother. She married Charles F. Sharrard, Sr. in 1922, and my father, Charles F. Sharrard, Jr. was born in 1926. Charles and Nena separated early into the marriage and she and my father went to live with her family, the Staffords, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Nena and Charles were divorced in 1939 and she later married a fine gentleman named John Shaw. Buddy and Nena had another sister, Emma, who’s family nicknames were “Aunt Sissy” and “Jack”. She was a career nurse with the Red Cross and later a Lt. in the Army Nurse Corps. She never married and she lived out her retirement in Louisville, Ky.
Buddy attended Glenbard Township High School and was an avid “Ham Radio” 
operator (W9KWP) and component designer. I grew up hearing my father talk about his fondest memories as a child, sitting with Buddy and talking to people all over the world on the radio. Nena secured a job in Arizona and she and my father moved there around the time Buddy went off to study electrical engineering at Purdue University.
Along the way he enlisted with the Army Air Corps. He was activated in 1939, went through training and was ultimately assigned to the 12th Air Force.
As a member of the 47th Bombardment Group, 84th 
Squadron, he served as a pilot, flying A-20 Douglas Havoc/Boston light bombers. He was instrumental in effecting critical modifications to the newly arrived aircraft and he also served as Operational Engineering Officer for the 12th Air Force. He achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Legion of Merit for his outstanding service. In addition to his own service, Marty joined the women’s volunteer service. Cy’s sister Emma would join the Army Nurse Corps and his brother in law, John Shaw, would serve with the infantry from D-Day to the fall of Berlin.
Buddy had known Mary Martha Willis (“Marty”), since high school, and they stayed in touch by letter after he went to college. It was at that point in time that Buddy’s correspondence begins.