FULLERTON—William Charles Luft, 97, of Fullerton, passed away Tuesday, February 5, 2019, at his home in Fullerton. Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, February 12, 2019, at Palmer-Santin Funeral Home in Fullerton with Reverend Vern Olson officiating. Burial will follow at Grand Island Cemetery in Grand Island with military honors by United States Army and Grand Island Veterans Honor Guard.
Visitation will be 5-7 p.m. Monday, February 11th at the funeral home. Palmer-Santin Funeral Home is serving the family. Bill was born October 15, 1921 to George Phillip and Ida T. (Holtz) Luft at Havens.
At the age of five, he moved by wagon to a farm south of Fullerton. He attended rural country school in Nance and Merrick counties until the eighth grade. He could read, write, and count as good or better than anyone because his two sisters ended up being school teachers.
During the 1920s and 1930s, when times were hard, they had several stills on the farm under the hog pens making corn whiskey. They fed the mash to the hogs to hide the operation from the revenuers. They would have lost everything, including the farm, if it wasn’t for the stills.
Over the years, he owned over 100 vehicles and bought his first vehicle, a Model A with a rumble seat, in Fullerton for $12. He loved to tear around the town in that vehicle and when he pulled into Happy Nelson’s gas station to fill up and they called him “Wild Bill”, which the name stuck until his death. He farmed on his own from 1936 to 1944 and farmed with his father and brother until 1955.
He received an award from Nebraska Department of Agriculture for farming in four counties simultaneously in the 1950s. After, he started operating heavy equipment, dozers, scrapers, and cranes throughout Nebraska and locally for Bill Knight. There, he met the father of Karen K. Manka and on February 21, 1959, they were united in marriage and to this union, three children were born.
Bill and Karen continued to follow heavy construction jobs until 1966, when they settled in Grand Island. In 1970, Bill was owner/operator of Luft Trucking until 1975 when he returned to Fullerton to assist his aging parents. He was drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II on January 1, 1944.
He served with the 128th Infantry Regiment, the 32nd Infantry Division, and the U.S. Army Pacific Theater Command until he was honorably discharged on January 21, 1946. He completed multiple beach landings and three Glider landings, the last being a shot down crash landing in a rice paddy at the Philippine of LUZON, where he fought the Japanese surrender. Upon General McArthur’s return, he was made an MP and part of his security detail.
Bill returned to the states on a hospital ship deathly ill with typhus and malaria and missed all the parades and home comings. He said it didn’t matter because his parents picked him up from the bus depot and his mom gave him a big kiss. On the trip home, she gave him a telegraph, which was later corrected stating he was “killed in action”.
Bill was one of 16 survivors from his original battalion. He was awarded the following during his service: Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Glider Badge, Bronze Star Medal of Valor, Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 3 battle star, WWII Victory medal, Army Occupational Medal, 2 Philippine Liberation Medals one with a battle star, Philippine Independence Medal with 2 Battle Stars, Philippine Presidential Unit Citation, Army Presidential Unit Citation, Meritorious Unit Citation, Army Lapel Button, 5 Expert Qualification Badges, and Rank of Sergeant. He loved cars, country and polka music, playing the harmonica and accordion, and really loved dancing at night.
He was an avid outdoorsman and enjoyed hunting, fishing, and gardening. He was very proud of his German heritage and his brothers and him were not afraid to defend the family name or any member of the family. He had survived Prohibition, the Great Depression, several automobile and farming/construction accidents, and three terminal cancer diagnosis.
At the time of his death, he was Nebraska’s oldest licensed driver. He was a member of Central City Eagles (F.O.E.), Fullerton American Legion for over 40 years, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). Those left to cherish his memories are his children, Lisa White of Grand Island and William (Nancy) Luft of St. Libory; grandchildren, Tyler Luft, Kayla Luft, Alexis Luft, Shelby Luft, William Luft III, Logan Luft, Kyle White, Cameron White, and Cody White; great-grandchildren, Kinsley Luft and Hendrix Luft; and ex-wife, Karen Luft of St. Libory.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his son, Earl; and all seven siblings, Christine, Josephine, Phillip, Lawrence, Raymond, LaVern, and Vera. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested the family for designation at a later date. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of William Charles Luft please visit our Sympathy Store.
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