Whitehall Historical Preservation Society held a special presentation April 27 at Helfrich Springs Grist Mill, highlighting the career of World War II veteran Major Nathan Kline of the U.S. Air Force, retired.

Kline, a former WWII B-26 bombardier navigator, flew in missions over Europe during the war, which included that of D-Day as well as the Battle of the Bulge.

Kline was the recipient of many awards during his service, including Distinguished Flying Cross, 10 Air Metal awards, French Legion of Honor and Hall of Valor. With these accomplishments under his belt, Kline has been a focal voice of WWII veterans in the Lehigh Valley for years.

“When I was a freshman at Muhlenberg College, I had decided I wanted to join the fight,” Kline said as he began speaking to the crowd. “After the attacks on Pearl Harbor, the world changed. I was 18 at the time, and back in those days, you needed to be 20 to enlist or have your parent or guardian sign a permission slip. My parents wanted me to continue my education, so I went against their wishes and got my uncle, who also served, to sign the slip,” he said.

Kline joined the U.S. Air Force Nov. 6, 1942. From March 1944 through April 1945, Kline took part of 65 bombing missions as a bombardier navigator in B-26 Marauders while assigned to the 454th Bomb Squadron, 323 Bomb Group, Ninth Air Force, based in England and Europe.

Standing in the grist mill that night, in his blue uniform and with a smile on his face, Kline described the many experiences he had throughout his years of service. Some filled the room with laughs, while others filled the room with heart-felt gasps as his stories touched emotions of all kinds.

The presentation involved a speech by Kline, video package of his unit, a question-and-answer session and a table filled with pictures and news articles. Two pictures showed Kline in the same spot during his youth - one picture had him looking stern while the other had him laughing with his leg resting on a nearby fence.

Kline jokingly said, “This was me in the beginning of the day, and this was me after a couple shots of scotch.”

Kline spoke about how, in the beginning, he did not quite get the pilot job he wanted because he had failed the eye exam, but after a few months, a new training opportunity had opened up for those who wanted to become a bombardier navigator. Within 90 days of the program, the 18-year-old was combat ready and was flying in planes on a daily basis.

During his 65 air missions, Kline was part of two missions where his plane was shot down in enemy territory. The missions took place within five days of each other.

Kline has spoken countless times about “battle fatigue,” which is what he had suffered from after the near-death experiences. Through this, Kline said he decided to use his experience to help veterans with job placement and health care assistance.

“Staring straight down at the ground, headlong toward disaster, it makes one think about what you’re doing with your life,” Kline said, while discussing the feeling of being in the seat he had sat in throughout his aerial career while the plane was going down. “War is hell, but it is the price of freedom, and that price is still being paid today as well.”

Kline’s unit was named “The Wolves,” and out of all the groups involved in the unit, only two planes survived throughout the entire war.

After the war, Kline returned to Muhlenberg College before eventually taking over his father’s business.

In the 1970s, he decided to get away from the Lehigh Valley and move to Houston, Texas, for 20 years before returning back to the Lehigh Valley.

Kline closed his presentation by adding a line to General Douglas MacArthur’s famous quote, “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.”

Kline said, “They may fade away, but they’ll always be remembered.”

For those interested in joining Whitehall Historical Preservation Society for events such as this, visit whitehallhistoricalsociety.org, email whps@verizon.net or call 610-776-7280.