Dolores Fischer of Sun City never knew much about her father’s service in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. With only a plain brown box she found among her parents’ things containing pictures and military forms, she thought she’d never know the full details of her father’s bravery. But 25 years after his death, Dolores made the discovery of a lifetime.
Mildred and Charles Krupsky pose in 1944: Mildred wearing a United States Post Office uniform, Charles in his U.S. Army Air Forces uniform. When Charles was drafted in 1944, Mildred took over his job at the Post Office so he wouldn’t lose his position while he was on active duty.
When Dolores Fischer was a junior in high school studying WWII, her U.S. History teacher suggested that his students interview their fathers who were war veterans. Fischer knew that her father flew in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, flying Boeing B-17s, a four-engined heavy bomber aircraft. Beyond that, details were scarce. When she asked him to let her interview him, he seemed uneasy.
“I’d love to help you, Dolores, but I just can’t talk about it,” he told his daughter.
“At 16, I really didn’t understand. I didn’t know the extent of his service, but he was always very proud that he served,” she says.
Dolores, now 76, has finally pieced together about her father’s service between July 1, 1943 – January, 1945, thanks to a miniseries, knowledgeable friends, a memorial foundation, and a searchable database.
“God bless the internet!” exclaims Dolores. “I mean, seriously.”
Dolores’ friends, Jim and Barb Belmont, invited her to watch “Masters of the Air,” a 9-episode miniseries on Apple TV+, produced by Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Gary Goetzman. The series is based on the actual 100th Bombardment Group in WWII, known as the “Bloody 100th.” Dolores was instantly drawn into the historical drama, seeing for the first time a depiction similar to what her father might have lived.
“I saw this episode where 23 planes went on a bomb mission, and one returned. They showed the planes getting destroyed and all these men dying. Now I understand why my father could not talk about it,” she says.
Charles H. Kupsky.
Wanting to learn more, Dolores started doggedly searching online, listening to podcasts and YouTube interviews, learning as much as she could about the men who flew the B-17s. But she hit the jackpot when she connected with Gerald Grove, an historian and volunteer with the 95th Bomb Group Memorial Foundation.
“I knew my dad’s serial number, and I told him the story,” says Dolores. Gerald directed Dolores to the website’s searchable database. Together, they discovered that her father, Charles R. Kupsky, was an Engineer and Top Turret Gunner who completed 35 missions, primarily over Germany, France, and Poland in 1944-45.
“Masters of the Air” suggests that after 20 missions, airmen were typically allowed to go home. Dolores believes that her father may have chosen to stay longer, wanting to finish the job. “[The men] were so patriotic and believed they were helping,” she says.
“Here I am, 76 years old, and I never knew anything except for this box of pictures and military forms. I knew it was a treasure, but I didn’t understand it,” she says. “Jim Belmont helped me understand all the documents I have, and Gerald Grove provided me with a wealth of information.”
Even now, when Dolores talks about her father, it brings tears to her eyes.
“I feel so fulfilled, now that I know that my dad was a hero,” she says. “He was always my hero.”
