The dogs, Eyler wrote, were named Omaha and Utah.

***

The Gayle Eyler story actually begins not in Omaha but in Bartlett, Iowa, a farming town on the Missouri River about 25 miles south of Omaha.

After graduating from Bartlett’s tiny, now-defunct high school, Eyler moved to Omaha to take a job as a carpenter for the Burlington railroad. Living out of a bunk car in Omaha, he and his crew repaired bridges on the line south of Omaha.

But around the world, war was raging. In May 1943, Eyler received his draft notice and began a three-year Army odyssey.

After the war, he returned to Omaha. He first found work as a commercial carpenter and then later took a job as a City of Omaha housing inspector. He rose to the post of chief housing inspector, retiring in the 1970s after 25 years.

Along the way he married, raised two sons and later divorced. During retirement, he was active as a volunteer at the Veterans Hospital in Omaha, running a woodworking shop for rehabilitating veterans.

While proud to be a World War II veteran, Eyler never told his family much about his war days. His son Jim Eyler of La Mesa, California, could recall little more than the strafing story.