Dear Northpoint Managers, Agents, Employees, and Shareholders:

I wish to pay respect to those who have stood (literally) between enemies who would do harm to America and all of us. I’m sure many of you have friends and family who have served (or are now serving) our nation in the armed forces. I can think of at least two of you (if there are others, I don’t know about you, and I’d like to know): Candice Kinard’s (Kansas City) husband is on active duty right now and Tyler Hartle (Salt Lake City) served in the US Army for over 10 years, serving under a General and has been, at times, actively engaged in warfare, defending America.

Today, I’d like to tell you about Colonel Martin E. Plocher, Commander of the Sixth Strategic Wing of the Strategic Air Command, and who is also my Grandfather. On March 6th, 1943, he flew a B-17 Bomber out of Molesworth, England in the 303rd Bomb group targeting submarines at Lorient, France in World War II. As his crew approached, they tested out their 50 cal guns with no enemy in sight. They arrived over the target, dropped bombs and turned back to England.

Suddenly, in Martin’s words “all hell broke loose.” He was hit by 20mm cannons knocking out engines one and two, and damaging a third. His co-pilot was hit and instantly killed. Several gunners were hit and a fire broke out in the radio room. The fire was distinguished by one of the remaining gunners. A bomb hit sending shrap metal inside of the hull of the plane. In Martin’s words he says with astonishment “I will never ever know why I was lucky enough to go through this ordeal with only a small scratch on my forehead.”

With most of the engines down he headed back to England. The remaining gunner and he watched for enemy aircraft to avoid being shot down into the Ocean. Then, two fighter planes attacked. Martin and his remaining crew were able to shoot one down before the other departed to avoid the firepower of the B-17. Martin lowered his plane to about 500 feet above the ocean, throwing everything they could out to lighten the plane.

They flew approximately 40 minutes when engine four started to blow black smoke due to overheating. He informed the remaining crew to take up a ditching position and brace for impact. They crashed into the Ocean. Miraculously, the men survived the crash. Martin then inflated a raft after impact and found three bullet holes that hit the raft while in the air. There were no patches so he had to use a handkerchief to temporarily patch the holes. He says “I knew that someone in the Heavens had to be helping me through this ordeal.” The plane then sank within two minutes.

At this point there were only two other survivors, and one who had been wounded by the 20mm fragments had blood everywhere. As they floated, they said the water was extremely cold and there was no way to keep dry due to the winds. All they could do is float and try to conserve energy.

To the best of their ability, they guessed they were about mid-English channel, near the Bay of Biscay. He floated for about 12 hours when around midnight he saw a light in the distance. He hoped the English would have sent a search and rescue crew. As he came nearer to the light, it was a large war vessel and someone yelled out to him in English. He was hopeful. As he got closer, he detected a German accent.

Although he and his other crew were exhausted, they climbed aboard. The Germans asked to speak with the Pilot in charge. Martin went to speak with them. They asked him all kinds of questions but he responded only with his name, rank, and serial number. They then placed him in an onboard prison with no food. There were hundreds of bottles of wine but he said they were all empty.

The next morning the Germans brought him and his crew to a hospital somewhere in France. Martin was then escorted to a kind of banquet room where he met the German pilot who shot him down. The German pilot said in broken English “I’m glad you were not hurt.” They shook hands and then took Martin to a bus. He hoped to escape into the bushes by jumping off during the trip; it would have to be perfect or else he’d be shot, but the opportunity never allowed. They were given a loaf of bread to eat and then taken to Dulag Luft, Prisoner of War processing camp located in Frankfurt, Germany on the Rhein River. During the trip, many times the train had to stop to avoid being bombed by the English.

Martin went on to be questioned, repeatedly, but he never gave up any information. He spent many days locked in solitary confinement because he would not cooperate. He and the other prisoners were malnourished and had to travel long distances on foot, switching camps often. He spent a total of just more than two years as a POW at Stalag Luft III prison camp. It’s a long, fascinating story in prison that includes several escape attempts and finally, on April 29th, 1945, early in the morning, he was awakened by the sound of ground fire. To his surprise, two tanks followed by a jeep from General Patton’s 3rd armored division, entered the camp. When the tanks stopped, General Patton himself got out and said “I’m glad to be here to set you free!”

Thank you for taking a moment to read this story that is personal to me. I hope you enjoyed it. I’m honored by those that give up their lives and sacrificed to allow others to live free of tyranny and the evils of totalitarian governments. I must admit, I fear for America these days. But I’m hopeful. It’s people like you…honest and hard working…that give me that hope. As a company, we will honor those that have given much to protect us and our Country by recognizing their sacrifices and closing our offices on Monday. Please join me in this noble act to honor our veterans.

Sincerely,

John Laviter