Updated 2018

Our special series for Veterans Day concludes with stories about Bob Harwood, Ben Petmecky, and Emory Muehlbrad and video clips of John Carlson and Bill Williamson talking about veterans settling in Crestview as it was being developed in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

BOB HARWOOD

Bob was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his service in the Army during World War II. He enlisted in February 1942 and served in the 6th Armored Division. His division landed on Omaha Beach in July 1944 and later was sent to Lorient, France. Although several officers were assigned to lead his platoon, the fighting there was so intense that none of them lasted more than a day or two, and Bob was left in charge.

In November 1944, his company was under attack by Germans in Eastern France, and his 34 men were reduced to nine. Twice he led his company in an attack after he had been wounded. He also aided in the capture of 70 prisoners. After a third wound in the face, he sought medical attention. After returning to Austin, he married Roberta in February 1945.

You can read more about the Harwoods’ longtime involvement in our community here. More about Bob in “Four ‘H’ Buddies Keep History Alive Around the Domino Table,” published in the November 14, 2011, Austin American-Statesman. Bob died at age 97 on October 17, 2013.

BEN PETMECKY

“I was an Army Air Corps pilot. I trained in California and Texas and learned how to fly a C-47. I went overseas in a converted B-24 and was based at Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides [now called Vanuatu]. From there we would fly up to the Solomon Islands taking mail and medicine and food. Later, we’d go to Bougainville [and other islands] to pick up casualties. We’d bring them back to civilization.

“While I was there, my father died, and my mother died four months later. That left my sister, 17, who was in college, and my brother, 7, and I became their guardian. Can you imagine a 23-year-old boy with that? I didn’t know anything to do except what Dad had done. So, I got out of the Army to raise them.”

In the early 1950s, Ben and his longtime partner, Hugh, moved to a home on Joe Sayers Avenue in Brentwood. It stood out among the other homes, constructed by a UT architecture student of cinder blocks and surrounded by a wall. Later they traveled the world and then settled outside a small Central Texas town, where Ben and Hugh lived together for more than 50 years until Ben passed away.

Ben was a fifth-generation Texan and fourth-generation Austinite, and he shared many good stories with us. Read about a few of them here.

We interviewed Ben on May 24, 2009; a DVD of our interview is at the Austin History Center. He died on October 13, 2011.

EMORY MUEHLBRAD

During World War II, Emory served in the Navy in California. In the early 50s, he and his wife moved to Crestview. Longtime members of Faith Lutheran Church, they raised four children of their own and fostered hundreds of special needs children over the years. They also created a mosaic for the Wall of Welcome.

We interviewed Emory and his wife Wanda on February 9, 2008; a DVD of our interview is at the Austin History Center. Emory died May 28, 2018.

JOHN CARLSON AND BILL WILLIAMSON

We interviewed John and his wife Judy September 5, 2009; we interviewed Bill on October 7, 2007. John died July 13, 2019. Bill died November 23, 2013.