Warbird Information Exchange

Everett Banker, 93, WWII bomber pilot

Everett D. Banker was a career steel company manager who also raised Arabian horses on his Warren County farm, played saxophone professionally, and won medals as an Air Force bomber pilot.

Mr. Banker, 93, died of heart failure Wednesday at a hospice in Michigan.

He was born in 1918 in Terre Haute, Ind., but was raised in Kennedy Heights. His father, Everett Henry Banker, was an executive assistant to a railroad system general manager.

Young Everett volunteered for the Air Force during World War II and flew B-24 Liberators, with the 15th Air Force in Italy in 1944 and 1945, completing more than 20 bombing missions.

His planes were shot down twice, but no one was hurt, said his daughter, Pam Banker-Valz of Douglas, Mich.

The second time, in April 1945, Mr. Banker and his crew went down over Linz, Austria, and made their way into Russia. The Russians, suspecting Banker of being a German spy, captured and interrogated him.

“He was listed as missing in action. My mother received the telegraph,” Banker-Valz said.

The Russians learned of their mistake and released him. He and his crew arrived in Italy after the war in Europe ended. He was awarded the Air Medal and Distinguished Flying Cross.

He returned to Cincinnati and to his wife, Melva. They raised two children and lived in Montgomery, Silverton and on a farm near Morrow.

With a business degree from the University of Cincinnati’s night school, Banker worked in sales, transportation and management for the New York Central Railroad and the Pollak Steel Co. in Evendale. When Armco Steel Co. bought Pollak in 1970, he worked for Armco as manager of sales service of the steel division in Cincinnati.

While Banker worked during the day, he played music professionally by night.

He played with local dance bands for about 20 years, including the Cecil Young Orchestra, which played big band music at venues like the Beverly Hills Supper Club. From the 1950s through the 1970s, Banker played clarinet and tenor saxophone.

Banker also coached knothole baseball in Cincinnati during the 1950s.

On the family’s farm in Warren County, Banker raised Arabian horses and Hereford cattle, and rescued non-farm animals abandoned by former pet owners, Banker-Valz said.

His wife died in 2004. Six year later, he moved to Michigan to be near his daughter.

In addition to his daughter, survivors include a son, Dr. Timothy D. Banker of Greensboro, N.C.; and three grandsons.

Visitation will be 10 a.m. Saturday, followed by the funeral at 11 a.m. at Thomas-Justin Memorial, 7500 Montgomery Road, Kenwood . Burial will follow at Rest Haven Memorial Park, 10209 Plainfield Road, Evandale.

Memorials: Humane Association of Warren County, 230 Cook Road, Lebanon, OH 45036.

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http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 2308030088