Albert J. Driggers
June 5, 1920 – August 3, 2020
From the 95th Bomb Group Memorials Foundation Facebook page:
In deep sadness, the Memorials Foundation and the Heritage Association report that Albert Driggers of Santa Ana, CA, left formation on 3 August 2020, aged 100 years. Al was a 412th bombardier. He passed away after almost two weeks in the hospital following a fall that injured his head. Folded wings.
Al was born in Los Angeles on 5 June 1920, in Los Angeles. He served the 95th faithfully as the bombardier on Charlie Lajeskie’s 412th crew, flying combat missions between April and September 1944. Al flew 34 sorties officially, although he said he counted 37. Of note, he and the Lajeskie men participated on group mission #145 to Normandy as part of D-Day operations the day after Al turned 24. The crew returned to Normandy the following day for mission #148. Previously, the men flew on missions #141 and #143 to Boulogne, France, in anticipation of the planned landings on 6 June.
After fulfilling his service his country, Al returned to CA. There, in 1946, he met his wife Mary, who had just moved to the West Coast after working during the war as a “Rosie the Riveter” in her hometown of Toledo, OH. Six months later on 9 February 1947, they married at the Riverside Inn Chapel. The couple enjoyed 62 years of marriage before Mary’s passing in March 2009. The pair are buried by each other’s side at Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in Orange, CA.
Mariana Mijia was Al’s neighbor and close friend during the last three years of his life. Mariana remembers Al as “a hardworking man, so happy to be able to get to his 100th run around the sun. That’s what he said he wanted.” Al had “an amazing will and energy to stay busy,” Mariana writes. “He attributed his long life due to the fact that he moved constantly. He told me once that ‘people die fast because they retire and just sit around.’ His sharp mentality was a testament why he was a true fit for the job as a bombardier in the Army Air Force.” Mariana was grateful to help Al, who lived alone, with his errands. A devoted grandson always took care of Al’s needs, despite living far away and working multiple jobs, circumstances that kept him from being with his grandfather more regularly.
Our sincerest condolences to the Driggers family, Mariana, and Al’s many friends and admirers over the inconceivable loss of such a good man and treasured 95th Vet.
With gratitude for Mariana Mejia for informing the Memorials Foundation of Al’s passing and for sharing her memories of her dear friend.