Benjamin Goldman, 1922-2011.

Benjamin Goldman passed away on March 22, 2011, at home at the age of 89. Mr. Goldman had a long career in public service. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps shortly after Pearl Harbor and became a waist gunner on a B-17. In June 1944, while returning from his second bombing mission over Berlin, he was shot down and taken prisoner by German armed forces and held at Stalag Luft 4 until liberated by Soviet troops in 1945. He bemusedly recalled the Nazi interrogators misperceiving the significance of his last name, saying "Goldman? Your German ancestors would be veiny disappointed." Upon his return from the war, he completed graduate studies in history and became a military historian, working for more than forty years at Langley Air Force Base. He retired as head of the Office of History for Tactical Air Command. Subsequent to his retirement, he and his wife were active volunteers at the Virginia Living Museum. He also volunteered at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Hampton. He was active in the Torch Club, Rodef Sholom Congregation, and the American Ex-Prisoners of War Organization. He was preceded in death by Jane, his wife of sixty-four years, in 2007. He is survived by his daughter, Lyndall Miller of Philadelphia; his son, Roger S. Goldman of Park City, Utah; and four grandchildren.

Funeral services were held on March 24. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Virginia Living Museum or to Buildable Hours, Inc. (www.buildablehours.com).