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| Emil A. Pohli
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| NO. 17549 • 8 June 1928 – 6 Apr 2001 |
Died in Dallas, TX
Interred in Oakwood Cemetery, Waco, TX
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“Stand up straight,” the sergeant angrily commanded. “I
am standing as tall as I can,” protested a resolute 2LT Emil Pohli. Since the
sergeant trying to measure Emil was not at all convinced that a hunched over
graduate from West Point could stand no taller, the clash between them grew
louder and more intense. Hearing enough, an officer standing some distance away
bellowed, “That man is six feet tall.” And that is how a determined Emil Pohli,
who stood a full 6’2”, became an Air Force fighter pilot. This story is
emblematic of the determination that Emil displayed at West Point, during his
military career and all through his life.
Emil
Austin Pohli was born in Vallejo, CA. At the time, his father was a career Navy
man commanding a seagoing tug, USS Undaunted – a name both depictive and
prescient of his newborn son. A year later, Emil’s brother Richard “Dick” was
born. In 1930, his father was given shore duty in San Francisco, causing the
family to move to Mill Valley.
His
boyhood was sprinkled with camping trips, BB gun fights, swimming in a cold San
Francisco Bay, and all the other things an energetic young boy would do. He was a popular leader among
peers, athletically gifted, and a Boy Scout. He breezed through academics,
skipping a semester in grade school and graduating from Tamalpias High School
in three and one-half years. Although not yet 17 years old, he was the best
high hurdler in the league. After high school, he enrolled in Rutherford’s
Preparatory School in Long Beach, CA, to prepare for the competitive
examination.
After
scoring well on the examination, he found that his congressman did not have an
available appointment to Annapolis but did have one to West Point. Emil took
it, crushing his old navy-man father’s heart.
Dick retrieved the family’s “honor” by going to the Naval Academy two
years later.
At
West Point Emil took the rigors of cadet life in stride, without letting stress
affect his innate fun loving and easygoing attitude. Yet as one of his
classmates observed, “Beneath an easygoing exterior he was more serious than
the average cadet.” He was intent in excelling in all endeavors he deemed
important. Leadership and maturity beyond his years were recognized by achieving the rank of cadet lieutenant his
First Class year. He was an outstanding high hurdler on the track team and a
member of the relay team that won the high hurdles in the Penn Relays.
After
graduation, Emil attended pilot training at James Connally AFB in Waco, TX,
where he met his future wife Marynada Hill. Advanced training in the F-80 at
Williams AFB, AZ, followed. With a third of his class washing out, those were tense
times. Yet one classmate observed that Emil “didn’t seem the least bit worried
about the possibility, which says something about his confidence.”
After
gunnery school at Luke AFB, he joined the 159th Fighter Bomber
Squadron in Japan in November 1951.
During June-December 1952, the unit was sent to Korea, becoming the 429th
FBS. In Japan and Korea, Emil flew 75 missions in the F-84 and was awarded
three air medals.
Back
in the States, he served as an instructor in the 3645th Fighter
Training Wing. Except for a few months at the Squadron Officers School, he
remained in the 3645th until stricken with polio in the fall of
1955. He lost the use of his legs.
Emil
retired (disabled) as a captain and was sent to a VA hospital in Oakland, CA,
but that he didn’t take to invalid life is an understatement. After nearly a
year in the hospital, he learned to drive with hand controls and left the
facility. For the next two years he was employed in the purchasing department
of Beckman Instruments in Richmond, CA.
Later,
he moved to Dallas, TX, where he worked in the heavy construction equipment
industry and held positions in sales and sales management for several
companies. He was very successful. During his years in Texas, he was active in
the West Point Society of North Texas and served terms as president and
treasurer. He had a great reverence for West Point.
His
feats as a paraplegic are legendary. A crowning achievement was designing,
installing, and actually driving a jeep with hand controls that manually shifted
gears. One hand operated the clutch, the other the gearshift, while somehow the
car was steered. This vehicle allowed him to take his family and mother-in-law
on fishing trips to the high mountains. For a while, he had a boat and lifted
himself into it. From a camouflaged wheelchair, he hunted doves and ducks. He
swam and worked out with weights. He had a full workshop in the garage where he
built a desk and other furniture. If he could reach it, he could fix anything
in the house. He cooked indoors and outdoors; his specialty was barbecued
chicken in his own contrived sauce.
No
one, not a family member, not a classmate, not an associate ever, ever, heard
him complain or hint of self-pity. Instead, he joked about his condition. When
his son was in Indian Guides, they called themselves “Little Running Feet” and
“Big Rolling Seat.” He accepted what he couldn’t do and zestfully pursued all
he could. One classmate said, in words that expressed the sentiments of all,
“He had an irrepressible spirit and a cheerful, outgoing manner. Nothing seemed
to intimidate him. His attitude was an inspiration to me.” His brother said
that if only allowed two words to describe Emil, they are “character and guts.”
His daughter said he was “fearless.”
Emil
was a member of the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration and a strong
Christian with complete confidence in the Lord. He is survived by his brother
Dick, daughter Anne, son Scott, and wife of 50 years, Marynada, who steadfastly
stood by him in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. And so it is,
as the Long Gray Line stretches farther, the footsteps grow faint.
- A roommate with contributions from family and graduates.
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USMA 1950