Ed Pranger was born in 1912 in Hillsboro Oregon and, as his new web site proclaims, 'is still going strong in Anacortes Washington.' He served his country as an artist for the US Navy's "Hoist" newspaper and illustrated "Wing Tips", a series of booklets about flight safety for naval pilots.

We found Ed Pranger's art work simply outstanding, and thought it was another wonderful coincidence that Private Art's brother, Ralph, is also an accomplished artist. The letters he sent to Private Art during the war were often decorated with his early handiwork. It's very interesting to see his budding talent, and his art adds yet more insight to how a young boy at home perceived the war. We will add scans of these letters to the site in the very near future.

Thanks to Ed and Jeff for the inspiration!

Jeff also told us that his grandfather Frank Pranger's father's name was Gerhard Henry Pranger. He was born in Germany in 1842, married in Illinois and died in Hillsboro Oregon in 1919. His father was Bernard Henry Pranger, born in Germany in 1801 and died in Illinois.

There are a lot of coincidences here. For one, Art's dad, Frank Pranger, had a brother named Henry. His father and Art's grandfather's name was Bernard, and Bernard is Art's middle name! Our Prangers came from Germany to this part of the country. Some of Frank Pranger's family lived in Indiana, Greensburg we believe. Art's dad never talked much about the Prangers. He was the youngest in the family. The rest, brothers, were older, and he wasn't really close to them. We do have documents from a ship that Bernard Pranger boarded to get here and other things.