For Wisconsin Wing’s Bruring, Time to ‘Give Back’

By Loretta Fulton

Most people would consider serving in World War II and the Korean War enough giving back for a lifetime. But William E. Bruring doesn’t see it that way. After all, both those wars occurred a long time ago, and since then, Bruring has built a career and retired comfortably in his home in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Bruring, 97, is still as sharp as the day he donned a U.S. Army uniform in 1943—he was 18 when he volunteered. But two years before enlisting, Bruring got a glimpse into military life by joining the brand-new Civil Air Patrol at age 16.

He feels privileged to have lived through such heady times in world history and credits his early service in CAP for laying the foundation for a successful life. Now Bruring believes it’s time to give back to CAP. His recent donation of $100,000 to the Civil Air Patrol Foundation to be used as needed, with no strings attached, is evidence of how strongly he feels compelled to give back to an organization he said “has meant so much to me for so many years.”

“The donation is an incredible gift from an incredible man,” said Kristina Jones, CAP’s chief growth officer. Bruring’s generous donation will have a lasting impact on the foundation’s five-year plan to support CAP programs.

“Lt. Col. Bruring’s generous gift will be invested, and the earnings will be used annually where they are needed most to make an impact to save lives and shape futures,” Jones said. Bruring joined what is now the Wisconsin Wing’s La Crosse Composite Squadron two weeks before Christmas 1941, just days after CAP became a reality. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was a very fresh wound for Americans at that time. With the U. S. plunged into World War II, everyone was expected to step up however they could.

“Everybody was very, very patriotic,” Bruring said.

Too young for the Army, Bruring joined Civil Air Patrol; he’s still a member of the La Crosse squadron. He has served as Wisconsin Wing historian and government relations adviser and as historian for the Great Lakes Region.

In December 2014, Bruring traveled to Washington, D.C., to join other members of Civil Air Patrol who served during World War II. They were presented with bronze replicas of the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor bestowed by Congress on civilians, awarded to recognize CAP for its wartime volunteer service.

“I have it right here with me,” Bruring said during a phone interview.

The replica, too large to wear, rests alongside Bruring’s military awards, including 22 ribbons, paratrooper wings, glider wings, and other honors from World War II.

The years Bruring served with the Army in World War II and with the Navy in the Korean War marked the only times he lived away from his hometown of La Crosse, where he was born March 2, 1925. He even married a hometown girl.

Bruring documented the story of how he met his future wife in a 515- page book he wrote about Civil Air Patrol and his life. After returning from service in Europe, he related, he wanted to become active again in CAP. Unfortunately, while he had been away, heavy rains flooded the basement of a building where Civil Air Patrol records were kept, destroying all of them, including his records of CAP service. All local CAP members were required to re- apply, including submitting fingerprints and two photos.

Fatefully, one evening, while attending a dance, Bruring was approached by a young woman named Louise Halverson, secretary to one of the founders of Civil Air Patrol in La Crosse, Capt. Roy E. Kumm. She introduced herself and reminded Bruring he had submitted one photo with his re-application to CAP, and two were needed. Bruring chuckled recalling his response to the attractive woman.

“Let’s dance and talk about it,” he said. They did—and were married in 1948. She passed in 2010.

The first thing Bruring did when he returned from Europe was find a job. He landed one at a local radio station just three days after getting home. Bruring parlayed that job into establishing his own FM station in 1966—100,000-watt WWLA, the only FM station in town and the most powerful in the area.

Bruring owned the station for 10 years and then sold it to another local station. After that, he had a successful career selling communications equipment and owning apartment buildings. At the same time, he kept up his Civil Air Patrol duties, which focused on teaching. A paratrooper in World War II, he wasn’t interested in flying. Instead, he taught courses in several different areas, including International Morse Code and the basics of military life. It was another way of giving back to CAP, which had taught him so much as a young man.

“I had learned an awful lot when I was in” before leaving for the service, he said. His generous gift to the foundation will help make it possible to shape the futures of other cadets who may one day also feel compelled to give back to an organization dedicated to building strong foundations.