WWII: Was that when they were putting the F-104 in Germany?

Rall: Yes. I was in Palmdale, California, and Edwards Air Force Base. I later became general and division commander. Then I became chief of staff of the Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force, and then I became commander of German Air Force Command, and the chief of that later.

WWII: When did you retire from the Bundesluftwaffe?

Rall: At the end of 1975.

WWII: Can you tell us a little about your family?

Rall: My wife died eight years ago. I have a daughter who lives in Paris, France, and is married to a Frenchman. She is a great restorer at the Louvre. She has a good career, and she has two children. Clement is 14 and Anna Louise is 12. My (other) daughter is married and lives in Munich with her husband. My son-in-law is a designer with BMW, and my daughter is also a designer. They also have two children, girls. One is 7 years old and the other is 4 years old. My second daughter, Felicita, and my son-in-law studied for one year in Pasadena, California.

Rall: What has your life been like since your retirement?

WWII: When I retired, I went into industry, and I was on different boards in an advisory capacity. I am still involved with the industries. I do quite a bit of traveling in the States. There is a great interest in some galleries, as in signing all these paintings and in giving autographs. This is a good chance to get in close contact with some of my former opponents. I am very close friends now with Colonel Hub Zemke; and it was his wing that shot off my thumb (5th Fighter Group), and we know exactly who got me. It was Joseph Powers. I have a lot of friends over there. *

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Colin Heaton of Wilmington, N.C., has interviewed a number of prominent World War II figures. For further reading he suggests: Messerschmitts Over Sicily, by Johannes Steinhoff; and The First and the Last, by Adolf Galland.[ TOP ]

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