May 4, 2005: Oz "Munchkin's" Proudest Accomplish Was as a CAP Ground Instructor During WWII

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On this date in 2005, Meinhardt Raabe, the diminutive coroner in the classic film The Wizard of Oz, told USA Today about his service in the Civil Air Patrol during World War II.

Raabe portrayed one of the Munchkins in the film and pronounced the Wicked Witch of the West as dead.  Then 89 at the time of the interview, Raabe had just published a book on his life entitled Memories of a Munchkin: An Illustrated Walk Down the Yellow Brick Road.

An excerpt from USA Today:

The accomplishment he is most proud of is his service with the Civil Air Patrol, an organization similar to the National Guard. He worked as a ground instructor during the war and says he flew every kind of single-engine airplane made at the time.

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Want to learn more or join the Civil Air Patrol? Browse http://gocivilairpatrol.com

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