Blocked

                   Wilbur Tracy Field was likely born in Missouri and lived there until he was 16 years old.   Wilbur's mother Myrtle Glass, was from Holt County. She developed Tuberculosis and died in 1919 when Wilbur was 7 years old. His father took him to live with his grandfather Glass.  This came about at same time that the youngest brother, Glen an infant died (June 4, 1919) and a few days later (June 14, 1919) Myrtle died.
Straud, Wilbur's father married a second time in MO.  His second wife's name was Myrtle Haness. The family moved to California in 1925 with one of Strad's brothers, John Francis Field, and his four children. They moved in a truck with hard rubber wheels.   The only time Wilbur went back to MO. was for his grandparents funeral.
According to Paul Field, a nephew of Strauthers and a cousin to Wilbur, the second wife of Strauther was a terrible person, threatening and mean.   Hattie Schram, one of Wilbur's daughters, said that she only found out about her father having a step mother the last year of his life.  When asked about his stepmother, he said that was a bitter time. He did not speak kindly of his stepmother and did not want to discuss her again.
Wilbur worked with the U.S. Engineers building tunnels and working with Huge drills.  He was with Southern Pacific, Western Pacific and the Canadian Pacific among others.   Just prior to or in the early days of WW II he was a dispatcher for the railroad relative in conjunction to the 72000 men at Camp Beal.
Later in the war Wilbur worked at Mare Island, CA. on the construction of ships as a welder in the shipyards.  He developed a specialized tool that was used extensively to weld in areas that a person could not readily get into.  He worked on submarines Sunfish, Telosa, Telavev, Whale, Wahoo and Salmon.  He and a fellow worker, Curley Randus, were the last two workers to leave the Wahoo before the navy crew boarded and she went to sea.  The Wahoo was sunk on the maiden voyage with a loss of all of the crew.
In addition to submarines, Wilbur worked of Submarine Tenders, the Sarry, Bushnell and the Gilmore.  He had the opportunity to shake hands with Franklin Delano Roosevelt on two different occasions and was on the same train as Harry S. Truman on their way to Sparks, NV.
After the war Wilbur worked for the Espy Corporation and was on a rotary snow remover when the train was called to rescue the City of San Fransisco train trapped in deep snow while trying to go through Emberless Gap the 50's.  There was an article (Donner Pass Snow Bound) occurring in Life Magazine about 1952.  Although badly injured in the accident he assisted in helping numerous others that were injured and needed assistance in exiting the train.   The rescue train became trapped by an avalanche that killed several of the crew and he was injured for 89 hours, prior to being reduced themselves.   His injuries included neck, back, shoulder, arm and his right leg.  He was hospitalized for 16 and 1/2 months.
After the injury Wilbur was unable to work for the railroad again. He went to work for Harrads Casino in Reno and worked in security and as a Special Policeman from 1958 to 1977.  In 1968 he married his second wife, Ruby, in Sacramento and they lived in Lake Tahoe where Ruby worked at the John Renalds Drug Store.
Wilbur liked to fish and hunt and had done both through the mountains of Northern California, Washington, Oregon and Southern Canada.
Information from Hattie Schram(Wilbur's daughter).   December 2003