Charles ("Tommy") Park Eberly was born July 15, 1920 in Three Springs, Pennsylvania to Nestor and Edwinna (Park) Eberly. He died December 28, 2007 in McAllen, Texas. He grew up in Three Springs with his older sister Phylis ("Punk") and younger brother Robert ("Bobby").

Charles graduated from Saltillo high school and was bitten by the wanderlust. He and his good friend Harold ("Stump") Wible hitch-hiked across the country to the Pacific Northwest, doing odd-jobs along the way. They eventually made it to Oregon and stayed for awhile with one of Stump's relatives. Charles then wandered to Los Angeles, where he got a job at a department store and enrolled and attended one semester at UCLA. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, his life changed. He was first in line in Los Angeles to enlist in the army and was eventally called to serve in the US Army Air Corps, where he completed more than 30 combat missions over Europe.

Towards the end of the war, he met and married Elsie Kivijarvi. Their marriage lasted five years, but was eventually torn apart by differing goals in life. Charles made his way to Alaska to fish; Elsie to Los Angeles where she became a fashion designer.

Charles eventually made his way home to Three Springs and on January 21, 1955, married Geraldine Wagner. Charles and Geraldine raised two children, Bonny and Tommy. During his family life in Three Springs, Charles worked at Owens-Corning Fiberglas in Huntingdon, PA, where he held numerous patents for glass fiber manufacturing processes. After retirement, Charles and Geraldine followed Tommy's family, which by now included grandchildren Laura and Ian, first to Selinsgrove, PA and then to McAllen, TX

Charles was an accomplished artist, his specialty being pastels. One of his pastels was recognized by a second place award in a state-wide Pennsylvania senior citizen art competition in Harrisburg, PA. A painting completed during his return to the US from WWII service is exhibited in the 303rd Bomb Group Memorial in Molesworth, England. His remaining artwork hangs in the homes of family and friends.

Charles and his parents were pack-rats, and saved the letters they wrote to each other during his travels and military career. Although some were lost in a flood in their basement, many survived and have been scanned and transcribed. The Timeline section of this website organizes those letters and other documents that were saved in chronological order. Please feel free to explore his life.