Edmund J. Kalau (9 July 1928 – 8 January 2014) was a German aviator, missionary, and pastor. He was a member of the

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...

during his childhood prior to his conversion to Christianity. As an adult, Kalau served as a missionary in

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...

with his wife, Elizabeth. They founded the Pacific Missionary Aviation (PMA) to facilitate air travel throughout Micronesia.

Biography

Early life and World War II

Kalau was born on 9 July 1928 in East Prussia. At the age of 10 he joined the

, and went on to attend Hitler Youth Leadership High School and the Hitler Youth Flying Corps. After World War II, he encountered a Russian doctor who converted him from atheism to Christianity. During his life, Kalau studied anthropology at the

Philadelphia University Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the univer ...

, and earned a U.S. pilot's license and mechanics license at Peterborough Flying School.

Missionary work

In 1950 Kalau entered the Theological Seminary of Liebenzell Mission to begin a four-year training to become a missionary. He married Elisabeth Grünewald on 15 October 1954. He was ordained in 1954 and trained in

Schooley's Mountain, New Jersey Schooley's Mountain is an unincorporated community located within Washington Township in Morris County, New Jersey.Locali ...

and at the Nyack Missionary College. Kalau and his wife arrived in

Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the ...

in January 1956. Kalau established a Lutheran Servicemen's Center in Anigua, Guam in the late 1950s, which eventually developed into the Lutheran Church of Guam. After three years on Palau, they joined Johannes Aigesiil and his wife to serve on

Yap Yap ( yap, Waqaab) traditionally refers to an island group located in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, a part of Yap State. The name "Yap" in recent years has come to also refer to the state within the Federated States of Micr ...

. As part of an effort to fight alcoholism on Yap, Kalau helped construct a youth center.

Pacific Missionary Aviation

A part of the Kalaus' missionary work in Micronesia involved ferrying sick people to district hospitals on the mainland. They established the Pacific Missionary Aviation (PMA) in 1974 to provide faster transport to the people of Micronesia. This strained the Kalaus' relation with the Liebenzell Mission and they eventually severed ties. The PMA started with a twin-engine plane. It was incorporated in Guam on 24 April 1974 and began aviation services the next year. It expanded to the Philippines in 1982 under the name Flying Medical Samaritans (FMS) to avoid confusion with the

Philippine Military Academy The Philippine Military Academy ( fil, Akademiyang Militar ng Pilipinas / es, Academia Militar de Filipinas) also referred to by its acronym PMA is the premier military academy for Filipinos aspiring for a commission as a military officer of ...

. By 1992, the PMA had eight aircraft and two medical vessels. Edmund acted as president until 1999 when he gave the position to his son Norbert. The PMA is nonprofit and nondenominational service agency. It is considered part of the

Restoration Movement The Restoration Movement (also known as the American Restoration Movement or the Stone–Campbell Movement, and pejoratively as Campbellism) is a Christian movement that began on the United States frontier during the Second Great Awakening (17 ...

. The PMA provides services such as emergency medical evacuations, search and rescue operations, medicine and food drops, church support, and passenger and cargo support. Kalau and his wife retired in August 2004. He served as a pastor for the PMA's mission church in Guam, the Pacific Mission Fellowship. He died on 8 January 2014 in

Tamuning, Guam Tamuning, also known as Tamuning-Tumon-Harmon ( ch, Tamuneng) is a village located on the western shore of the United States territory of Guam. The village of Tamuning is the economic center of Guam, containing tourist center Tumon, Harmon Indus ...

. He was survived by his wife, their three children, and their grandchildren.

References

External links