Tag: Obituary

  • Call For Attendance

    Call For Attendance

    If you are in the Hagerstown Maryland area, consider paying respects to one of our WWII brothers. Thomas Harold Gilliam passed on 20 Feb at 101 years old.

  • Gail S Halvorsen, the Berlin Candy Bomber, Dead at 101

    Gail S Halvorsen, the Berlin Candy Bomber, Dead at 101

    Gail Halvorsen, the Berlin Candy Bomber, poses for a photo in the backyard of his Provo home days before his 100th birthday on Oct. 10, 2020

    Lee Benson, Deseret News.

    In 1948, when he was a young U.S. Air Force pilot ferrying humanitarian aid in the Berlin airlift, Gail Halvorsen encountered a group of German children standing by the runway at Tempelhof Airport. As the kids peppered him with questions, he reached in his pocket and found two sticks of gum, which he broke into pieces and passed around the crowd. But it wasn’t nearly enough. Looking at the faces of all the kids who had been left out, he had a brainstorm. Tomorrow when he flew in his load of cargo, he promised the children, he would drop small handkerchief parachutes filled with candy and gum on his approach.

    “How will we know it’s you?” they asked.“I’ll wiggle my wings,” said Halvorsen.

    The legend of the Berlin Candy Bomber was born.

    Gail S. “Hal” Halvorsen died Wednesday night at Utah Valley Hospital in Provo after a brief illness, according to the Gail S. Halvorsen Aviation Education Foundation. He was 101.

    Halvorsen leaves behind a legacy of giving and generosity that goes far beyond the 21 tons of candy he and his fellow pilots collectively dropped to the children of Berlin in 1948 and 1949. Spurred by that event, he continued to participate in humanitarian causes throughout his life, including candy and toy drops across America and countries around the world. He took part in relief efforts in Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo, Japan, Guam, Iraq and the Micronesian islands.

    He steadfastly attributed his lifetime of service to “those two sticks of gum.”A Utah native, Halvorsen was born Oct. 10, 1920, in the farm town of Garland in northern Utah. Growing up during the Great Depression in the 1930s, he worked in his father’s fields, hoeing sugar beets while gazing skyward every time the commercial airplane flew overhead on its route between Salt Lake City and Malad, Idaho. Mesmerized, the teenager daydreamed about what it would feel like to fly.When he was 19, his dream materialized when he won a scholarship from what is now the Federal Aviation Administration to study for, and receive, a pilot’s license at the Brigham City airport. Two years later, in May of 1942, five months after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and America entered World War II, Halvorsen joined the United States Army Air Corps as an aviator. During the war he flew C-54 cargo planes in the South Atlantic, stationed in Natal, Brazil.

    After the war ended in 1945, Halvorsen remained in the service, choosing to make the U.S. Air Force (the Army Air Corps’ successor) his career. His proficiency flying the C-54 resulted in his being assigned to the yearlong Berlin airlift that began in July of 1948 in a divided Germany. Halvorsen was one of dozens of pilots assigned to transport food, clothing and other necessities from air bases in West Germany to citizens living in the western sector of Berlin who had been cut off from outside support by the Soviet Union, the overseer of East Germany.

    At first, Halvorsen made his candy drops surreptitiously, not sure if his extracurricular missions of mercy would be officially allowed. But when his commanders learned of what he was doing, he was not only encouraged, but given official approval. The effort was called “Operation Little Vittles,” to differentiate it from the name given to the overall Berlin airlift of “Operation Vittles.”

    When news of the Berlin Candy Bomber filtered back to America, the story met with considerable interest and attention. Halvorsen and his squadmates were flooded with cards and letters of support. National candy companies contributed candy and other confections that were collected in Massachusetts and sent to Germany.

    Following his duties with the airlift, Halvorsen obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aeronautical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology and worked in research and development at various bases in the U.S. and abroad from 1952 to 1970.

    At that point the U.S. Air Force assigned him to be commander of Tempelhof Central Airport in Berlin — a place Halvorsen knew well. He spent four years in Berlin, where he was reunited with many of the kids (now adults) he once dropped candy to, before retiring from the service in 1974.

    In 1976 he returned to Utah and became assistant dean of student life at Brigham Young University, a position he held until he retired from academia in 1986.

    Halvorsen married fellow Utahn Alta Jolley in 1949 and together they had five children. Alta died in 1999, just months short of their 50th wedding anniversary. Later, Halvorsen married Lorraine Pace.

    So-called retirement did not slow Halvorsen down a step. After he left BYU he worked on his farm in Spanish Fork and concentrated on the myriad opportunities afforded him as a result of “those two sticks of gum.”

    In and around missions he and Alta served for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in England and Russia, he participated in any number of candy drops and candy drop reenactments.

    In 2002, author Margot Raven published “Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot,” based on Halvorsen’s relationship with one of the German girls who caught candy he dropped during the airlift. The book was used in elementary school classrooms across America to educate students about the Cold War. As often as he could, Halvorsen would comply with requests to come to schoolsand let the children hear stories from the Berlin Candy Bomber himself.

    In 1998, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift, Halvorsen took part in a 69-day tour sponsored by the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation that crisscrossed Europe and the U.K. in a vintage C-54 cargo plane.

    For his accomplishments at improving American-German relations and inspiring countless others to humanitarian service, Halvorsen received numerous honors and awards. The U.S. Air Force bestowed on him its Cheney Award, for outstanding humanitarian work, and its Legion of Merit, for exceptional meritorious conduct, while also creating the Col. Gail Halvorsen Award, for outstanding air transportation support.

    In addition, the Air Force named the Halvorsen Loader (an aircraft loading device) and the Halvorsen C-17 Aircrew Training Center in Charleston, S.C., after him. In Germany, the Gail S. Halvorsen School in Berlin and the Gail S. Halvorsen Elementary School at Rhein-Main Air Base in Frankfurt bear his name.The German government awarded Halvorsen its Service Cross to the Order of Merit, bestowed upon him in 1974.

    In 2001 Halvorsen was inducted into the Utah Aviation Hall of Fame. In 2014 he received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award the U.S. Congress can give to a civilian. In 2015 the FAA chose him to receive its Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award. In 2017 the Utah Legislature passed a resolution honoring Halvorsen for “unselfish acts that brought honor to himself, his family, the United States military, the citizens of the state of Utah, and the citizens of the United States.”

    In 2012, shortly after he turned 92, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (now the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square) adopted Halvorsen’s candy bomber story as the theme for its Christmas concert, “Christmas From Heaven,” which was narrated by Tom Brokaw and later turned into a book. A number of other books have been written about the Berlin candy drop, including Halvorsen’s own quasi-autobiography, “The Berlin Candy Bomber,” first published in 2010.“

    In man’s search for fulfillment and happiness, material rewards pale compared to the importance of gratitude, integrity and service before self,” Halvorsen wrote on his website before his death. “Service to others before self … is the only true recipe by which full fulfillment may be attained in this life. It is one of the core values of the United States Air Force. Today the Air Mobility Command, in the Airlift tradition, launches a mission of mercy every 90 seconds somewhere around the world. The American flag on the aircraft tail is the symbol of hope to those in deep despair from whatever the source of oppression.”

  • Brigadier General Charles McGee, Tuskegee Airman Dead at 102

    Brigadier General Charles McGee, Tuskegee Airman Dead at 102

    Brigadier General Charles McGee has passed away, He was 102. McGee was one of the last surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen.

    Born in Cleveland, Ohio on December 7, 1919, McGee enlisted in the Army Air Forces on October 26, 1942. McGee was one of the first pilots to graduate from the Army’s experimental program at Tuskegee Institute in June 1943. He would spend the next 30 years in uniform.  Charles McGee ended his service to his country having flown more combat missions in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam than any other Air Force pilot.

    During his 30 year career, he was awarded the  Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters, Bronze Star Medal, Air Medal with 25 oak leaf clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster and the Army Commendation Medal among others.

    Until Valhalla Redtail

  • Former Nevada Senator Harry Reid Dead at 82

    Former Nevada Senator Harry Reid Dead at 82

    Former US Senate majority leader Harry Reid has died. He was 82.

    In the Senate from 1987 until 2017, Reid was the majority leader from 2007 until 2015.

    Reid was instrumental in blowing up the judicial filibuster, leading to Trump’s appointment of 3 Supreme Court Justices.

  • Richard Marcinko SeAL Team 6 Plank Owner Dead at 81

    Richard Marcinko SeAL Team 6 Plank Owner Dead at 81

    Richard Marcinko, also known as the Rogue Warrior passed yesterday at the age of 81 his family has announced.

    Marcinko enlisted in the Navy in 1958 after being passed over by the Marine Corps. He was commissioned as an Ensign in 1962 and was assigned to SeAL team two. In 1967 he was sent to Vietnam. At one point the Viet Cong had a 50,000 piastre bounty on his head.

    In the aftermath of Operation Eagle Claw, the attempted rescue of American hostages held in Iran, Marcinko was tapped to lead the Navy’s counter-terrorism efforts. That led to the formation of DEVGRU also known as SeAL team 6. Marcinko was also instrumental in the formation of the RED CELL, and probed the defenses of various military installations.

    Marcinko earned a Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with V device and two oak leaf clusters and a Navy Commendation medal during his service.

    Dick’s time in the service was not without controversy. He served 15 months of a 22 month sentence in federal prison after being convicted on a charge of attempting to defraud the government. Marcinko maintains he was the victim of a witch-hunt because of the findings of the RED CELL team.

    Fair Seas and following winds CDR Marcinko.

  • Edward Shames, Last Surviving Easy Company Officer Dies at 99

    Edward Shames, Last Surviving Easy Company Officer Dies at 99

    Edward D. Shames, age 99, passed away peacefully at home on December 3, 2021.

    Ed was born in Norfolk, Virginia on June 13, 1922, to the late David and Sadie Shames. In August, 1942, Ed was called to duty in World War II. During the war, he was a member of the renowned Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division now known globally as the “Band of Brothers.” Ed was involved in some of the most important battles of the war. He made his first combat jump into Normandy on D-Day as part of Operation Overlord. He volunteered for Operation Pegasus and then fought with Easy Company in Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne. Ed gained a reputation as a stubborn and very outspoken soldier who demanded the highest of standards from himself and his fellow soldiers. He not only earned the respect of his men, but was recognized by command for outstanding leadership and on June 13, 1944, he received a battlefield commission to Second Lieutenant. This made him the first non-commissioned officer in the Third Battalion to receive a commission in Normandy.

    In Germany, he was the first member of the 101st to enter Dachau concentration camp, just days after its liberation. When Germany surrendered, Ed and his men of Easy Company entered Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest where Ed managed to acquire a few bottles of cognac, a label indicating they were “for the Fuhrer’s use only.” Later, he would use the cognac to toast his oldest son’s Bar Mitzvah.

    Ed was the last surviving officer and oldest surviving member of the “Band of Brothers.” On November 6, 2021, the American Veterans Center at its annual Veterans Conference and Honors program gave a final toast to Ed and presented him with the distinguished Doolittle Tokyo Raiders Wings of Valor Award.After the war, Ed worked for the National Security Agency as an expert on Middle East affairs. He also served in the U.S. Army Reserve Division and later retired as a Colonel.

    Ed was preceded in death by his devoted and beloved wife, Ida. They had a beautiful and loving marriage for 73 years. They traveled the world together making lifelong friends. Ed is survived by his beloved family: his sons, Steven (Linda) and Douglas (Ilene); his grandchildren, Sarah (Matthew), Samuel (Holly), Aaron (Rachel), and Rebecca (Anthony); and his 12 great-grandchildren.

    https://www.hollomon-brown.com/obituaries/Edward-D-Shames?obId=23292641#/obituaryInfo

  • Colin Powell Dead at 84

    Colin Powell Dead at 84

    Former Secretary of State Colin Powell has died. His death has been attributed to COVID 19, although he had been battling multiple myeloma for several years.

    “General Colin L. Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, passed away this morning due to complications from Covid 19,” the Powell family wrote on Facebook. “We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American,” they said, noting he was fully vaccinated.

    Born in Harlem in 1937, Powell attended City College of New York and joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps while there. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant upon graduation. As a Captain, he served a tour in Vietnam as an ARVN advisor.

    He served as National Security Advisor for President Ronald Reagan from 1987 to 1989. Powell was promoted to four-star general in April 1989. Later that year, he was selected by President George H. W. Bush as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and served as such until September 1993.

    Powell then served as Secretary of State under George W. Bush, from 2001 to 2005.

  • We Were Soldiers Once. . .

    We Were Soldiers Once. . .

    And Young.

    That was the title of the book written by General Hal Moore and reporter Joe Galloway. It described the combat in the Ia Drang valley between the  First and Second Battalions of the 7th Cavalry Regiment and the North Vietnamese. It was the first large unit combat of that war. Prior engagements had been squad and platoon sized engagements.

    Galloway was born in Bryan Texas on November 13, 1941. After majoring in journalism at Victoria college, Joe started his career at the Victoria Advocate in Victoria Texas, later moving to UPI. While working for UPI, Galloway was assigned to cover the growing conflict in Vietnam.

    His experiences in the Ia Drang with then LtCol Hal Moore made their way into print in 1992 with the publication of We Were Soldiers Once. . . And Young.

    Joe Galloway in Vietnam 1965

    In 1998, Joe was awarded the Bronze Star with V for his actions on LZ XRay on 15 November 1965. 24 year old Galloway repeatedly put himself into harm’s way trying to get wounded soldiers much needed medical care. He was the only civilian in US military history to be awarded any medal for Valor.

    I was somebody when I went to Vietnam. I was somebody else when I came out,” he said. “Eighty young American Soldiers laid down their lives so I could survive to tell their story. I have felt an incredible obligation and weight to tell their stories. I have done my best to live up to that obligation every day since then.

    Joseph L Galloway died of a heart attack yesterday at the age of 79.


    Requiescat in pace.

  • George Shultz Dead At 100

    George Shultz Dead At 100

    George Shultz, Secretary of State under Ronald Reagan had died. He was 100.

     Born December 13, 1920 in New York City, Shultz attended Princeton University. Shultz served as a Marine officer during WWII, rising to the rank of Captain as an artilleryman. Following WWII, Shultz attended MIT where he graduated with a Ph.D. in industrial economics.

    In 1954, he took a position on President Eisenhower’s council of economic advisors. He served as Labor Secretary, the first director of the OMB and finally as Treasury Secretary under Richard NIxon before leaving government service to work in the private sector.

    In 1982 he accepted Ronald Reagan’s nomination as Secretary of State. He held that office from 1982 to 1989. During his tenure as Secretary of State, Shultz diffused tensions with China over Taiwan, helped broker an uneasy peace deal between Israel and Lebanon, negotiated the INF treaty with the Soviet Union, eventually overseeing the dissolution of the Great Bear.

    He was married to Helena “Obie” O’Brien, an Army nurse he met during World War II, and they had five children together. Two years after her death, in 1997, he married Charlotte Maillard, San Francisco’s protocol chief. Shultz is survived by Maillard, his five children, 11 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

  • Former Heavyweight Champ Leon Spinks Dead at 67

    Former Heavyweight Champ Leon Spinks Dead at 67

    Former World champion and Olympic gold medal boxer Leon Spinks has died after a battle with cancer.

    Spinks fought as a light heavyweight in the 1976 Olympic games in Montreal. He defeated Sixto Soria to win the gold medal. Spinks finished his amateur career with a record of 178–7 with 133 knockouts.

    Spinks shocked the boxing world when he beat Muhammad Ali for the undisputed heavyweight championship in 1978. It was his 8th professional bout. He gave the title back to Ali seven months later, losing by decision after a 15 round fight.