Obituaries

[Wayne Little]

[herman1rg]

One who many may have forgotten has passed away

Air Commodore Ted Sismore - Telegraph


Rest In Peace Sir.

[Airframes]

Very sad news. I had the great pleasure of corresponding with Ted for some time, and then the honour and privilege of spending a week with him, and other Mossie and Mustang crews, In Copenhagen for the 50th anniversary of the Shell House raid.
A real gentlemen of the old school, modest and warm-hearted, and with some incredible anecdotes, especially about his early war service.
RIP Ted.

[Gnomey]

[Wayne Little]

[ontos]

Another hero of the great generation passed on 20March2012.

John "Jack" Wesley Starr

John Jack Wesley Starr
John “Jack” Wesley Starr, 90, born July 26, 1921, passed away on March 20, 2012.
Jack was a resident of Banning for 11 years. He passed away at home surrounded by his daughters and son-in-law.
Jack was a P-38 Pilot during WWII stationed in Okinawa, Japan. He was a member of the 28th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron. He flew the P-38 F-5 airplane without armor or guns.
He was honorably discharged as a 1st Lieutenant of the United States Army Air Corps in 1946.
Jack was born and raised in Brush, Colorado by Charles William and Dora Corbett-Starr. School in Brush held his favorite memory, “Found my true love, Virginia Mae Scott” to whom he was married 70 years. They married in 1940 in Brush before he was drafted in June 1942.

He became an Air Force Aviation Cadet on April 1, 1943. Jack graduated from the University of Denver in 1949 majoring in business management. He worked in the trucking industry as management for Sealand, Time-DC and Transcon.
Jack was predeceased by his wife, Virginia, who died on 11-1-09.
He is survived by daughter, Pamela Phillips and husband Ken Phillips, daughter, Julianne Starr, grandchildren Julianne Dawkins-DeSpain and husband Mike DeSpain, Wyman and wife Erika Lancaster, Tiffany and husband Tracey Gunneman, Lindsey and husband Greg John and great-grandchildren Ty Dawkins, Abigail Dawkins and Walter and Adam DeSpain, Jason and Stacie Webster and four great-great grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held on April 10, 2012, 1 p.m. at the Riverside National Cemetery where he will be awarded full military honors.
A Celebration of Life will immediately follow the ceremony at the March Air Reserve Base Museum, P-38 Hanger where he was one of the original docents.
In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations be made to the P-38 National Association at the March Air Reserve Base, 22550 Van Buren Blvd., Riverside, Ca. 92518.

[vikingBerserker]

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

[Gnomey]

[Airframes]

Another of the "faded photos, enclosed in brown leather frames" who has sadly passed.
R.I.P. 'Jack'.

[Bernhart]

just passed yesterday

Friends and acquaintances of Len Wilson were mourning his death and recalling his affable manner and quiet determination as a former Stratford city councillor, school teacher and veteran of the Second World War.

Wilson, who was 88, died Tuesday in the presence of his family, including his wife Mary.

Harry Nesbitt, himself a Second World War vet and a former teacher, recalled that Wilson taught with him years ago at Stratford Northwestern Secondary School.

"I used to chat with him quite often. I used to meet him at the legion every Remembrance Day," said Nesbitt. "First of all, he was a fine gentleman, a person you could trust. I held him in high regard."

Coun. Keith Culliton, who was Stratford's mayor back in the 1970s when Wilson was an alderman for a couple of terms, said he and Wilson held similar political views.

"I felt he had a very quiet understanding of the city's problems, but if he had a good idea he was determined to sell it. He provided a tremendous service to the citizens of this city as a councillor."

Culliton recalled Wilson's more recent and impassioned presentation to city council about removing the evergreen tree in front of city hall. (Wilson felt the tree obscuring the view of the heritage building was ill-advised.)

"He was a great councillor.... I'm sorry that he has passed away," said Culliton.

As a city alderman, Wilson was an advocate for preserving the city's 19th-century buildings.

Bob Cassels, a past president of the Dominion Command of the Army Navy and Air Force Veterans Association and current president of the Ontario Command, said Wilson was "a fine gentleman."

He recalled Wilson had taught his daughter at Northwestern.

"He was very meticulous about everything. He kept records of everything," said Cassels. "He was quite a guy. I always found him very nice to talk to."

Cassels was instrumental in arranging a D-Day trip to Normandy in 2009 for Wilson with Veterans Affairs.

A fighter pilot with RCAF 442 Squadron, Wilson's Spitfire squadron supported the Allied invasion as it moved across northern France and into the Netherlands. The squadron later converted to Mustangs in support of Bomber Command and participated in the last RCAF operational sortie of the war during the liberation of the Channel Islands on May 9, 1945, a day after the Allied victory had been declared.

In a 2009 interview recalling his wartime experience, Wilson credited a U.S. pilot for saving his life when his aircraft came under attack from German planes on New Year's Day 1945.

Wilson re-enlisted in the RCAF during the Korean War and served at RCAF Centralia as a flying instructor before moving on to other military postings during the Cold War.

He taught high school business subjects in Stratford and Elmira from 1970-85.

The veteran would also share his wartime experiences with students as a guest speaker at Remembrance Day assemblies.

A celebration of Wilson's life is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday at St. John's United Church.

A full obituary was published Wednesday in The Beacon Herald.

[Gnomey]

[Njaco]

to all who have gone before.

[vikingBerserker]

[B-17engineer]

Don Bryan 328 FS 352nd FG ace passed away. Was just informed by email from Punchy Powell another 352nd pilot