Category: In Memoriam

Comrade Charles (Chuck) Wesley Tuft, age 89, of Seattle, passed away March 20, 2022. He qualified for VFW membership through service in Korea (KSM) 1953-54. Chuck was living away from home when his mother called in late summer of 1952 to tell him his draft notice had arrived in the mail. He didn’t want to be drafted so went to the U.S. Air Force recruiting station. When they asked if he had received his draft notice, he answered (truthfully) that he hadn’t seen it.

He joined the USAF in October of 1952, went through basic, Radio Operator Fundamentals School and graduated from Ground Radio Operator School in August 1953. In a strange coincidence, he was assigned to an Army unit in Korea as a liaison radio operator. The Army unit said they didn’t need him since they had their own radio operators. Chuck said the Army First Sergeant told him to make himself scarce, especially when inspectors or other higher ranks came around. Chuck was successful at that and served his year in Korea playing sports on the Army teams. After Korea he was assigned to a real USAF unit in Japan, where the personnel sergeant wanted to know why he hadn’t received the normal promotion for his time-in-grade. Upon hearing Chuck’s explanation, they promoted him, and he served out his time in Japan and Texas.

For many years, Chuck bowled on the Ballard Post-sponsored team. He was an active member of the post until Covid hit in March 2020.

At our April business meeting, the post charter will be draped with a black cloth for 30 days in his honor. Rest in peace, comrade.

By Harold Rodenberger

 

I never had a chance to speak with Bob Drew. He was an old man when he joined our post. Those who did meet him were impressed with his quiet demeanor and presence of mind. Many of those who knew Bob weren’t aware of his background. He was just another old man who didn’t ask for any special attention or help. He was part of The Greatest Generation and like a lot of old people in our society, he flew under the radar living a quiet life in his old age.

 

But, when he was younger, what a full life he led! 

 

During WWII he was a fighter pilot flying P-38’s and P-51’s in the Pacific Theater. After the war he joined the California National Guard and went to work for Douglas Aircraft as a test pilot, flying the Navy AD Skyraider and F4D Skyray. Working with Douglas until 1962 he flew all manner of fighters, single and multi-engine military and commercial aircraft and anything else that took off. During his test pilot days he flew with future astronauts Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton and other famous test pilots. Since he was attracted to speed, he also flew Formula One pylon racers from 1953 to 1993.

 

In 2000, Bob became a docent for the Museum of Flight. If you happened to have him as a guide while visiting the museum you were in for great guided tour since he had flown many of the planes on display. You can read an article on Bob’s days at the Museum in our May 2017 newsletter.

 

We draped our charter to remember Bob at our meeting held on July 11, 2019, and it remained draped in his honor for thirty days. 

 

Robert E. Drew, WWII fighter pilot, supersonic test pilot, friend of astronauts, Formula One Pylon Racer, museum docent and member of our post, has made his last flight. 

By Harold Rodenberger

 

On Friday, February 8, 2019, four members of our Ballard Eagleson Honor Guard team attended the interment service for Comrade Joseph Small, who was 106 years old when he died.

 

It was snowing while we were waiting for the service to start and I found myself thinking about the changes Joe saw during his lifetime. He was born September 17, 1912, when William Taft was president and he would have been five years old when America entered WWI. When he was a teenager he could have heard first-hand memories from those who lived through the Civil War.

 

Comrade Small saw major changes during his life. From horse powered transportation and farming to the internal combustion engine to self-driving cars, from the first airplanes to jet power and men landing on the moon, and from wall mounted telephones to the cell phones of today. He would have been fifteen years old when the first “talkie” feature film was made and speaking of film, he saw the transition from primitive cameras to sophisticated SLR cameras to filmless cameras small enough to fit in his cell phone.

 

Joe lived through prohibition and saw women’s suffrage become law in 1920. He mailed first class letters for two cents in 1919 and 55 cents last month. He wore clothes made exclusively from natural fibers when he was young and those containing lots of man-made fibers later in his life. These and many other changes Comrade Small lived through during his 106 years on this rapidly changing planet.

 

As I was thinking about these changes, the snow began to fall harder. The USAF funeral detail folded his flag and played Taps with their hats turned white by the snow. Somehow it seemed fitting for Comrade Small, who had fought in snow storms during the Battle of The Bulge in the winter of 1944-45, to be laid to rest in another snow storm seventy-four years later.