Georgia Air National Guard Flies Training Mission in Support of Ground Observer Corps

 By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

 

Georgia Air National Guard pilots and plotters supported Air Defense Command during an exercise Dec. 14, 1952.[1] The purpose of the mission was to test the effectiveness of the Ground Observer Corps, a volunteer program of the Office of Civil Defense which organized and trained citizens to spot and report enemy aircraft activity.

 

Capt. Glenn Herd, operations officer of the 128th Fighter Bomber Squadron in an F-51 with his crew chief TSgt. Moore. Herd flew more than 100
combat missions over Korea and was credited with shooting down a MiG 15. Georgia National Guard Archives

Pilots of the 128^th Fighter Bomber Squadron were tasked with flying specific courses over north and central Georgia. The pilots were briefed on their specific flight patterns by Capt. Glenn Herd, operations officer of the 128^th FBS. Lieutenant William Tennent was assigned to fly the northwest mission corridor in a T-6 while Captains Doug Embry and Merrill Nuss flew a second T-6 on a course over southwest Georgia. Lieutenant Robert W. Carmichael, piloting an F-51 H Mustang flew over northeast Georgia.

With the exact flight paths known, Guardsmen of the 129^th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, commanded by Capt. W. H. Thomason, plotted the positions of the aircraft as they were reported through the Atlanta Filter Center by Observer Corps volunteers across the state. Capt. W. W. Lee, a controller with the 129^th supervised ten Guardsmen who tracked the aircraft and plotted their positions. In remarks following the exercise, Lee concluded that the Guardsmen demonstrated capability and skill in performing their assigned mission and was confident that they would be able to carry out their duties in the event of a real emergency.

 

Maj. Walter H. Thomason, with plaque, original commander of the 129th Air Control and Warning Squadron with original members of the unit at Thomason’s
retirement ceremony in December 1959. Left to right, kneeling: Capt. Thomas Burns, Maj. George J. Patsois, Maj. Walter H. Thomason Jr., Capt. Robert L. Robinson Jr.,
Capt. Curtis Walker and MSgt. Roy Largin. Back Row: WO Lynn S. Elliott, Capt. Iverson Copeland, Lt. Ben J. Nash, Lt. Warren Montgomery, MSgt. Lackland
and Capt. Pete Cross. A Georgia National Guard Soldier before World War II, Thomason flew B-17s in Europe and earned the
Distinguished Flying Cross. Thomason commanded the 129th from its organization Oct. 13, 1952 to his retirement in December 1959. 

Organized in World War II to facilitate early detection of enemy aircraft, the Ground Observer Corps was reorganized in Georgia in January 1951 with a call for 15,000 volunteers.[2] The Atlanta Air Defense Filter Center was located at 2939 Peachtree Road Northeast. Staffed by U.S. Air Force personnel and Ground Observer Corps volunteers, the Filter Center was capable of conducting 24-hour operations to supplement radar networks in receiving and transmitting information for interception of hostile aircraft.[3]

 

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[1] “Air Guard flies Defense Mission.” The Georgia Guardsman. January 1953, 11.

 

[2] Katherine Barnwell. “700 Plane Observation Posts Due for Georgia.” Atlanta Constitution. Dec. 26, 1951, 15.

 

[3] “Filter Center Open House Set May 17.” Atlanta Constitution, May 6, 1953, 13.

Georgia Air National Guard Goes Global with Globemaster

 By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

On Dec. 7, 1966, Maj. Gen. George Hearn, Georgia’s Adjutant General announces Georgia’s 116th MAG is the first Guard unit
to field the C-124 Globemaster. Georgia National Guard Archives.

On Dec. 7, 1966, the Georgia National Guard’s 116^th Military Airlift Group became the first Air Guard unit in the nation to receive the C-124 Globemaster from the United States Air Force. In announcing the receipt of the new aircraft, Maj. Gen. Georgie Hearn, Georgia’s Adjutant General. observed that Georgia is one of three states in the nation to replace the C-97 Stratofreighter airframe with the larger C-124.[1]

The reallotment of Air Force military airlift assets came on the heels of Lockheed-Georgia’s production of the C-141 Starlifters. To make room for the new four-jet transport aircraft, the U.S. Air Force looked to transfer its inventory of C-124s to the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve.

This C-141 Starlifter on the concrete apron at Lockeed Company in Marietta, Ga. in August 1963 dwarfs a C-47 Skytrain and C-130 Hercules.
This aircraft made its first flight Dec. 17,1963. Georgia National Guard Archives.

The arrival of the C-124 Globemaster came at a time when the Georgia Air National Guard was conducting three global airlift missions per month to Vietnam. With a capacity one and a half times that of the C-97, the Globemaster provided additional capacity and range for the ever-expanding global mission of the Georgia Air National Guard.

The C-124 Globemaster was assigned to the Ga. ANG in December 1966 replacing the C-97 Stratofreighter. Stratofreighters are visible
to the left in this image from Dobbins AFB. Georgia National Guard Archives.

The first of the behemoth four engine aircraft arrived at Dobbins Air Force Base at 10:30 a.m. and was immediately mobbed by a curious crowd of media, pilots and mechanics of the 128^th Airlift Squadron curious to see first-hand the aircraft that would replace the C-97 which had served the Ga. ANG since 1961.[2] With a wingspan of 174 feet, a length of 130 feet and a capacity of 25 tons, the C-124 had a slower cruising speed than the C-97 but had 50 percent greater range.

The Georgia Air National Guard took used the massive cargo capacity of the C-124 Globemaster to further its military air transport mission around the globe
into the 1970s. Georgia National Guard Archives.

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[1] “State Guard First to Get Globemaster.” The Atlanta Constitution. Dec. 9, 1966, 13.

 

[2] “Ga ANG First to Get C-124s; 116th MAG Conversion Began 7 Dec.” The Georgia Guardsman Magazine, January 1967, 3.

Pearl Harbor and the Impact on the Georgia National Guard

 By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

 

December 7, 1941 edition of the Sunday Times of Jacksonville, Fla. announcing the attack on Pearl Harbor with unit insignia of the Ga. National Guard
that had been called to active service as well as the Georgia State Guard.  

The morning of December 7, 1941 promised to be a routine off-duty day for the 5,200 Georgia National Guard Soldiers in federal service across the country. The vast majority of these service members had entered federal service Sept 16, 1940[1] and, following a week’s preparation at home station, mobilized to camps of instruction. Units of the 30th Division had arrived at Fort Jackson in several waves beginning with the Springfield-based 30th MP Company and Atlanta’s Company H, 105th Medical Regiment on September 20. The 121st Infantry Regiment would follow on September 23 and the 118th Field Artillery would join them September 25. At the time, no one knew how long the Soldiers would be gone. Orders were for one year, but with the situation growing grimmer in Europe one year seemed optimistic. In the end, the majority would spend the next five years in active service.

 “The government mobilized the National Guards before Pearl Harbor. We knew that the war was coming, and we knew…everybody knew that the United States would be involved in it before it was over.” - Sgt. Corbett Ward Clark, Battery E, 179th Field Artillery, Georgia National Guard.

By December 1941, Georgia’s Citizen Soldiers and Airmen had progressed beyond initial instruction and had completed field maneuvers in Tennessee and South Carolina. Georgia National Guard Soldiers of the 101^st Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, formerly the 108^th Cavalry Regiment, returned from the Carolina Maneuvers December 2 and worked diligently recovering equipment and conducting final inventories in hopes of receiving a weekend pass – their first of several months. On the afternoon of December 6, their commander, Col. Joseph Fraser addressed the men, thanking them for their efforts in Carolina and then released the formation on what was supposed to be a long weekend home with family. Only a charge of quarters and kitchen detail remained in each battery area of Camp Stewart. One member of CQ, less than 48 miles from home, begrudgingly mused, “It’d be funny as hell if we really went to war tomorrow and those birds lost a few hours leave, wouldn’t it?” [2]

 

Battery A, 101st Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion at Camp Stewart six months before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Prior to October 1940
this unit had served as Troop A, 108th Cavalry - The Georgia Hussars. Georgia National Guard Archives.

Less than 24 hours later, wire reports of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor prompted the recall of all personnel on leave and installations across the country were placed on high alert. Over the next four years, Georgia’s Citizen Soldiers would serve through Europe and the Pacific. The 101^st AAA AWB would be the first Georgia National Guard mobilized overseas and was the first American combat unit to arrive at Port Moresby, New Guinea in May 1942.[3] Through the remainder of the year, the 101st defended the skies over five airdromes ensuring Allied victory in New Guinea. For its gallant conduct, the 101^st was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation.[4]

 

Summary of unit actions for the 214th Coast Artillery Regiment Jan. 16, 1943.  Georgia National Guard Archives.

Also serving in the Pacific Theater, the 214^th Coast Artillery was assigned to protect Henderson Field on Guadalcanal.[5] Seven Georgia National Guard battalions would wade ashore on Normandy’s Beaches in 1944 and fight east helping to secure victory against Germany. Meanwhile, the 128^th Observation Squadron was organized in Atlanta in 1941 and mobilized to provide anti-submarine defense over the Atlantic Ocean.

 

While many of Georgia’s Guardsmen would continue to serve in federalized units of the National Guard, others would volunteer for Airborne service and give their lives in Sicily, France and the Netherlands. Still others joined the Air Corps flying combat missions in in all theaters of the war. Of the 5,200 of Georgia’s Citizen Soldiers who were mobilized Dec. 7, 1941, nearly 200 never came home.

More than seventy Georgia National Guard company-sized units served in World War II. Three of these units are profiled below:

Georgia National Guard Soldiers of Battery F, 179th FAR at Camp Blanding in 1941. Georgia National Guard Archives.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Georgia National Guard Soldiers of the Atlanta-based Battery F, 179th Field Artillery Regiment were training at Camp Blanding, Fla. when Pearl Harbor was attacked. In 1942, the 179th FAR was reorganized as the 179th and 945th FA Battalions with Battery F becoming Battery C, 945th FA. Both battalions served in the European Theater. Five Soldiers of Battery F, 179th FAR were killed in action in the course of the war. Battery F, 179^th FAR continues in service today as the 116^th Army Band, a unit of the 78^th Troop Command.

 

April 1941 - Soldiers of Company A, 121st Infantry Regiment at Fort Jackson, S.C. Georgia National Guard Archives. 

Company A, 121st Infantry Regiment landed on Utah Beach July 4, 1944. Battling across Northern France into Germany, ten Georgia National Guard Soldiers of Company A were killed in action in the course of the war. The 121st Infantry Regiment continues to serve as part of the Macon-based 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. 

Members of the 128th Observation Squadron Sept. 8, 1941.

Activated in May 1941 in Atlanta, the 128th Observation Squadron trained at Lawson Field before Pearl Harbor. The following year, the 128th mobilized to the Atlantic Coast and began antisubmarine operations. It ended the war flying B-17 bombers as the 840th Bombardment Squadron in Europe. Nine Citizen Soldiers of the 128th OS were killed during the war. The unit continues to serve in the 116th Air Control Wing, Georgia Air National Guard.

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[1] Sion B. Hawkins “General Order 13-MD-GA 41” Military Department, State of Georgia Oct. 7, 1941.

 

[2] Lindsey P Henderson. Come What Will: A Military History of the 101st AAA Automatic Weapons Battalion, 15 October 1940 to VJ Day 1945, 6.

 

[3] Richard W. Titus. A Chronicle of Georgia’s 101^st Separate Coast Artillery Battalion, Antiaircraft, Automatic Weapons Limited to the Period February 16, 1942 to January 1, 1944. First American Ground Troops in New Guinea. (Crabapple, Ga.: Richard Titus June 1986) 2-31.

[4] George C. Marshall. “General Order. No. 21”. (Washington: War Department May 6, 1943).

 

[5] Center for Military History “Lineage and Honors Certificate, 214^th Field Artillery Regiment.”

1953: Crash Kils Four Ga. ANG Pilots

 By Major William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

 

Left to right: Capt. Idon Hodge Jr., 1st Lt. Samuel Dixon Jr., 1st Lt. Elwood Kent, 2nd Lt. William Tennent. Georgia National Guard Archives.

At 10:20 p.m. Dec. 5, 1953 four F-84 Thunderjets of the Georgia Air National Guard took off from Miami airport bound for Dobbins Air Force Base. At the controls of the lead jet was Capt. Idon Hodge Jr., a veteran of World War II and Korea. Following him in formation were 1^st Lt. Samuel Dixon Jr., 1^st Lt. Elwood Kent and 2^nd Lt. William Tennent.[1] One hour prior to take off the pilots had received a weather advisory from Dobbins indicating a ceiling of 12,000 feet, but by 10:30, the ceiling had dropped to 600 feet. Just before midnight, Hodge radioed the Atlanta Naval Air Station to advise that the pilots were starting their descent from 27,000 feet. The aircraft began a gradual descent through fog and rain. Atlanta Naval Air Station, monitoring radio traffic heard the pilots discussing the worsening weather.[2]

A flight of four F-84D Thunderjets flies in tight formation circa 1950. Georgia National Guard Archives.

At twelve minutes after midnight December 6, several eyewitnesses reported a flash of light followed by a loud explosion. A local hunter was the closest eyewitness. After seeing the flash from a Gwinnett County Farm, Grady Johnson rushed to a neighbor’s house and notified the Naval Air Station of the explosion. He then rushed in the direction of the explosion. Reaching the crash site he discovered burning wreckage and one body. Johnson returned to the neighbor’s house to report the discovery then waited at a nearby crossroads for responders. Johnson flagged down Deputy Sheriff Lamar Crowe and directed him to the crash site. The men reached a burning farmhouse which had been struck by the aircraft flying in tight formation. The family who lived in the farmhouse were fortunately visiting family in Suwanee at the time of the accident.[3]

Air Force and National Guard officials rushed to the crash site. Among the first to reach the scene was Maj. Gen. Ernest Vandiver, Georgia’s Adjutant General. On order of Governor Herman Talmadge, a 45 Soldiers of the Atlanta-based 122^nd Infantry Regiment under command of Capt. Robert Hickman was detailed to guard the crash site. By dawn, officials began the grim task of searching through the crash site. Surveying the scene, Vandiver beheld an impact area perhaps 100 feet wide leading the general to surmise that the aircraft were flying in tight formation when the pilots became disoriented. Vandiver remained on site for nearly six hours until all four pilots had been positively identified. Vandiver directed notification of family members, many of whom had already gathered at Dobbins awaiting updates with fellow pilots of the 128^th Fighter Squadron. Capt. Charles Allen recalled all four as personal friends and excellent pilots. First Lt. Willis Carmichael recalled his friend Lt. Tennent as an excellent pilot from their days together in preliminary pilot training.[4]

A United States Air Force investigation recommended a redesign of cockpit altimeters concluding that leading cause of the accident was a misreading of altitude under instrument flight conditions. Altimeters recovered from wreckage appeared to read 11,000 feet instead of the actual 1,100 feet above sea level. Joel Paris, future Adjutant General of Georgia was a captain in the 128^th FS at the time of the accident and recalled "The lighting was not real good in those jets and the altimeters were hard to read… it had a short, skinny needle that only moved one-fourth inch for every 10,000 feet. It could hide behind the other needle."[5]

In 2003, Ben Cole, a Suwanee resident organized an effort to dedicate a monument on the 50^th-anniversary of the crash and in 2006 completed Four Down on Old Peachtree Road, which examines the crash and subsequent investigation.

Plaque in Suwannee honoring the fallen Ga. ANG aviators.

In Memoria

Idon Marion Hodge Jr. was born May 16, 1923 to Idon and Ruby Hodge of Charleston West Virginia. Hodge’s father was an accountant. Hodge enlisted in the U.S. Army Medical Administration Corps May 20, 1942. He ended the war as a captain assigned as operations officer to the 39^th Fighter Squadron, 35^th Fighter Group in the Pacific Theater where he shot down three enemy aircraft. After the war he studied chemical engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. On March 26, 1949, Hodge married Quincy Alexander of Pineville, N.C. at the Duke University Chapel in Durham, N.C. On Oct. 5, 1950, Hodge was activated with the Georgia National Guard’s 128^th Fighter Squadron for service in Korea. Following his tour of duty he accepted assignment in France. In June 1953, the Hodges returned to the United States. He was survived by his wife and children Nancy and Bill. He is buried in Arlington, Va.

 

Samuel Peyton Dixon Jr. was born August 29, 1922 in Florida to Samuel and Nancy Edwards. By 1930 he lived at the Georgia Military Academy Married Mary Bunch. He enlisted in the U.S. Army May 7, 1942. During the war he was awarded the Air Medal with oak leaf cluster. Dixon was to have graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1954 with a degree in aeronautical engineering. He is buried in Marietta National Cemetery.

 

Elwood Campbell Kent was born in Memphis, Tenn. in 1925 and graduated from Memphis Tech High School. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps Sept 18, 1943 in Miami, Fla. Completing pilot training Kent was assigned to the 2510^th Army Air Force Base Unit in Texas. After World War II, Kent joined the Georgia Air National Guard and served with the 128^th Fighter Squadron from 1947 to 1949 while employed with the Virginia State Highway Department. He graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1949 with a degree in civil engineering and married June McDaniel later that year. The family lived in Atlanta where Kent was employed as a civil engineer. He rejoined the unit in 1952. He is buried in Westview Cemetery in Atlanta. He was survived by his wife June.

 

William Alston Tennent was born in Augusta, Ga. 1928 to Henry and Attie Tennent. In 1932, Tennent’s father, an optician, died and the family moved to Atlanta. He graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1951 with a degree in industrial management.

 

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[1] “In Memorium.” Georgia Guardsman. December 1953, 2.

 

[2] “Four Atlanta Pilots Are Hurled to Fiery Death as Jets Crash During Gwinnett Rainstorm.” Atlanta Constitution. Dec 7, 1953, 1.

[3] “Hunters Rushed to Pyre of Jets After Explosion.” Atlanta Constitution. Dec 7, 1953, 10.

 

[4] “Fliers’ Pals Carried Tragic News to Kin.” Atlanta Constitution. Dec 7, 1953, 10.

 

[5] “Book recounts 1953 Suwanee Plane Crash.” Gwinnett Daily Post. Dec 6, 2006.

Dec. 5, 1957: Rome, Douglasville Guardsmen Rush to Scene of Massive Explosion

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard.

 

Aerial image of the blast that appeared in the Dec. 6, 1957 edition of the Atlanta Constitution.

Just after 11:00 in the morning the business district of Villa Rica Georgia, a town of 1,700, was shattered by a massive explosion. In an instant, four buildings were destroyed, and debris hurled in all directions damaged buildings for blocks. Stunned citizens beheld images of collapsed structures and scattered fires and immediately began the frantic search for survivors.[1]

Telephone calls to the State Department of Defense Headquarters were relayed by the Department of State Civil Defense to fire, medical and rescue organizations. Jack Grantham, communications coordinator for the Civil Defense also coordinated directly with State Patrol to marshal resources to the stricken town. The Governor requested immediate assistance from the Georgia National Guard.[2] Coincidentally, 25 Citizen Soldiers of Rome’s Company A, 163^rd Tank Battalion were already on state active duty conducting a search and rescue for a suspected drowning victim near Cartersville. These Soldiers were rushed to Villa Rica arriving just ahead of a contingent of 25 Soldiers of the Douglasville-based Company D, 122^nd Armored Infantry Battalion. Lieutenant Colonel Horace T. Clary, commander of the Calhoun-based 163^rd Tank Battalion assumed command of the troops on the ground whose numbers grew rapidly. The effort was soon joined by 18 Soldiers of the Atlanta-based 201^st Ordnance Company. Other Atlanta-based units such as the 179^th Armored Field Artillery Battalion and 48^th Armored Signal Company assembled and dispatched troops, vehicles and equipment to include ten trucks, an ambulance and a five-ton wrecker from state headquarters in Atlanta.

Lieutenant Colonel Horace Clary, commander of the Calhoun-based 163rd Tank Battalion directs Guardsmen and first responders at the scene of a massive
gas explosion in Villa Rica, Ga. Dec. 4, 1957. Georgia National Guard Archives.

The first Guardsmen to reach the scene established security around collapsed structures while others assisted in debris removal. Still others brought power generators online to power lights to continue the search into the night. A field kitchen was rushed to the scene to provide meals for the Guardsmen and responders.

Georgia Guardsmen of Rome’s Company A, 163rd Tank Battalion move into Villa Rica in the wake of a  Dec. 4, 1957 following a deadly
gas explosion. Captain Guy Amspoker (with speaker) of battalion staff posts Guardsmen around the rubble of destroyed buildings to protect
community property. Georgia National Guard Archives.

The Guardsmen were relieved of duty at 4:00 pm December 5. The final toll of the blast was twelve killed with more than 20 injured.

 

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[1] “At Least 12 Dead and 20 Injured as Blast Levels Villa Rica Stores.” Atlanta Constitution. Dec. 6, 1957, 1.

[2] “Violent Explosion at Villa Rica, Ga. Brings Rome, Douglasville Guardsmen.” The Georgia Guardsman.  Nov Dec 1957, 2-3.

1953: Original Member of the Ga. ANG, Veteran Pilot of World War II and Korea Killed in Crash

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

Georgia Air National Guard T-33s on the tarmac at Dobbins Air Force Base. Inset: Lt. Col. Walter Armistead in 1953. Georgia National Guard Archives.

On Dec. 5, 1953, during a severe weather event, a T-33 piloted by Lt. Col. Walter Armistead slammed into the ground while on approach to Travis Field. Armistead was killed on impact.

Armistead, 1942.

Walter Moore Armistead was born in Birmingham, Ala. June 15, 1921 to John and Bessie Armistead. By 1934 the family had moved to Atlanta and Armistead worked on William B. Hartsfield’s successful 1936 campaign for Mayor of Atlanta. Armistead graduated from North Fulton High School in 1938 and was accepted into Georgia Tech. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Signal Corps January 3, 1942 in Atlanta, Ga. and was stationed at MacDill Field in Tampa, Fla. In August, he transferred to the Air Corps and the following month was one of four hundred aviation cadets in his class of 3,500 selected to go from pre-flight training at Kelley Field, Texas into an instructor’s course designed to make them second lieutenants in five weeks.[1] He graduated from flight training at Randolph Army Airfield in San Antonio Texas Dec. 13, 1942.[2] Armistead was assigned to advanced flying school at Foster Field in Texas where he served as an instructor for instrument and combat flying.[3] On April 24 he was assigned to the 339^th Fighter Group, 505^th Fighter Squadron in Europe. Armistead flew the P-51 Mustang out of Fowlmere, England conducting bomber escort and strafing missions over occupied France. On June 17, 1944 was assigned to strafe railroads and communication facilities in France. While diving to make a gun run, the Mustang’s engine stalled out. Armistead bailed out over Chateaudon. and landed in a farmer’s field. Captured, Armistead was interrogated at the town’s police station then transported to Frankfort Germany where he was interrogated again. He was interred at Stalag Luft 1 Barth-Vogelsang Prussia 54-12, the same prison in which British actor Donald Pleasance was held.

In 1945, the prison was liberated by the Soviet Army. Rather than stay at the camp, Armistead and three other prisoners set out on foot walking west in hopes of reaching U.S. lines. After two days of walking, a Soviet Soldier presented them with a horse and buggy which the Soldiers drove for a day before resuming their long walk eventually reaching British lines at Weismar where they received transportation to London.[4]

1st Lt. Walter Armistead's P-51 Mustang in England in 1942. http://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/2272

Armistead reported to a replacement depot intent on deployment to the Pacific; however, the war ended before he was assigned to a new unit.

On August 25, 1946, Armistead was commissioned a captain in the newly organized Georgia Air National Guard. He was one of the first 12 officers commissioned into the air units of the Ga. NG along with future generals Bernard Davey and Joel B. Paris.[5] He was called to active service with the 158^th Fighter Squadron in 1950 and served in Korea, returning to the United States the following year.

By 1953, Lt. Col. Armistead was assigned as commander of the permanent field training detachment at Travis Airfield in Savannah[6] while concurrently serving as director of operations for the 116^th Fighter Bomber Wing.[7] On the evening of December 5, 1953 he was piloting a Ga. ANG T-33 on approach to Travis Field. Armistead made routine contact with the tower and despite the severe weather and instrument flight conditions there was no indication of any trouble and Armistead, a veteran of more than 3,000 flight hours was skilled instrument pilot. While approaching Savannah from the southeast Armistead’s aircraft slammed into Wassah Island, a marshy sea island. More than a day would pass before responders reached the crash site.

Armistead was buried with full military honors in Oak Hill Cemetery in Birmingham, Ala. Among his pallbearers were fellow Ga. ANG pilots Bernard Davey, Charles Thompson and Phil Coleman.[8] In 1955 the City of Savannah dedicated Armistead Avenue in his honor.[9]

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[1] “Atlantan Chosen for Flight Training.” Atlanta Constitution. Sept. 11, 1942, 18.

[2] “Flying Schools Will Graduate 52 Georgians Today.” Atlanta Constitution. Dec. 13, 1942, 22.

[3] “Five Georgians War Casualties.” Atlanta Constitution. June 29, 1944, 5.

[4] “Armistead Home.” Atlanta Constitution. July 15, 1945, 10.

[5] “Dozen Atlantans Flying Officers.” Atlanta Constitution. August 25, 1946, 2.

[6] “Air National Guard Camp Dates Set at Travis 26 July-9 August. The Georgia Guardsman. February, 1953, 4.

[7] “Wing Pre-Training Conference Reveals ANG Defense Mission.” Georgia National Guard. May June 1953,4.

[8] “Col. W. R. Armistead.” Birmingham News. Dec. 7, 1953, 7.

[9] “Posthumous Honors Bestowed ANG Pilots by City of Savannah in Naming of Streets.” The Georgia Guardsman. March April May 1955, 16.