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Maj. Gen Robert J. Gibbons, USAF Ret, passed from this
life in his home on August
15, 2002 at the age of 86. Born in New York City, his life was defined by his
love and respect for his family and his country. Attending the University of Alabama on a track scholarship, he
graduated with a BS in 1939, trained with the Army Air Corps at Kelly and
Randolph AFB and received his pilot wings in 1940. That same year, he married
the former Helen Frances Draper of San
Angelo, a graduate of the University of Texas,
Austin. For
almost five years he was an active participant in WWII operations, including
flying behind enemy lines to pick up downed pilots and leading the 315th
Troup Carrier Group in the Normandy
landings, Arnheim troop carrier operations, and the
Rhine River crossing. His post-war career
included assignments at Air Command and Staff School,
Maxwell AFB, Keesler AFB, Army
War College,
Bolling AFB, Directorate of Plans (J5),
Headquarters Pacific Command Hawaii, where he was Director of the CIA in the
Pacific, Foreign Technology Division, AF Systems Command, Wright-Patterson
AFB. He was Deputy Chief of Staff of Intelligence at US Air Forces
Headquarters Europe, Wiesbaden;
Director of Intelligence, US Strike Command, MacDill AFB; Director of
Intelligence, Headquarters US European Command, Stuttgart, Germany
and retired in 1972 after almost 33 years of distinguished service. His
military decorations include the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster,
Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal,
Distinguished Unit Citation Emblem and various campaign medals for the
European and African theaters. Preceded in death by his beloved wife, he is
survived by his daughter and her husband, Candace and Mike Bumgarner; grandson, Kevin Bumgarner,
his wife Melanie and their children, Kevin and Kaitlyn; granddaughter, Brandace Hope and her children, Nikolai and Jacqueline Novack and niece, Kathy Bodeep,
her husband George and their children. The family will receive friends on
Thursday, from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. at the Colonial Funeral
Home on Kitty Hawk in Universal City.
Services with Military Honors will be held at 10:00 A.M. on Friday, August 23, 2002 at Fort Sam Houston National
Cemetery. Colonial Chapel Hill. Subj:
~ from San Antonio
Express News, Tue, 20 Aug
2002, submitted by member George F. Cholewczynski
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Robert J. Gibbons, 315th TCG, Group Executive
Officer and Commanding Officer (succeeding Col. Hamish McLelland)
Wife: Florence
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