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Commentary Search

September Retiree's Corner

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. (retired) Robert “Bob” Barkalow Jr.
  • 169th Fighter Wing
MCENTIRE JOINT NATIONAL GUARD BASE, S.C. --  

We had a delightful August Luncheon, a lot of fun for all. Our oldest Retiree was my old buddy Harold Kline, HarOLD, as he calls himself. He is 90 years of age and our only Korean War Call-Up person. On the youngest side, we had Alison Metzger, one of our 2017 Retirees at 41 years of age, although we had a hard time getting it out of her. It is good to see some of the more recent Retirees join us. Nelson McLeod took a picture of them together. Also, we had the new 169th Fighter Wing Command Chief, Dayne Peterson. He gave us a verbal biography of himself so we would know more about him and his background. We liked him and wish him well in his new role. I didn’t do my normal headcount but I am guessing we had around 50-55 folks for the Luncheon. I asked the Luncheon folks to go welcome and introduce themselves to the Chief, many did.

McEntire History:  We have been honoring the Berlin Crisis Call-Up folks and will continue this for a good while. I have completed the Headquarters 169th Fighter Group and will begin with the 169th Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (CAMS). This is a very large group of folks and many went on to become leaders within McEntire’s hierarchy and rank structure.

RANK NAME REMARKS
Lt. Col. Jack L. Moak He was the head maintenance officer during this deployment. He was also the first officer to retire in 1963,
going to work as a pilot for the state of South Carolina. He passed away March 23, 2017. His name is on our Monument.
Captain Stanley V. Hood He became commander of the 157th Fighter Squadron as well as group and base commander, then Chief of Staff.
He retired in 1987 as a brigadier general and passed away August 25, 2018. His name is not yet on our Monument.   
1st. Lt. Robert M. Lowery I do not have any information on him at this time.
2nd Lt. Edward W. Mullins Jr. He did not retire but became a very prominent lawyer in town and later headed up a renowned law firm regionally
and nationally.
WOJG-1 Artis E. Welch Our last of a few warrant officers. I believe he headed up the bylaws for the Retirees Council when it was more formal. 
He retired in 1974 as a CW3, one of the original 50 members. He passed away in 1999 and his name is on our Monument.
CMSgt. Charles V. Huffstetler He retired in 1976 as a chief master sergeant. He passed away in 1994 and his name is on our Monument.
CMSgt. Edwin P. Jones He retired in 1977 as a chief master sergeant. He passed away July 2, 1992 and his name is now on our Monument.
CMSgt. William A. Wright Jr. He retired in 1977 as a chief master sergeant. He passed away July 30, 2008 and his name is on our Monument. A
very dedicated SCANG Retiree, loved coming to our Breakfasts.
SMSgt. Francis L. Christmus He retired in 1979 as a chief master sergeant. He passed away in 1995 and his name is on our Monument. He lived
on the base at one time.
SMSgt. Hugh V. Harbort He retired in 1976 as a chief master sergeant. He passed away in 1999. His name is on our Monument. He was one
of the original 50 members.
SMSgt. William W. Watson Jr. He retired in 1965 as a chief master sergeant. He passed away April 2, 2010 and his name is on our Monument.
MSgt. Leland R. M. Austin He retired in 1990 as a chief master sergeant. He passed away in 2002, in fact his grave marker is next to my in-laws
at Crescent Hill. His name is on our Monument.
MSgt. Roy G. Caldwell He retired in 1984 as a chief master sergeant. He passed away in 2001. His name is on our Monument, although his
name on the Monument is inscribed as R. G. Caldwell. 
MSgt. Sam F. Cooper Jr. I do not have any information on him at this time. He could be one of our Missing Links. His picture is in the
25th Anniversary Book.
MSgt. Dennie L. Dillard Jr. Retired in 1982 as a senior master sergeant. He passed away in 1994. His name is on our Monument. We knew
his wife and family later after he passed away.  
MSgt. Gary T. Haile He retired in 1969 as a senior master sergeant. He passed away in 1980 and his name is on our Monument. 
MSgt. Johnnie Gardner He retired in 1969 as a master sergeant. He passed away in 1999 and his name is on our Monument as J. Gardner.
MSgt. James L. Hare He retired in 1984 as a senior master sergeant. He passed away in 2000 and his name is on our Monument.
MSgt. Rob Roy Honeycutt He retired in 1976 as a master sergeant. He passed away in 2006 and his name is on our Monument. He was the last
of the original 50 members. I and many others attended his funeral.
MSgt. Ferrell D. Horton He retired in 1977 as a senior master sergeant. He passed away in 1993 and his name is on our Monument.
MSgt. William W. Horton He retired in 1978 as senior master sergeant. He passed away in 2001 and his name is on our Monument.
MSgt. Donald E. Huneycutt At this time I don’t have information about him.  
MSgt. Stanley M. Klimaszewski I don’t have him retiring, however, his name is on our Monument, 1971. He must have died as an active member.
He is in the 25th Anniversary Book as the wife of Marion Ike in a womanless wedding.      
MSgt. Joseph W. Leech He retired in 1979 as a master sergeant. He passed away in 2001 and his name is on our Monument.
MSgt. Hanes A. McEntire He retired in 1990 as chief master sergeant. He passed away December 3, 2013 and his name is on our Monument.
He was assigned to the Civil Engineer Squadron and was also the third Senior Enlisted Advisor and Barnie McEntire’s brother.   
MSgt. Clement D. Price I don’t have him retiring, however he is on our Monument having died in 1967. He may have been an active member then.
MSgt. W. Harold Simmons He retired in 1984 as a chief master sergeant. He is still living and was a WWII Veteran, as many others were. He was
a Marine. I believe he was a 1st Sergeant for CAMS for quite a while. 
MSgt. George E. Wagstaff Jr. He retired in 1984 as a senior master sergeant. He passed away in 1996 and his name is on the Monument.
MSgt. Roy D. Wiedemann He retired in 1987 as a chief master sergeant. He passed away in 2009 and his name is on the Monument.
TSgt. Curtis L. Brown I do not have any information on him at this time.
TSgt. Lewis P. Bullington He retired in 1987 as a senior master sergeant. As far as I know he is still living.
TSgt. William D. Cliett Bill retired in 1992 as a chief master sergeant. He passed away January 8, 2013 and his name is on the Monument. 
He volunteered to help out at the SC Military Museum.
TSgt. Charles H. Cockerham I do not have any information on him at this time.
TSgt. Jerry C. Couch He retired in 1993 as a chief master sergeant. Jerry is still living, however, his wife died recently.

There was a brigadier general, a lieutenant colonel, a Chief Warrant Office 3, thirteen chief master sergeants, six senior master sergeants, and four master sergeants that retired from this group that had information on. We will continue with the CAMS organization the next several months.

Have a good Labor Day. Speaking of Labor Day, our September Luncheon will be the day after Labor Day, September 3rd at the Fort Jackson NCO Club beginning at noon. I am in need of some speaker money, so let’s do a raffle. We haven’t done one in a while, so if you would bring a couple of extra dollars, we will probably have some other raffle prizes this time for the winners. We are all winners, we survived and retired from the South Carolina Air National Guard.