Theodor R. Dale

Col. Theodore R. "Ted" Dale, Ret. USAF, 93, of Alexander, made his last flight on 9-Sep-11 at 15:12 hours, passing peacefully at his home surrounded by love. During his 30 year military career Col. Dale logged over 4,500 hours in 33 unique aircraft including the Boeing B47 Stratojet Bomber and the B17 Flying Fortress. Ted was a US Army and US Air Force Veteran of WWII, and a US Air Force Veteran of the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Late in life new love came to Ted when he married Dee Brazil Dale on September 26, 2004. Ted and Dee traveled extensively, volunteered generously and lived life to the fullest: For his 92nd birthday, Dee arranged for Ted to pilot a World War II vintage AT-6 Trainer airplane at the Carlisle airstrip. Dee in remembering their life together said: "What a glorious and wonderful day when Ted unexpectedly walked into my life. Little did I know this gift of his precious being would bring such joy and blessings of unconditional love. I will always treasure his words, "I've found you at last" and I will hold him in my heart forever. Ted was an officer and a gentleman in every way and was loved and cherished by his many friends, colleagues and fellow airmen. Col. Dale was born 12-Mar-1918 in the hills of Eastern Kentucky, the seventh child of ten children of Alfonso and Mary Stafford Dale. His father ran the train that hauled the coal out of the mines. In 1922 the family moved to a 180 acre farm in Stockdale, Ohio when Ted was four years old. He graduated in 1941 with a degree in Education from Ohio State University and received a US Army Reserve Commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in Field Artillery. WWII: Ted enlisted in U.S. Army on 1-Jul-1941 near the beginning of American involvement in WWII, and served for two years in the European Theatre. In 1943 he transferred to the Army Air Corp and trained as a pilot on the B-17E Bomber. He was assigned to a bomber wing in England, flying 3 bombing missions before the war ended. His next assignment was to the Army of Occupation as Squadron Commander at the US Air Base in Erlangen, Germany. In 1948, after Stalin instituted the Berlin Blockade, Ted flew the C-47 Skytrain ("Gooneybird") "24/7" during the Berlin Airlift supplying food and supplies to the now stranded West Germans. Ted married Ilse Hirschmann on March 26, 1948 in Germany. To this union were born two beautiful daughters, Cherry Dale Daugherty and Terry Dale Lutes. Ted's military career took him and his family around the world beginning in Germany with the girls attending American schools. Korea: From 1951-1953, Ted was assigned to Joint Task Force-3 to document the Atomic Bomb Tests in the Eniwetok Atoll (Marshall Islands) in the Pacific Ocean. The documents were only recently declassified as top secret. B-26 and F-84 Platforms: Following 6 months of training at the Air Command and Staff School in Alabama Maj. Dale was ordered to Osan Air Base in South Korea in July of 1953, assigned to the Fifth Air Force flying the B-26 Night Intruder, a twin engine bomber. Among Col. Dale's most dangerous missions was the flying of ‘time and distance' nighttime, low-level bombing and strafing missions. It was during his Korean War service that Col. Dale learned to fly the F-84 fighter jet. Korean Armistice Commission (1954-55): During the Military Armistice Commission hearings, Col. Dale was assigned as chief administrator for all Commission meetings. His base camp was in the ‘Apple Orchard,' 20 miles from Panmunjom. The meetings were attended by the Chinese, North and South Koreans and representatives including US Air Force, Navy and Army Translators and stenographers reported to Col Dale. He was responsible for transmitting minutes of the meetings, about 40 pages each night to the office of the President. During the hearings, Col. Dale traveled 20 miles in winter weather by Willis jeep from base housing to the meetings. By the time he returned to base at night, Ted recently shared with friends that all of the food was gone. "I lost 15 pounds and the road we traveled was a narrow dirt road, rutted and filled with potholes. On the way we used a shotgun to shoot pheasants. We accumulated 11 with plans to have a feast, but when we asked the cook to prepare them we learned that they had been fed to a group of dignitaries from the U.S." Strategic Air Command 1954-1965: I was assigned to the Strategic Air Command, as Wing Commander and was stationed in the US to fly the new B47 Stratojet throughout the Cold War for 11 years. 1965-1968: One of Col. Dale most demanding assignments was as Deputy Director of Programs for U.S. Air Force in Europe for three years. LRAFV 1968-1970: Ted's Air Force career culminated with his service as Base Commander of the Little Rock Air Force Base, Jacksonville, Arkansas, retiring on 1-Aug-1970: Col Dale flew the KC-135 tanker and in March of 1970, the headquarters of the 64th Tactical Airlift Wing arrived and took over duties as the base's host unit. Along with the 64th came the 4442nd Combat Crew Training Wing. Colonel Dale supervised the arrival and implementation of the now famous C-130 Hercules, a small, agile transport plane, which continues to serve the needs of the U.S. Military around the world. After 30 years in the Air Force, he became a Real Estate Broker retiring in 1982. Ted attended church at St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Jacksonville. He is survived by his wife, Dee Brazil Dale, Alexander; daughters, Terry Lutes and her husband Leroy of Blue Springs, Missouri, Mary Dougherty and her husband Bob of Jacksonville, Arkansas; grandsons, Spencer Lutes and his wife Marianne of Lee's Summit, Missouri, Robert Dougherty and his wife Holly of Tennessee, Steven and Michael Lutes, Blue Springs Missouri, Patrick Dougherty of Jacksonville, Arkansas; granddaughter, Christy Dougherty of Tampa, Florida; great grandchildren, Spencer, Hunter and Jessica Lutes, Juliana and Max Dougherty. Funeral service will be held at North Little Rock Funeral Home Chapel on Thursday, September 15, at 10 a.m. Rev. Jim Dalton, Mr. Jim Bob Humphrey and Chaplain Bill Keesling will officiate. Burial will be at New Prospect Cemetery at Peeler Bend near Benton. Full military honors will be provided by the U.S. Air Force. The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday the 14th at the funeral home. Memorials may be sent to the Michael V. Aureli Arkansas Hospice Perpetual Endowment Fund, c/o the Arkansas Hospice Foundation, 14 Parkstone Circle, North Little Rock, Ark. 72116. (www.arkansashospice.org). Arrangements by North Little Rock Funeral Home, 1921 Main, 758-1170. Online obituary and guest registry at www.nlrfh.com. Col. Dale lived a truly amazing life and participated in the evolution of fixed wing aircraft between 1941 and 1970.