Robert Warren Wilson

Robert Warren Wilson, 96, of Van Wert and formerly of Lima, passed away at 9:41 p.m. Tuesday, December 20, 2016, at Van Wert County Hospital in Van Wert.

He was born June 4, 1920, in Lima, to Seth R. and May Ethel (Frisinger) Wilson, who both preceded him in death. On December 3, 1946, he and the former Coralie Eileen Severn were married in St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Van Wert, and she survives.

Also surviving are his children, Coralie A. Wilson, Mark (Ellen) Wilson, and Colin L. Wilson; grandchildren Graham and Alex Wilson and Madelyn Wilson; and a great grandson, Ethan Wilson.

Two brothers, James A. Wilson and Seth Wilson; and five sisters, Margaret E.E. Burkholder, Grace Bowsher, Lucille Lawson, Betty J. Hower, and Elsie Bowsher, also preceded him in death.

Mr. Wilson retired in 1971 from the United States Air Force with over 30 years of active service. While serving as an enlisted man at France Field in the Panama Canal Zone in 1942, Wilson was accepted for the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet flying training program. He graduated as a pilot and second lieutenant at Columbus AAF in Mississippi in 1943. As a first lieutenant, he was a B-17 bomber pilot during World War II and flew 35 combat missions over Germany with the 385th Bombardment Group of the Eighth Air Force.

Mr. Wilson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, a Purple Heart for wounds received in aerial combat, the Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters, and the European Theater of Operations Medal with two battle stars, and the usual service medals awarded for wartime service.

Mr. Wilson has been honored by having his name inscribed in stone on the “Wall of Valor” at the Eighth Air Force Museum Memorial Garden at Savannah, Georgia.

In two consecutive years, 1960 and 1961, Wilson, while serving as a senior training NCO in the Air Force Basic Training Program, was selected as the most outstanding noncommissioned officer at Lackland AFB in Texas.

In 1969, while serving at Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, Illinois, as an education and training superintendent, he was selected as the outstanding chief master sergeant of the entire Air Training Command and was, at Randolph AFB, Texas, nominated by Lieutenant General Sam Maddux for the position of chief master sergeant of the Air Force.

Prior to his enlistment in the Army Air Corps in July 1941, Mr. Wilson served 33 months in the Civilian Conservation Corps: at Klamath Falls, Oregon, in 1936; at Brigham City, Utah, 1937 to 1939; and at Fort Douglas, Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1940. He was employed at the Lima Locomotive Works when he enlisted in the Army Air Corps.

Mr. Wilson was a member of the Class of 1938 at Lima South High School and earned an associate’s degree in business administration from St. Leo College in Florida. He was a member of Elks Lodge 54 in Lima; Van Wert Fraternal Order of Eagles; Veterans of Foreign War Post 5803 in Van Wert; American Legion Post 178 in Van Wert; Rocky Mountain Lodge 40, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, in Cheyenne, Wyoming; and the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday, January 7, at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Van Wert, with Pastor Will Haggis officiating. Private burial will be in Ridge Cemetery in rural Van Wert County, with military honors rendered by the combined units of VFW Post 5803 and American Legion Post 178.

Visitation will be from 3-6 p.m. Friday, January 6, at Alspach-Gearhart Funeral Home & Crematory in Van Wert, and an hour prior to services Saturday at the church.      

Preferred memorials: American Legion or Eighth Air Force Museum and Memorial Gardens in Savannah, Georgia.

Condolences may be expressed at www.alspachgearhart.com.