ROBERT C. BEARDEN Jr.

SAN ANGELO - U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Robert C. Bearden Jr. passed away on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2008, at the age of 87. Graveside service will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 26, in Fairmount Cemetery. He was born July 18, 1921, in Paris, Lamar County, Texas, to Robert Clay Bearden and Sybil Ludwick Bearden. He graduated from Paris High School in 1938, where he was a member of The National Honor Society, and business manager of "THE OWL" which was the yearbook for PHS. He enrolled in Texas Aandamp;M College in the fall of 1938, majoring in accounting. When World War II broke out, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet, and graduated as a second lieutenant and pilot in September 1942. He was then assigned as Flying Instructor, and served in that capacity at Victoria, Eagle Pass, Fort Worth, Midland, and Liberal Kansas. He also served in California and Cuba in 1944. He was next assigned to McCook, Neb., or combat training in B 29 super fortresses in preparation for duty in the Western Pacific theatre. Meanwhile, he had met the love of his life, in Midland, and in 1944, he married Drusilla Hayden Jones. In December 1944, they had a son, Robert C. Bearden III, who was only three weeks old when his father shipped overseas, to Tinian Island in the Mariana Islands. This was the operating base for air strikes over the main islands of Japan, 1,500 miles away. Each mission translated into 16 hours in a 3,000 mile, non stop journey over water. Robert survived 26 combat missions in an untested B-29 bomber. It was the largest and heaviest bomber at that time. For his service as a lead crew commander, he was awarded The Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Presidential Unit Citation with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Asiatic-Pacific Theatre Ribbon with 3 Battle Stars, The American Theatre Ribbon, The Victory Medal, and The Air Force Reserve Medal with 2X devices. He was retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1972, a Lieutenant Colonel, as a Reserve Officer with 30 years of service. In 1946, he was released form active duty in the Army Air Force Reserve, and resumed his education at Texas Aandamp;M in the field of accounting and received his B.S. degree that year. In 1947, he and Drusilla were blessed with the birth of a daughter, Rebecca Susanne, and moved to Midland, Texas There he began employment with The Texas Company, (TEXACO). That was the beginning of 25 years in the petroleum industry. During the period, he enjoyed the full support of his wife, who tolerated the constant moving, a way of life in the oil fields. In 1972, he was employed by GTE, (Verizon), and retired from there in 1987. He and his son were avid hunters, shooters, and collectors who waited impatiently for the opening day of hunting season. They hunted birds, large and small animals, and varmints. His loving, tolerant wife never complained about what might show up for the dinner table. He was preceded in death by his parents; his beautiful and loving wife, Drusilla Hayden Bearden; and both of his children, Robert Clay Bearden III and Rebecca Susanne Bearden. He is survived by daughter-in-law Gay Luckie Bearden; granddaughters Hayden Hanna Bearden, Rachel Catherine Bearden, and Mecca Martha Bearden Roberts and her husband Corey Roberts, plus their two sons Merrick and Cellen Roberts.