George Arthur Bloomfield Jr.

George Arthur Bloomfield, Jr. Lt. Colonel USAF retired

December 7, 1927 - April 23, 2010 SHREVEPORT / RINGGOLD, LA - Retired United States Air Force Lt. Colonel, decorated veteran of the Vietnam War and exemplary pilot, George Arthur Bloomfield died early Friday morning, April 23, 2010, having endured Parkinson's disease for 23 years. He leaves behind his beautiful and devoted wife of 57 years, Nancy Carol Eichstaedt Bloomfield, originally from Chicago, Illinois; his favorite and extremely witty brother, William Patrick Bloomfield and his wife Maureen "Mike" Bloomfield of Merritt Island, Florida; four blessed children, Captain Patrick Michael Bloomfield, USN, retired and his wife Mary Elizabeth Adamski Bloomfield of Alexandria, VA, Timothy James Bloomfield and his wife Joan McDonald Bloomfield of Lake Charles, LA, Kathryn S. Bloomfield of Shreveport, LA, and Theresa Hand Bloomfield Meehan and her husband Scott Allen Meehan of Westlake Village, CA; along with seven amazing grandchildren, Nicholas Michael Bloomfield of Scottsdale, AZ, Lt. Carolyn Ann Bloomfield, USN, and Ensign Laura Elizabeth Bloomfield, USN, of Norfolk, VA, Kevin Patrick Bloomfield of Alexandria, VA, and Jackson Allen Meehan and Cody George Meehan of Westlake Village, CA, and Shauna Bertrand and her husband, Roman Bertrand, of Lake Charles, LA, and two incredible great grandchildren, Bailey and Peyton Bertrand of Lake Charles, LA.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio to George Arthur Bloomfield, Sr. and Ann Loretta Eder, he grew up in West Chicago, Illinois and Stonesboro, PA. He attended Northern Illinois Teachers College in Dekalb, Illinois where he met the love of his life, Nancy Carol Eichstaedt. They married on August 8, 1952. George became a Cadet in the USAF and completed Officer Training School in Alabama. For a short while, he flew the Lockheed Constellation (which he proclaimed the prettiest airplane ever built) for TWA before returning to the USAF where he served his country for 20 distinguished years. Tours of duty included the Territory of Hawaii, England, Germany, and Vietnam. He graduated with a BS degree from Utah State University in 1965. As an Air Force officer and pilot, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for Extraordinary Achievement while participating in aerial flight on November 28, 1970, in Vietnam, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the National Defense Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Service Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Service Medal and Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. He flew a total of 101 missions in Southeast Asia before returning to his family living in Chicago, Illinois. After relocating to Shreveport, Louisiana, he served as the Chief of Procurement at Barksdale AFB before retiring in 1972. He then purchased a farm near Ringold, LA, to raise cattle and enjoy a more peaceful life. While farming was fun and a new experience for the entire family, George's passion was always flying. He then flew for Royale Airlines from 1973 to 1986, the year before he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

Among the airplanes he flew were the C-124 out of Hickham AFB in Hawaii, Hill AFB in Utah, and Randolph AFB in San Antonio, the EC-121 out of Karat, Thailand, and the C-47 out of DaNang. For Royale Airlines, he flew the Beechcraft 99, the Gulfstream G-1 and the Bandeirante. For sport, he owned and flew at one time or another a Beech Bonanza J-Cub V-tail, and two Cessnas. He was even checked out in the Leer jet and proudly wore his pin on his lapel jacket.

An avid lover of all things chocolate, especially ice cream, and the Chicago Cubs and Notre Dame, he was also a military history buff. He enjoyed Civil War reenactment battles, his great grandfather Peter Flanagan (an Irishman) having served in the Red River Campaign in Louisiana, and also participated with his wife in the Civil War Round Table at Centenary College. He and Nancy enjoyed traveling together to such places as Egypt, Hong Kong, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. After retiring from flying, George just liked to fix things (even if it wasn't broken) and work in his garage with his wide assortment of tools. What mattered the most to him was the welfare of his family. As long as your car was working, then you were okay.

George Bloomfield led a full and happy life with no regrets. He ensured that his children were well-educated and had wonderful childhoods filled with adventure and teaching moments at every turn.

The Bloomfield family would like to thank Dr. Richard Zweig, neurologist of LSU Health Sciences Center for his astute and outstanding care, compassion and devotion for many years, and Dr. David Abdehou, Internal Medicine of Willis Knighton Pierremont Health Center, for his excellent care and dedication. The family thanks the wonderful staff at Overton Brooks VAMC for their many years of care. Finally, the family expresses their appreciation of and admiration for Sheila, our black angel, Annie Boyd, Lucretia Bogan, and Demetria Mitchell, who watched over George every day until his last, as well as the entire staff at Montclair Park.

He will be laid to rest the end of summer at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. There will be a memorial service on Wednesday, April 28, 2010, at 3:30 p.m. at the chapel at Montclair Park Assisted Living in Shreveport. Donations can be made to the Veterans of Foreign War or to Parkinson's research.