Robert H. Pirnat

ROBERT H. PIRNAT

Robert H. Pirnat, a devoted and beloved husband and father, retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and decorated World War II combat veteran, died May 26, 2009 after a brief illness. He was ninety.

Colonel Pirnat was born in Evansville, Indiana. He was the fifth of ten children born to Robert and Beaulah Pirnat. He is survived by his wife Joan, his eldest son Robert and his wife Carolyn, daughter Rise' and her husband Dr. Barry Amos, seven grandchildren and five great grandchildren. His younger son, Russell, died previously.

Robert was a starting running guard and position coach on the Memorial High School football team for three years; all the while the team was city champion and unbeaten. His football record earned an invitation to play at Duke, The University of Santa Clara, California and Purdue; he chose Purdue.

After earning his Private Pilot's License at Purdue University, he left to serve in the Army Air Forces during World War II and joined the newly formed Air Force in 1948. He was a troop/weapons glider pilot in North Africa and European theaters. As a Glider Pilot with the 313th Troop Carrier Group, he successfully delivered a unit of infantry men into the bitter struggle for Holland during the Allied Airborne invasion. His decorations included the Bronze Star for "heroism in connection with military against the enemy" and the Air Medal. Upon retiring from the Air Force, he was recruited as an intelligence specialist for the Department of the Navy 1966 to 1986.

Those who knew him will understand the great loss to all of us.

A Memorial Mass will be celebrated 11:00 A.M., Wednesday, June 3, 2009 in the chapel of St. Mark Catholic Church, 1011 Eastwood Rd., Wilmington, N.C. Inurnment will take place at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to either St. Mark Catholic Church or Lower Cape Fear Hospice Care Center, 1406 Physicians Dr., Wilmington, N.C. 28401.



Coble Ward-Smith Funeral and Cremation Service, Oleander Chapel

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