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Lt. Col. Robert Gideon
Group Commander July 1944 to November 1944
Left to Right - 1st Lt. Robert L Brown, Lt. Col. Robert Gideon and 1st Lt. Rolland Carr
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Lt. Col. Gideon pays a tribute to John J. Stranahan, 720th Squadron
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Col Robert Gideon, USAF Retired, died on Sunday, January 9, 2005 of
cardio-pulmonary failure.
He was a 1939 graduate of West Point and
was the 450th Bomb Group Vice-Commander, and later Commander, in
Italy during WWII.
After the war he held other important positions in
the Army Air Corps and the US Air Force.
Among other things he was
a Wing Commander in the Strategic Air Command under General Curtis
LeMay, the Inspector General for US Air Forces in Europe, and the
first Chief of Staff for the USAF Academy. He was the youngest
officer ever to graduate from the Army War College.
Bob had been ill for over a year but never lost his eye for beauty or
his ear for a good story.
He enjoyed a taste for fine food and stout
spirits as well as original art works.
He collected very early Lladro
figurines and Diego paintings, as well as intricate ivory and jade
pieces. He enjoyed world travel, sharp shooting with precision
rifles, collecting and selling Detonics and Automag pistols,
woodworking, knife making, photography, and entertaining friends with
interesting stories of his travels and military experiences. He
excelled in everything he undertook.
He is survived by his wife of 5 years, Gwinetth, a daughter Anne, 6
stepchildren, and 8 great grand children. He lived for the past 35
years in Lakewood, WA.
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