The
complete notices below were first published in AFPAAA's Quarterly "News
& Notes" Newsletter.
If
you learn of the passing of any Air Force PA, Band or Broadcast professional
-- active or reserve,
military
or civilian -- please contact the editor of AFPAAA's Newsletter. (Send
E-Mail to: EDITOR)
Maston M. Jacks, age 82, a resident of Williamsburg since 1985, died Sunday, Oct. 11, 1998, at his home.
Maston, a retired Lieutenant Colonel, was born in Douglas, Ariz. His education in Arizona included attending the University of Arizona. However, he earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Arkansas in 1939 and went to work for the Tucson, Arizona, Daily Citizen as a reporter and part of the editorial staff.
He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1941 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1942. He served throughout World War II in the Central Pacific and survived a B-24 bomber ditching during a bombing mission against Tarawa. He was discharged as a major in 1946 and recalled to active duty during the Korean Conflict. In the interim, he worked as an editor for Popular Mechanics Magazine, Chicago, as an associate editor for Sunset Magazine, San Francisco, and as a reporter/rewrite man for the San Francisco Examiner.
He subsequently served in key public information positions as a lieutenant colonel. He was chief of Public Information Operations, worked with Office of the Secretary of the Air Force and was chief of the Plans and Production Division of the Strategic Air Command's Office of Information.
Retiring after serving 26 years in the military, he had earned the Legion of Merit, Purple Heart and Bronze Star medals. For the next 12 years, he was employed in divisional and corporate affairs assignments with Fairchild Industries. He retired from Fairchild in 1979.
He is survived by a son, Maston Thompson Jacks of Raleigh, N.C.; a daughter, Susan Burkett of Westfield, Mass.; and a grandson, Adam Burkett.
Dinny Dinsmore was a very special person. At AFPAAA's meeting in Las Vegas and during an interview for the Oral History Program just two months before he died at age 83 on August 21, 1997, his lively sense of humor and zest for life lit up the pool-side reception at Blair House and his living room in San Antonio. It didn't matter that he had cancer, Dinny, with his wife Ginny were enjoying life to the fullest, just as they had throughout their 55-year marriage
Many would call Dinny a renaissance man. He was an accomplished musician, intercollegiate athlete, English teacher, coach, and aviator ... all before World War II.
He took to the air when he won flying lessons from his employer. Shortly after, he and two friends bought an airplane and he taught them how to fly. His flying skills led to a job as an Army contract instructor pilot providing flight training prior to the outbreak of World War II. Ultimately, those flying skills earned Dinny a commission in the Army Air Corps and duty as and instructor pilot for the duration of the war.
Then came a brief stint as a TWA pilot. In 1947 when he was offered the opportunity to join the new Air Force, Dinny accepted. Much to his chagrin, he was not being returned to the cockpit, so he chose to be a Public Information Officer and attended class at Gunter AFB with Bill McGinty.
But his flying days weren't over. The Berlin Airlift put him in the cockpit of a C-54 for 80 missions.
He held a variety of Information assignments before retiring as SAF/OI media chief in 1966. Dinny was PR director for Ling-Temco-Vought in Washington for before he retired to Texas in 1979.
Air Force Public Affairs lost one of its greatest assets when Jimmy Stewart died on July 2, 1997. He was 89.
From the day he entered the Army as a private in 1941 until he passed away he was an unparalleled positive influence on the public's image of the United States Air Force. And he will continue to be a positive influence as long as the movie 'Strategic Air Command' is shown on television.
We're not going to give his life story here. That's been covered by the commercial news media. Instead, lets recall that with Jimmy Doolittle he was one of the key founders of the Air Force Association. Despite being one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, he chose to continue to serve his country as a member of the Air Force Reserve, spending time in operations at SAC and ending his career as a Brigadier General in the Secretary of the Air Force Office of Information.
He often worked behind the scenes to help the Air Force. As Jerry Dalton said "He could make a phone call for you and make something happen."
Everybody who has been, or is now in Air Force Public Affairs can thank Jimmy Stewart for the Air Force image he projected on the screen and in person. We have all lost an irreplaceable friend.
Dick Rapp was all Air Force. When the Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association was launched, Dick was one of the first to take the big step of becoming a Lifetime Founder Member when there was no gurantee we would succeed.
With his wife, Betty, he was an active, ardent supporter, attending all our Annual Membership Meetings. With his death at age 67 on May 26,1997 in Austin, Texas, after almost five months of hospitalization, he is the second Lifetime Founder to pass away.
He was born in Zanesville, Ohio, in 1929. A year later his family moved to Raymondville, Texas, and he considered himself a Texan. Dick began his Air Force career in the reserves and entered active duty in 1962. His assignments included Los Angeles Air Force Station,Udorn RTAFB, the Office of Aerospace Research, Headquarters EUCOM, SAF/PA, and the National Military Command Center. He was Chief of the Plans Branch, News Division, Directorate for Defense Information, OASD/PA when he retired in 1985 as a Lt. Colonel.
Strolling Strings violinist Octavian Slima, 44, died March 21, 1997.
Originally from Bucharest, Romania, he was a graduate with honors in violin performance of the Chicago Musical College and had a master of music degree and performer's certificate from Indiana University.
Prior to joining the Air Force in 1987, he had been the concertmaster of the Hong Kong and Caracas Symphony Orchestras, had performed on radio and television worldwide, and had given recitals on four continents.
He was a Master Sergeant at the time of his death and is survived by his parents, Leon and Emilia Slima, and brother, Mark, of Skokie, Illinois.
Kyle E. Perry, who was the principal French horn player of the Air Force Band died of liver and kidney failure February 24, 1997 at Bethesda Naval Hospital. He was 35.
Kyle was a native of Bedford, Indiana, and a graduate of Indiana University.
In addition to being a member of the Air Force Band, he had performed with the National and Alexandria Symphony Orchestras. He was a Master Sergeant at the time of his death and is survived by his parents, Earl and Linda Perry of Bedford, and three brothers.
Ernest G. Moore, died at his home in Palm Coast, Florida, on February 14, 1997 from complications due to emphysema. He was 67.
Ernie had assignments that included tours of duty in Spain; Da Nang, Vietnam; the Pentagon, and Andrews Air Force Base before he retired in 1974.
He became public affairs manager for Safeway in Landover, Maryland, a post he held until he retired in 1987 when he moved to Florida. A native of Darlington, Pennsylvania, he graduated from Pennsylvania State University and earned a master's degree in Public Administration from George Washington University in 1965.
Ernie was chairman of the National Easter Seals Society in 1981. He is survived by his wife, Gladys, three daughters, a brother, and four grandchildren.
