30 JUL 1889On this date, World War I Veteran / PA Delta Brother / Doctor Edwin P. Longaker, U.S. Army Medical Corps (University of Pennsylvania, 1913) was born.
29 JUL 1939Vietnam War Veteran / OR Alpha Brother / Captain Ernest “Ernie” A. Harris, U.S. Marine Corps (Oregon State University ’61) was born on this date in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
26 JUL 1958On this date 53 years ago, Korean War Veteran and Ace / IN Alpha Brother / Captain Iven Carl "Kinch" Kincheloe, Jr., U.S. Air Force (Purdue University ’49) crashed to his death near Rosamond Dry Lake while flying an F-104 ultrasonic jet from Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) over the Mojave Desert. Brother Kincheloe was laid to rest with full military honors in Section 2 of Arlington National Cemetery.
Kinch was born in Detroit, Michigan on 02 JUL 1928, but grew up in Cassopolis, Michigan. He attended Purdue University, and graduated with degrees in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering and entered the Air Force through the Reserve Officers Training Corps. He took pilot training at Randolph AFB, Arizona, where he got his wings and commission in 1950.
In 1950-51 he served with the 4th and 51st Fighter Wings in Korea, flying 101 combat missions in F-86 Sabrejets and 30 in F-80 Shooting Stars. He shot down ten communist planes, being one of 12 Air Force pilots with ten or more jet victories to his credit during that war. He earned the Silver Star, three Distinguished Flying Crosses and four Air Medals.
After the war, Brother Kincheloe became a test pilot participating in the testing of the Century Series of fighter aircraft. In the mid-1950s, Kincheloe joined the Bell X-2 program and on 07 SEP 1956, he flew the Bell X-2 research rocket plane more than 2,000 mph (3,200 km/h) and to a height of 126,200 feet (38,500 m) (some sources list 126,500), the first flight ever above 100,000 feet.
In SEP 1959, Kinross AFB in Upper Peninsula, Michigan was renamed Kincheloe AFB in his honor (the base closed in SEP 1977), and a monument also stands a few miles east of his hometown of Cassopolis, Michigan – it is an angular stone slab twelve feet high bearing a silver model of the X-2 pointed skyward. In 1992, he was inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor, and the Iven C. Kincheloe Award is named in his honor.
30 JUL 1983World War II Veteran / Congressman / DE Alpha Brother / Major Herbert Birchby Warburton, U.S. Army (University of Delaware ‘38 of Wilmington, Delaware died on this date.
Born in Wilmington on 21 SEP 1916, Brother Warburton graduated from UD in 1938 and was commissioned a second lieutenant through the Recruit Officer Training Command (ROTC) program. It appears Herbert graduated from the Dickinson School of Law before commencing active duty as a first lieutenant of the One Hundred and Twenty-second Antiaircraft Battalion (SEP 1941).
Upon his release from active duty in 1945, Brother Warburton began practicing law in Wilmington, and served as city solicitor from 1949 to 1952 before being elected to the Eighty-Third Congress (1953-55).
Herbert continued his service to the American public with his appointment as special assistant to Secretary of Labor James P. Mitchell (02 MAR 1955 – 07 NOV 1957), as general counsel, Post Office Department (07 NOV 1957 – 20 JAN 1961), and as minority counsel to the House Government Operations subcommittee (MAR 1961 to SEP 1964).
Upon his death, Brother Warburton was cremated and the family retained his ashes.
28 JUL 2004AL Beta Brother / First Lieutenant William “Bill” D. Yates, U.S. Army (University of Alabama ’55) passed away on this date. Bill was a member of the Pledge Class of Fall 1951 and was in ROTC while at Bama. Upon graduation he received a commission in the U.S. Army, and after his discharged Brother Yates returned to his hometown of Lanett, Alabama. There he owned and operated Yates Printing and Office Supplies until his retirement in 1997.
25 JUL 2010A year ago on this date, World War II and Korean War Veteran / MS Beta Brother / General William E. “Bill” Callicott, U.S. Army / Mississippi National Guard (Retired) (Mississippi State University ’48) died in Memphis, Tennessee.
Born 16 JUN 1924, Brother Collicott was a lifelong Senatobia resident. He retired as owner of the Callicott Insurance Agency, a business his grandfather began in 1915.
Bill served in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1960 to 1976, and later served as Mayor of Senatobia for three terms.
The family asked that in lieu of flowers, memorials be sent to the First Presbyterian Church of Senatobia.
MAJOR ACCOMPLISMENTS, MILESTONES AND GREAT NEWSDuring July –
-VA Beta Brother / Chris Costello, U.S. Army graduated from 88M (truck) training.
-OH Gamma Brother / Second Lieutenant Scott Dudis, U.S. Army (Veterinary Corps) was commissioned to his present rank.
-AK Alpha Brother / Joel Fix, U.S. Army Reserve has been mobilized and deployed overseas.
-MT Alpha Brother Paul Gerhardt (formerly USMC) got engaged!
-CA Theta Brother / Ted Hornstra graduated from Airborne school.
-VA Beta Brother Erik Kelly joined the U.S. Navy’s Delayed Entry Program and is scheduled to begin serving on active duty when he goes to Recruit Training Command (“boot camp”) in February 2012.
If you have a recent accomplishment, drop me a line at
sigepswhoserve@gmail.com.
ADDITIONAL LOSSES TO THE ROLL IN JULYSadly, the following SigEp Patriots were lost in July and have not been previously listed:
07 JULWorld War II Veteran / NH Alpha Brother / Lieutenant Commander Robert Eastwood Neill, U.S. Navy / U.S. Navy Reserve (Retired) (Dartmouth College ’35) (14 MAR 1914 – 07 JUL 2011). Brother Neill served in the South Pacific during WWII.
09 JULWorld War II Veteran / MI Alpha Brother / Major Robert Jackson Ogden, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (University of Michigan ’42) (29 JAN 1920 – 09 JUL 2011). Brother Ogden served in Alaska during WWII.
09 JULTN Alpha Brother / First Lieutenant Thomas Joseph Williams, Jr., U.S. Army National Guard (Tennessee) (University of Tennessee ’07) was 26 years old when he passed away 09 JUL 2011. He is survived by his parents, Thomas Joseph Williams, Sr. and Lynne Tune Williams; sisters, Ann-Marie and Mary Jo Williams; fiancée, Nikki Schmidt, as well as countless friends and loved ones. He was 1LT in the Army National Guard, where he was a pilot of OH-58D(R) and platoon leader in C/1/230th ACS at McGee Tyson Flight Facility. He was the owner and president of Southeast Investment Group. He graduated from Hillwood High School in 2003 and the University of Tennessee in 2007. He was active in Sigma Phi Epsilon and the UT ROTC program.
Brother Williams was laid to rest at the Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens.
12 JULVietnam War Veteran / CA Beta Brother James Robert Smoot, U.S. Army (University of Southern California) (21 JUL 1946 – 12 JUL 2011) The Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law will honor him with a memorial reception at the school on 08 AUG at 5 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the James R. Smoot Memorial Fund at Playhouse on the Square, 66 South Cooper Street, Memphis, TN 38104 or the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. Make checks payable to University of Memphis Foundation and mail to: Department 238, U of M Foundation, P.O. Box 1000, Memphis, TN 38148-0001. Include instructions to designate your gift to the Dean Emeritus James R. Smoot Scholarship Fund. Online gifts may be made by visiting www.memphis.edu/law/faculty/smoot.php.
27 JULWorld War II Veteran / MA Beta Brother / Corporal Harold “Harry” Melden, Jr., U.S Marine Corps (Asiatic Pacific Area) (Worcester Polytechnic Institute ’49) (19 JUN 1924 – 27 JUL 2011)
Brother Melden’s obituary stated that the burial plans will be private, and in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions to support student financial aid may be sent to WPI, Office of Development & Alumni Relations, 100 Institute Road, Worcester, MA 01609 or Alzheimer's Association, 311 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA 02472.
Fraternally and Respectfully,
Ed "Otter" Jones
Chief, U.S. Navy Reserve
NY Eta '93
