Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Electronic edition | Subscription Questions | Extras

MASSARO: Chuck White, 82, loved flying, stories

By Gary Massaro, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published July 28, 2007 at midnight

Text size  

More News Columns & Blogs

More stories »

AURORA - Chuck White was born on a farm, tied to the land. But he broke the tether as soon as he was able.

"He got tired of milking cows and shoveling manure," said his daughter, Cindy Baggett, of Aurora. "He hated farm work."

In 1942, when he was 17, his mother signed for him to join the Army Air Corps. He became a pilot, just in time to miss World War II. He stayed in the service, retiring from the Air Force in 1966 after flying two tours in Vietnam.

"I think by the time he was 12 he figured out he wanted to fly. And he did," said his son, John Lee White, of Lakewood.

The man who loved to be in the air so much died July 6 while riding his bicycle on an Aurora street, four days after his 82nd birthday.

Mr. White was born July 2, 1925, in West Sparta, N.Y., to Charles William and Lina Louella Truman White. His father died when he was 12.

"He loved to fly," said his daughter, Joan Marie Searcy, of Centennial.

So it became his career.

Shortly after he received his wings in 1945, he came home on leave. He ran into Jeanne Marie Bonner. He had a crush on her for years. He asked her out. She said yes.

After a whirlwind courtship, they were married July 11, 1945, in Dansville, N.Y. She died in 2002.

Mr. White was stationed mostly in the U.S. until the Korean War, when he shipped out. He was based in South Korea and didn't fly combat missions. He was on special Cold War duty, manning a jet loaded with nuclear weapons in case the Communists fired theirs first.

In Vietnam, his squadron had a mascot, a boa constrictor they named Ramrod. Whenever a pilot flew away on a break, his marching orders were to bring a live chicken back to feed to Ramrod.

Mr. White was on his second tour in the Vietnam War, where he flew more than 100 bombing missions over North Vietnam, when his son, Skip White, was killed in a motorcycle wreck.

He came home, finishing the last few months of his career stateside, and then retired in 1966.

He told his wife they could retire to Phoenix or Denver, where he was stationed briefly after World War II. She said she had enough of Arizona, so they moved to Aurora.

Mr. White landed a job as a flight instructor with United Airlines. He worked about five years when he was laid off.

"He worked handling bags on the line a couple of years," John White said, telling his family that he wanted to keep his benefits and seniority.

He was later called back and finished as a flight instructor.

At one time, he owned two airplanes, a propeller job and a motorized glider.

"He flew almost every day, including the day before he died," John White said.

He also worked for a time as a pilot and instructor for LearJet.

He wasn't afraid to laugh at himself and was a wonderful mimic, Baggett said.

"He was the best storyteller in the world," she said. "He had a million stories about his life. When he told these stories, you could almost see them in your mind."

Searcy recalled that he liked to lead his squadron in a joint takeoff. Once, before takeoff, however, as he was flicking switches and going through the checks for his plane, the bombs fell off onto the tarmac.

His call sign was Buzzard 1, and his wingman noticed the bombs on the ground, saying in a high-pitched voice that Mr. White had down pat: "Buzzard Leader, you just dropped your bombs."

He stayed physically fit, running, lifting weights and riding his bicycle, aiming for 10 miles a day.

"When he was about 65, he decided he wanted to run marathons," John White said. "He ran three. Then he quit."

He taught John White and Searcy to fly. Only Searcy became a pilot.

But he taught them other things as well.

"He taught me that when you love somebody, you forgive them. And you never stop forgiving them," Baggett said. "Nothing is as important as the love that you share."

In addition to his children, Mr. White is survived by four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., in October.

or 303-954-5271