December 2012 WARNING photos, stories, and bio content are © copyright protected and may not be copied, duplicated, published, or sold directly or indirectly or posted to a family tree in part or whole without the written authorization of daughter, Sherri Gillespie (I took this photo and if it appears anywhere it is in violation of copyright laws. I caught and noticed posters on ANCESTRY.
Dale Clifton Gillespie is the son of Archie Roy Gillespie and Edna Paulene Harris. He was born in Rankin Oklahoma. He was one of seven (7) children with three brothers and three sisters. He married Maudie A Coffee in 1943 just before he shipped out to the Pacific during WWII to proudly defend his country.
Dale was in the battle of Tarawa and several other battles in the Atol islands. During a mortar shelling of Tarawa, he was buried alive with 2 other soldiers who died in the attack. He was offered the purple heart but refused because he was not injured physically. Dale was trained as an aviation machinist mate initially. He never saw an engine he could not fix. While serving in the Pacific he and his team received a commendation for turning around a record number of damaged bombers and getting them air born to fly again. After the war, Dale signed on to stay in the Navy for the next 18 years.
Dale Gillespie's daughter submitted his and his brothers Leonard and Delmer's names for remembrance at the WWII memorial in Washington D.C. Sherri also submitted Dale's name to the National Cathedral in D.C. at the WWII Memorial and applied and received the Cold War Award for Dale Posthumously. When Visiting the Nation's Capital you may enter Dale's name at the WWII memorial and National Cathedral to find him remembered there.
He was assigned to joint Air and Navy Military Air Transport Squadrons after the war until his retirement in 1963. He was a flight engineer and navigator on Super Constellation planes. Dale logged over a million air miles for which the Air Force awarded him the million-mile wings. Dale's flights took him to Japan, Malaysia, Saigon, India, Alaska, and Hawaii (before they were states), Guam, and many more locations that were classified. He had many close calls during his flights. He always said, "I have been very very lucky".
Dale had a droll sense of humor and loved to tease. He was a bit hot-headed but the first to help a friend. He would tell the most outrageous stories or say something controversial with a "smirky" grin to see if you bought it. Then laughed after wards. Dale loved to hunt. He hunted moose, deer, goat, and bear. Three years in a row he would hunt at the continental divide, stop in at Reno after the trip, and win enough to pay for his hunt. Dale loved life, nature, traveling the Alaska Highway, and the world.
Dale was a 33-degree Mason and WWII veteran. He chose to be buried in his apron rather than his uniform. He worked hard after he retired owning and operating cocktail lounges in Oakland, Fremont, and Modesto California. He bought a 14-acre ranch in Oakdale, CA. Dale loved his ranch, animals, horses, and country living which was similar to his childhood memories of Oklahoma.
Dale was a cowboy who was more at home in a cowboy hat and boots than in suits. He died too young from prostate cancer because he waited too long to see his doctor. He is interred across from the military memorial at Lakewood Memorial Cemetary in Hughson, Stanislaus County, CA. Dale is survived by his daughter Sherri, son Robert, two grandsons Shawn and Aaron, one great-grandson Cole, and three great-granddaughters, Kendal, Lauren, and Nicholette.
Dad was kind-hearted, a hard worker, an expert mechanic, and courageous. He was also stubborn to a fault but mended family fences before he died by telling his daughter that his biggest regret was not seeing how much family meant to her and asking his Grandson Shawn to forgive him for throwing a shoeing iron at him when he was thirteen. He was a one-of-a-kind cowboy who told wonderful stories and jokes to the end. He is missed by all of his family.
DECEMBER 2012, WARNING CAVEAT All photos, stories, and bio content are December 2012 © copyright protected and may not be copied, duplicated, published, or sold posted via a family tree in part or whole without the written and dated authorization of the owner and daughter Sherri Gillespie.
Dale Clifton Gillespie is the son of Archie Roy Gillespie and Edna Paulene Harris. He was born in Rankin Oklahoma. He was one of seven (7) children with three brothers and three sisters. He married Maudie A Coffee in 1943 just before he shipped out to the Pacific during WWII to proudly defend his country.
Dale was in the battle of Tarawa and several other battles in the Atol islands. During a mortar shelling of Tarawa, he was buried alive with 2 other soldiers who died in the attack. He was offered the purple heart but refused because he was not injured physically. Dale was trained as an aviation machinist mate initially. He never saw an engine he could not fix. While serving in the Pacific he and his team received a commendation for turning around a record number of damaged bombers and getting them air born to fly again. After the war, Dale signed on to stay in the Navy for the next 18 years.
Dale Gillespie's daughter submitted his and his brothers Leonard and Delmer's names for remembrance at the WWII memorial in Washington D.C. Sherri also submitted Dale's name to the National Cathedral in D.C. at the WWII Memorial and applied and received the Cold War Award for Dale Posthumously. When Visiting the Nation's Capital you may enter Dale's name at the WWII memorial and National Cathedral to find him remembered there.
He was assigned to joint Air and Navy Military Air Transport Squadrons after the war until his retirement in 1963. He was a flight engineer and navigator on Super Constellation planes. Dale logged over a million air miles for which the Air Force awarded him the million-mile wings. Dale's flights took him to Japan, Malaysia, Saigon, India, Alaska, and Hawaii (before they were states), Guam, and many more locations that were classified. He had many close calls during his flights. He always said, "I have been very very lucky".
Dale had a droll sense of humor and loved to tease. He was a bit hot-headed but the first to help a friend. He would tell the most outrageous stories or say something controversial with a "smirky" grin to see if you bought it. Then laughed after wards. Dale loved to hunt. He hunted moose, deer, goat, and bear. Three years in a row he would hunt at the continental divide, stop in at Reno after the trip, and win enough to pay for his hunt. Dale loved life, nature, traveling the Alaska Highway, and the world.
Dale was a 33-degree Mason and WWII veteran. He chose to be buried in his apron rather than his uniform. He worked hard after he retired owning and operating cocktail lounges in Oakland, Fremont, and Modesto California. He bought a 14-acre ranch in Oakdale, CA. Dale loved his ranch, animals, horses, and country living which was similar to his childhood memories of Oklahoma.
Dale was a cowboy who was more at home in a cowboy hat and boots than in suits. He died too young from prostate cancer because he waited too long to see his doctor. He is interred across from the military memorial at Lakewood Memorial Cemetary in Hughson, Stanislaus County, CA. Dale is survived by his daughter Sherri, son Robert, two grandsons Shawn and Aaron, one great-grandson Cole, and three great-granddaughters, Kendal, Lauren, and Nicholette.
Dad was kind-hearted, a hard worker, an expert mechanic, and courageous. He was also stubborn to a fault but mended family fences before he died by telling his daughter that his biggest regret was not seeing how much family meant to her and asking his Grandson Shawn to forgive him for throwing a shoeing iron at him when he was thirteen. He was a one-of-a-kind cowboy who told wonderful stories and jokes to the end. He is missed by all of his family.
DECEMBER 2012, WARNING CAVEAT All photos, stories, and bio content are December 2012 © copyright protected and may not be copied, duplicated, published, or sold posted via a family tree in part or whole without the written and dated authorization of the owner and daughter Sherri Gillespie.
December 2012 WARNING photos, stories, and bio content are © copyright protected and may not be copied, duplicated, published, or sold directly or indirectly or posted to a family tree in part or whole without the written authorization of daughter, Sherri Gillespie (I took this photo and if it appears anywhere it is in violation of copyright laws. I caught and noticed posters on ANCESTRY.
Dale Clifton Gillespie is the son of Archie Roy Gillespie and Edna Paulene Harris. He was born in Rankin Oklahoma. He was one of seven (7) children with three brothers and three sisters. He married Maudie A Coffee in 1943 just before he shipped out to the Pacific during WWII to proudly defend his country.
Dale was in the battle of Tarawa and several other battles in the Atol islands. During a mortar shelling of Tarawa, he was buried alive with 2 other soldiers who died in the attack. He was offered the purple heart but refused because he was not injured physically. Dale was trained as an aviation machinist mate initially. He never saw an engine he could not fix. While serving in the Pacific he and his team received a commendation for turning around a record number of damaged bombers and getting them air born to fly again. After the war, Dale signed on to stay in the Navy for the next 18 years.
Dale Gillespie's daughter submitted his and his brothers Leonard and Delmer's names for remembrance at the WWII memorial in Washington D.C. Sherri also submitted Dale's name to the National Cathedral in D.C. at the WWII Memorial and applied and received the Cold War Award for Dale Posthumously. When Visiting the Nation's Capital you may enter Dale's name at the WWII memorial and National Cathedral to find him remembered there.
He was assigned to joint Air and Navy Military Air Transport Squadrons after the war until his retirement in 1963. He was a flight engineer and navigator on Super Constellation planes. Dale logged over a million air miles for which the Air Force awarded him the million-mile wings. Dale's flights took him to Japan, Malaysia, Saigon, India, Alaska, and Hawaii (before they were states), Guam, and many more locations that were classified. He had many close calls during his flights. He always said, "I have been very very lucky".
Dale had a droll sense of humor and loved to tease. He was a bit hot-headed but the first to help a friend. He would tell the most outrageous stories or say something controversial with a "smirky" grin to see if you bought it. Then laughed after wards. Dale loved to hunt. He hunted moose, deer, goat, and bear. Three years in a row he would hunt at the continental divide, stop in at Reno after the trip, and win enough to pay for his hunt. Dale loved life, nature, traveling the Alaska Highway, and the world.
Dale was a 33-degree Mason and WWII veteran. He chose to be buried in his apron rather than his uniform. He worked hard after he retired owning and operating cocktail lounges in Oakland, Fremont, and Modesto California. He bought a 14-acre ranch in Oakdale, CA. Dale loved his ranch, animals, horses, and country living which was similar to his childhood memories of Oklahoma.
Dale was a cowboy who was more at home in a cowboy hat and boots than in suits. He died too young from prostate cancer because he waited too long to see his doctor. He is interred across from the military memorial at Lakewood Memorial Cemetary in Hughson, Stanislaus County, CA. Dale is survived by his daughter Sherri, son Robert, two grandsons Shawn and Aaron, one great-grandson Cole, and three great-granddaughters, Kendal, Lauren, and Nicholette.
Dad was kind-hearted, a hard worker, an expert mechanic, and courageous. He was also stubborn to a fault but mended family fences before he died by telling his daughter that his biggest regret was not seeing how much family meant to her and asking his Grandson Shawn to forgive him for throwing a shoeing iron at him when he was thirteen. He was a one-of-a-kind cowboy who told wonderful stories and jokes to the end. He is missed by all of his family.
DECEMBER 2012, WARNING CAVEAT All photos, stories, and bio content are December 2012 © copyright protected and may not be copied, duplicated, published, or sold posted via a family tree in part or whole without the written and dated authorization of the owner and daughter Sherri Gillespie.
Dale Clifton Gillespie is the son of Archie Roy Gillespie and Edna Paulene Harris. He was born in Rankin Oklahoma. He was one of seven (7) children with three brothers and three sisters. He married Maudie A Coffee in 1943 just before he shipped out to the Pacific during WWII to proudly defend his country.
Dale was in the battle of Tarawa and several other battles in the Atol islands. During a mortar shelling of Tarawa, he was buried alive with 2 other soldiers who died in the attack. He was offered the purple heart but refused because he was not injured physically. Dale was trained as an aviation machinist mate initially. He never saw an engine he could not fix. While serving in the Pacific he and his team received a commendation for turning around a record number of damaged bombers and getting them air born to fly again. After the war, Dale signed on to stay in the Navy for the next 18 years.
Dale Gillespie's daughter submitted his and his brothers Leonard and Delmer's names for remembrance at the WWII memorial in Washington D.C. Sherri also submitted Dale's name to the National Cathedral in D.C. at the WWII Memorial and applied and received the Cold War Award for Dale Posthumously. When Visiting the Nation's Capital you may enter Dale's name at the WWII memorial and National Cathedral to find him remembered there.
He was assigned to joint Air and Navy Military Air Transport Squadrons after the war until his retirement in 1963. He was a flight engineer and navigator on Super Constellation planes. Dale logged over a million air miles for which the Air Force awarded him the million-mile wings. Dale's flights took him to Japan, Malaysia, Saigon, India, Alaska, and Hawaii (before they were states), Guam, and many more locations that were classified. He had many close calls during his flights. He always said, "I have been very very lucky".
Dale had a droll sense of humor and loved to tease. He was a bit hot-headed but the first to help a friend. He would tell the most outrageous stories or say something controversial with a "smirky" grin to see if you bought it. Then laughed after wards. Dale loved to hunt. He hunted moose, deer, goat, and bear. Three years in a row he would hunt at the continental divide, stop in at Reno after the trip, and win enough to pay for his hunt. Dale loved life, nature, traveling the Alaska Highway, and the world.
Dale was a 33-degree Mason and WWII veteran. He chose to be buried in his apron rather than his uniform. He worked hard after he retired owning and operating cocktail lounges in Oakland, Fremont, and Modesto California. He bought a 14-acre ranch in Oakdale, CA. Dale loved his ranch, animals, horses, and country living which was similar to his childhood memories of Oklahoma.
Dale was a cowboy who was more at home in a cowboy hat and boots than in suits. He died too young from prostate cancer because he waited too long to see his doctor. He is interred across from the military memorial at Lakewood Memorial Cemetary in Hughson, Stanislaus County, CA. Dale is survived by his daughter Sherri, son Robert, two grandsons Shawn and Aaron, one great-grandson Cole, and three great-granddaughters, Kendal, Lauren, and Nicholette.
Dad was kind-hearted, a hard worker, an expert mechanic, and courageous. He was also stubborn to a fault but mended family fences before he died by telling his daughter that his biggest regret was not seeing how much family meant to her and asking his Grandson Shawn to forgive him for throwing a shoeing iron at him when he was thirteen. He was a one-of-a-kind cowboy who told wonderful stories and jokes to the end. He is missed by all of his family.
DECEMBER 2012, WARNING CAVEAT All photos, stories, and bio content are December 2012 © copyright protected and may not be copied, duplicated, published, or sold posted via a family tree in part or whole without the written and dated authorization of the owner and daughter Sherri Gillespie.
