COL Richard G. Grammer RET, USAF's Obituary
Richard Gene Grammer was born December 21, 1929 in one of the coldest and deepest snowstorms in Longview, Texas. A neighbor helped with his birth since the doctor could not make it with his horse and buggy until two days later!
Gene attended nearby Hallsville public schools and during high school was class president, held leads in the junior and senior plays, was active in several school organizations and was a standout athlete- having been a three year starter on both the baseball and football teams. He was also co-captain of the football team and the most outstanding player for two years. Because of these accomplishments he was able to go to college on a football scholarship after he graduated from high school in 1947. Later in life he became a member of the Hallsville High School Bobcat Hall-of-Fame as well as a long time booster club supporter.
At East Texas Baptist College in Marshall, Gene was a member of the football and baseball teams and in his senior year was captain and a 60-minute player. He graduated in 1951 with a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Physical Education and two minors in Mathematics and Biology. In 1991 he was inducted into the ETBU Tiger Hall of Fame and has served on several committees. He was past president of the Board of Associates, served on the Alumni Council and was Chairman of its Development Committee for two years and also was an ETBU trustee for seven years, including five years on its Executive Committee. He also received the Distinguished Alumni W.T. Tardy Development Award in 2008.
Immediately after graduation, Gene had a dream of coaching and teaching, but military duty was calling - either by draft or volunteering. He volunteered and enlisted in the Air Force, much to the concern of his mother who never wanted him to fly! He first tried to enlist in the Navy, but they would not take anyone with dependents, and he had just married his college sweetheart, Lois Bedsole, in July 1951. So on August 29, 1951 he began basic training in one of the hottest Texas summers on record. He soon became discontent with the lack of uniforms, lack of beds, change of bases and separation from his new bride and family. He did meet another young Christian man, however, and they became best friends throughout the rest of their life.
After basic training encouraging changes took place. Gene and his friend were assigned to a special school to receive training in electronics for entrance into the nuclear and conventional munitions career field. He remained in this field his entire career except for various professional military schooling. Upon completion of this initial training he was accepted to the Officer Candidate School which was extremely rigorous (only 444 graduated out of 675). He later wrote how he learned the importance of Duty, Honor and Country along with Leadership, Character and Discipline. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. on December 11, 1953.
He, along with the other graduates, heard they would not have to continue their active military commitment much longer, but due to the Korean conflict, they were surprised to learn they would all have to continue active duty military service another three years! The dream of returning to east Texas to coach and teach became a closed door for Gene. It was a low point in his life and he turned to God as well as his dad for counsel and strength. His dad told him, ”The military needs good people … Give ‘em a good hand, son!”
In Gene’s own words he said, “To me that meant – ‘take care of the troops and they’ll take care of you.’ Later in one of his brief biographies about ‘giving ‘em a good hand’, Gene stated, “As a new 2nd Lt., I learned more from an old seasoned Master Sergeant who came through WWII than I did from anyone else. When he saw I was having trouble with the plant Major, he came to my rescue. I never forgot his wise counsel and advice. I persevered and also saw the positive response from both officers and enlisted men. This Master Sergeant was one of my ‘good hands.’
As I increased in rank and responsibility, taking care of the troops from a staff command level was a key point in my military assignments. I generally made an on-going effort to always be at work before the troops arrived and then stay behind after they left for the day. On multi-shift schedules, and there were many, I made it a point to show up at midnight or early morning hours. This turned out to be great times to reinforce the importance of every individual. Also, you find out who were the really ‘good hands’.
Gene also commented that these troops were the ones who made all the awards and citations he received possible! And there were many awards and decorations including the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal with one oak-leaf cluster, the Air Force Commendation Medal with two oak-leaf clusters and the Air Force Good Conduct Medal. He once wrote, “I am just as proud of the Air Force Good Conduct ribbon which I received as an enlisted airman as I am of the Legion of Merit!
After he was Regular Office Approved and in the military for several years, there came another pivotal point of choosing to continue in the military. The words of his dad rang clear in his mind of the military being a good stable career choice, where coaching jobs were hard to find at that time. His dad was very pleased Gene decided to stay in the military. He even said, “Maybe you’ll make Major one day, son!”
Gene did, in fact, make Major – and even Lt. Col – then even full Col. He had a series of eighteen different assignments from field level to staff headquarters over a military career of more than 33 years. During this time he attended the Air Command and Staff College earning a Master’s in Business Administration from George Washington University in 1967. He also had two tours of duty in the Pacific, including Okinawa, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Iwo Jima and Thailand. Temporary duty assignments took him to Europe as well. He was assigned nineteen years at the Strategic Air Command in Bellevue, Nebraska, eleven of which were spent on the headquarters staff. Also, four years were spent at the Pentagon as Chief of the Nuclear Munitions and Missile Branch where he was in charge of Nuclear Weapons Maintenance policies and procedures. An electronic technician, maintenance officer, inspector, squadron commander, Air Force staff officer and command director round out his military assignments.
For his final five years of military service, he was assigned as the Director of Munitions for the Strategic Air Command in Nebraska where he retired February 1, 1984. He still worked four more years as a consultant for several companies, including PACCAR in Renton, Washington as a consultant administrator. He then finally returned to his boyhood farm site and built a retirement home in 1991 on the old cotton and pea patch, as he later told family, ‘to keep him humble!’
Humility was one of Gene’s main characteristics after making a commitment to follow Christ at the age of twelve. He was active in church ministries and Bible studies beginning in his young adult years at many different locations including a Southeast Asia hangar as well as the Pentagon! He helped lead an Okinawa Ministry as well as an outreach to the Hongkong Harbor People and always tried to be a positive influence to lead coworkers toward God especially in the difficult military culture of secularism, alcohol abuse, extreme tension due to world events and family separation assignments. After his military career he encouraged veterans to be role models and put and keep God in their life and country. (The Roman Captain was mentioned several times?)
One of his favorite Bible verses was Romans 8:31. It always reminded him of a very close friend who was a pilot during his time in the military in Thailand. This pilot had Romans 8:31 printed on the side of his aircraft. After flying 100 missions a pilot was able to go back home to the states, but on his 99th mission, this pilot accidentally crashed and died. “What shall we say in response to this?” … Romans 8:31 says … “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Since 1958 Gene was a Sunday School teacher for most all grade levels from juniors through adults, as well as a deacon, and continued in these roles until just five years ago! Here at Macedonia, he has also served as a trustee, treasurer, Chairman of the Building and Grounds Committee and was Director of the Senior Citizens Ministry. He was also active in various civic affairs including the role of Voting Judge for precinct 25 in Harrison County for several years.
Gene was preceded in death by his wife, Lois Grammer, his parents, Aubra and Mary Grammer, and his youngest brother, Roy Grammer. He is survived by his brother and sister, Billy Grammer and Barbara Doss of Longview, TX; three daughters: Mary McLean of Hickory, NC; Jeannie Coward of Dallas, TX; and Judy Fountain of Longview, TX; as well as 10 grandchildren, 22 great grandchildren and 1 great-great grandchild.
What’s your fondest memory of Richard?
What’s a lesson you learned from Richard?
Share a story where Richard's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Richard you’ll never forget.
How did Richard make you smile?