In Memorium

A short eulogy by Charlie Spicka (Col., USAF ret) for his good friend Charles Koeninger who passed away Thursday, June 15, 2006.

Dear Friends,

Charlie Koeninger was a friend and a special person.

Thanks to Charlie I was able to requalify in the -130A in July '68 so I could enter the AC-130 Gunship Class that began at Lockbourne AB, Ohio in August 1968.

The Vietnam War was raging and I was leaving the Air Academy for SEAsia when a Col. at MPC called to tell me that my A-1E assignment was being canceled because I had too much C-130 time.  MPC wanted to send me to C-130s and I'd be based at Mactan, P.I. I only wanted to go to SEAsia in a plane with a gun.

I had heard about the Gunship program starting. The first class was to begin in Aug. '68. I was flying T-33s and needed to be -130 qualified in order to enter the first AC-130A Gunship Class at Lockbourne. I asked the MPC Col. if I could get PCS orders to -130 Gunships, if I was able to get requalified in the -130A. He agreed.

Charlie Koeninger, who was then a C-130 Ops. Off. at Lockbourne, agreed to help me to get requalified. He knew that I had been an A model IP. It all worked out and I flew a tour in AC-130s at Ubon, Thai., in '68 - '69.

I called Charlie a year or so ago to thank him for this special favor. He didn't sound ill during our chat, but he obviously was. I was very sorry to read Charlie's Obituary.  Charlie Koeninger will be missed.

Charlie Koeninger had a ready smile and was a friend to many, many people in the Troop Carrier business.

He also flew the first AC-130 Gunship deployed to SVN.

May Charlie Rest in Peace.

Sincerely,

Charlie

Charles F. Spicka
Col., USAF (ret.)
Oceanside, Calif.

- Neubi AB, Ger./Evreux AB, FR      '56 - '60

- Sewart AFB, Tenn.                          '60 - '65

- Ubon, Thailand                                '68 - '69

CHARLES EDWIN KOENINGER OBITUARY

CHARLES EDWIN KOENINGER (Col., USAF, ret.) 80, Jacksonville, died peacefully at home Thursday, June 15, after a long battle with cancer. He was born June 17, 1926, at Chillicothe, Texas, the son of Frank and Ollie Mae Koeninger.
   He is survived by his wife, Betty; a daughter, Kay, and her husband, Scott Warren, of Yellow Springs, Ohio; a son, Allan Koeninger, and his wife,
Mindy, of Herndon, Va.; a daughter, Ann Chavez, of Anchorage, Alaska; a
daughter, Jean Koeninger, and her husband, Dale Custer, of Little Rock; and
four grandchildren, Whitney and Dayna Koeninger, David Warren and Max May.
   Colonel Koeninger served as a Motor Machinist Mate 2nd class aboard a PC in the Caribbean and South Atlantic during World War II. After discharge
from the Navy, he attended the University of Texas and earned his B.S.
degree. He entered pilot training as a 2nd Lieutenant, earning his wings
with Class 52-D at Reese Air Force Base, Texas. Soon after, he served a
14-month tour in Korea, flying C-119 s. While instructing ROTC classes at
the University of Arizona, he also studied for and earned his Master’s
Degree. Next, he taught for four years at the U.S. Air Force Academy,
followed by a shortened tour in France flying C-130 s. He served a tour in
Vietnam flying the first C-130 gunship and then was assigned as Advisor to
the Oklahoma Air Guard. A four-year tour in Alaska gave him the
responsibility of serving as Director of Operations, 21st Composite Wing and
then the Alaskan Air Command. He retired September 1978 after two years as Base Commander at Little Rock Air Force Base.
   Charlie was a member of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and was a licensed
lay reader in that church. He was head of the usher committee for several
years and served two terms on the Vestry. A long-time volunteer at St.
Francis House, he was also on the Board of the Family Services Agency and
was President of that Board one year. A founding member of the Arkansas
Traveler Chapter, Order of Daedalians at LRAFB, he also served as the first
Flight Captain.
   A memorial service for Colonel Koeninger will be at 10 a.m., Tuesday,
June 20 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 4106 JFK Blvd., followed by
interment of ashes in the church’s columbarium. In lieu of flowers,
memorials can be made to St. Francis House, P.O. Box 4490, Little Rock,
Ark., 72214 or the St. Luke’s Endowment Fund. Arrangements by Roller-Owens Funeral Home, 5509 JFK, North Little Rock, (501-791-7400 ).

Online guest book www.rollerfuneralhomes.com/owens.

CARLSON, Allen W, Maj. USAF (Ret) Age 84 of Brentwood - Died April 25, 2008. Survived by wife Anna M. Carlson; sister Shirley Debroux of Merrill, WI; two sons - Ted and Kurt Carlson; 4 Stepchildren - Debbie Herod, Patsy Null, Lloyd McPherson, and Diane Tucker; and 18 grandchildren. Preceded in death by three sons –James, Dennis, and Peter Carlson and former wife Jeanette (Fluty).

Maj. Carlson was raised in northern Wisconsin before serving in the 485th Bomb Group of the Army Air Corps during WWII. Allen flew 34 combat missions as a B-24 navigator. His Air Force career later took him around the world. He retired from the US Air Force in 1966 and had subsequent careers in aviation and real estate in Salinas, CA. He served as Oak Hill, TN city manager in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s. Maj. Carlson helped form and was active in Brentwood American Legion Post 156, having held several positions including Post Commander.

Maj. Carlson was married for 18 years to Waneta Dawson of West Virginia with whom he had 5 boys. In 1965 he married Jeanette Fluty of Nashville, who preceded him in death in 1984. He married Anna McPherson in 1985.

Allen and Anna Carlson lived in Bradenton, FL for several years before moving back to Nashville in 1997, where they were active in the Harpeth Heights Baptist Church. They moved from Temple Hills to The Heritage in Brentwood in 2007.

Visitation with the family will be on April 29 from 5pm-8pm at Brentwood-Roesch-Patton Funeral Home (9010 Church Street East, Brentwood, TN). A memorial service will be held at Hermitage Gardens (535 Shute Lane, Hermitage, TN) on April 30 at 10am. A subsequent military funeral and interment will follow at Hermitage Gardens Cemetery. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Alive Hospice, 1718 Patterson St., Nashville, TN 37203.

Glenn A. Gregory, (Ret. Lt. Col)