A member of the United States Air Force, stationed with the 94th Intelligence Squadron, at Fort Meade, Maryland, died Saturday night, March 7, 1998 in an automobile accident. He will be buried Monday, March 16, 1998, 9 a.m., at Arlington National Cemetery. Guests wishing to attend the funeral should go to the designated waiting room in the Arlington Administration Building no later than 8:30 a.m.
TSgt Dees’ last wish was to be cremated. An honor guard will escort his ashes to the designated grave site in Arlington. The 694th Intelligence Group Chaplain Johnson, the 94th Commander Lieutenant Colonel Jennings, and a family relative will conduct a grave site memorial service.
Sergeant Dees is survived by his mother, Doris Joan Dees of Chadbourn, North Carolina; his wife, Myrce, and his two sons, Julian, 8 and Derek 14, of Fort Meade, Maryland. He was preceded in death by his father, Charles Darwin Dees, Sr., who was an Air Force co-pilot and died when his plane crashed in 1957.
Charles ”Darwin” Dees entered the Air Force in 1981. He worked as an intelligence analyst and his assignments included Clark Air Base (AB) in the Philippines, Grisom Air Force Base in Indiana, Osan Air Base in South Korea, Misawa Air Base, Japan and at Fort Meade, Maryland. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Howard University, Washington, DC in 1980 and graduated from West Columbus High School, Cerro Gordo, North Carolina in 1976. He would have turned 40 on March 12.
The family asks that those wishing to make donations do so in memory of Charles ”Darwin” Dees to either the Southeastern Community College Foundation, Whiteville, NC 28472; or to the Westside High School Alumni Building Fund, Chadbourn, NC 28431.
Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.
Reviewed by: Michael Howard