From a contemporary press report:
Cyril M. Statum, 84, an Air Force Lieutenant Colonel who retired in the 1960s and then was a missile program manager at the Pentagon, died of cardiac arrest April 30, 2001, at his home in Washington.
He was born in Comanche, Texas, and was a graduate of Texas A&M University. He began his military career with the Army in 1939 and served in the Pacific as a navigator/bombardier with the Army Air Forces during World War II. He later served in Korea during the war there.
Colonel Statum was certified as a master navigator of the Air Force, on call for flights of VIPs. He ran the Bowling Air Force Base Club and was program manager of the Titan missile system contractors in San Bernardino, Calif. He was a civilian employee of the Air Force for 10 years.
His honors included a Distinguished Flying Cross, two Bronze Stars and an Air Medal.
He was a member of the Army and Navy Club, the Chevy Chase Club and the Retired Officers Association. He had lived in the Washington area on and off since the early 1950s.
His first wife, Alma Lamb Statum, died in 1976.
Survivors include his wife, Marion Hume Statum of Washington; a son from his first marriage, Cyril M. Statum Jr. of Austin; a brother; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
STATUM, CYRIL MANSELL
On April 31, 2001, CYRIL MANSELL STATUM of Washington, D.C.; beloved husband of Marion Statum; father of Cyril Statum, Jr. of Austin, TX; brother, Glen Statum of Costa Mesa, CA; also survived by three grandchildren. Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 17 at Arlington Cemetery, Arlington, VA. Memorial contributions may be made to Texas A&M University Scholarship Fund.
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