Guy Harold Goddard – Major General, United States Air Force

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Guy Harold Goddard, 86, an Air Force Major General who directed the construction of airfields and military housing, died of a blood disorder June 2, 2005, at a hospice in Rockledge, Florida. He had lived in Viera, Florida, since 1995.

General Goddard, a 1941 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, was an officer in the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II. He commanded both the 842nd and 836th Aviation Engineer battalions in the Pacific theater and directed the construction of an airfield in present-day Malaysia.

In 1948, he transferred from the Army to the Air Force, which was formed the previous year. He served in Panama, Texas and North Africa and at the Pentagon. From 1957 to 1961, as head of the Air Force Family Housing Division, he directed the construction of 50,000 housing units for military personnel throughout the United States.

From 1965 to 1968, while stationed at the Pentagon, General Goddard was deputy director of construction for the Air Force. Among his assignments was Project Turnkey, which consisted of the design and construction of a tactical fighter base in South Vietnam. The project was completed in one year.

From 1968 until his retirement in 1972, General Goddard was director of civil engineering for the Air Force. His decorations included the Distinguished Service Medal, three awards of the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star and the Air Force Commendation Medal.

In 1973, the Air Force and the Society of American Military Engineers established the Goddard Medal, an annual award presented to recognize outstanding contributions to military engineering.

After his retirement, General Goddard was executive vice president for engineering firms in Cleveland and Baltimore.

He was born in Woodsfield, Ohio, and attended Ohio State University before entering West Point. He obtained a master’s degree in civil engineering from Texas A&M University in 1947.

He had lived in the Washington region off and on since 1941. He resided in McLean in the 1950s and 1960s and in the Mount Vernon section of Fairfax County in the 1960s and 1970s.

He moved to Hilton Head, South Carolina, in 1977 and later lived in Columbia, South Carolina, before moving to Florida.

General Goddard’s hobbies included golf and reading, and he enjoyed spending time with his family.

Survivors include his wife of 63 years, Margaret Roberts Goddard of Viera; six children, Rebecca Rizek of Satellite Beach, Florida, Guy H. Goddard Jr. of Woodsboro, Patricia Wooten of Walkersville, John R. Goddard of Alexandria, Peggy Terrell of Lynchburg, Virginia, and Rosemary Goddard of Baltimore; a brother; 21 grandchildren; and 19 great-grandchildren.

MAJOR GENERAL GUY HAROLD GODDARD
Retired January 1, 1972 – Died June 2, 2005

Major General Guy Harold Goddard was the Director of Civil Engineering, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. In this position, he was responsible for the worldwide management and direction of Air Force programs involving design, construction, maintenance, and operation of real property facilities.

General Goddard was born in Woodsfield, Ohio, in 1918, where he attended grade and high schools. After a year in the College of Engineering, Ohio State University, he attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, from which he graduated in 1941 with a bachelor of science degree and commission as Second Lieutenant.

His initial assignment was with the 37th Engineer Combat Regiment, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in Texas. Following several training assignments with engineer combat troops in the United States, he went to the Southwest Pacific area as executive officer of the 239th Engineer Combat Battalion in January 1944. In June 1944 he assumed command of the 842d Aviation Engineer Battalion, and in December became commander of the 836th Aviation Engineer Battalion.

He returned to the United States in August 1945, attended Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and in May 1946, enrolled at Texas A&M University, where, in 1947, he obtained a master of science degree in civil engineering.

His next assignment was with the Office of the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army, in Washington, D.C. During this assignment, he transferred to the U.S. Air Force in September 1948 and went to the Caribbean Air Command in Panama, where he became the civil engineer for the command.

In November 1951 he returned to the United States and was assigned to the Aviation Engineer Force at Wolters Air Force Base, Texas, where he became deputy chief of staff for operations. In June 1956 he was transferred to Seventeenth Air Force in North Africa as civil engineer.

General Goddard returned to Washington, D.C., and in August 1957 was assigned to Headquarters U.S. Air Force to head the Air Force Family Housing Division in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations. As chief of this division, he was responsible for programming, designing and constructing Air Force housing worldwide, and for his outstanding accomplishments in this position was awarded the Legion of Merit.

In August 1962 General Goddard became civil engineer for Air Force Logistics Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. He became a general officer while serving in this position, and was awarded an oak leaf cluster to the Legion of Merit upon his transfer to Headquarters U.S. Air Force in August 1965, as deputy director for construction, Directorate of Civil Engineering.

General Goddard was awarded the second oak leaf cluster to the Legion of Merit Dec. 21, 1967, for Air Staff management of the Air Force Turnkey Project at Tuy Hoa, Republic of Vietnam.

In May 1968 he was assigned as director of civil engineering, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.

His military decorations and awards include the Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, Bronze Star Medal, and Air Force Commendation Medal.

General Goddard has been involved in military engineering and construction for two military services during the past 30 years. He is a registered professional engineer in the State of Texas, a Fellow in the American Society of Civil Engineers, a member of the National Society of Professional Engineers, and President of the Society of American Military Engineers, having assumed this position in May 1970.

General Goddard’s hometown is Woodsfield, Ohio.

He was promoted to the temporary grade of major general effective November 1, 1967, with date of rank October 1, 1963.

GODDARD, GUY H
MG   US AIR FORCE
WORLD WAR II, KOREA, VIETNAM
DATE OF BIRTH: 11/09/1918
DATE OF DEATH: 06/02/2005
BURIED AT: SECTION 64  SITE 4023
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

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