George R. Fitzpatrick – Lieutenant Colonel, United States Air Force

From a contemporary press report:

George R. Fitzpatrick, a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, age 80, joined our Heavenly Father, Sunday, April 20, 2003.

Colonel Fitzpatrick retired from the Air Force in 1968 at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, after 26 years of Military service. Subsequently he was Director of Airspace Communications and Control at Northrop Page Communications Engineers for nine years, Vice President of Engineering at Cortronics Systems International for seven years and Technical Director at CONTEL Federal Systems for 4 years.

Colonel Fitzpatrick was born in Albany, New York, and graduated from The Albany Academy, Cornell University and the University of Maryland with degrees in engineering and in business administration respectively. He graduated from the Air Command and Staff College in 1953.

He served in England, France and Germany during World War II and was chief engineer for navigational aids and air traffic control systems for the Berlin Airlift during which he engineered the first fixed radar approach control centers ever operationally used. His assignments included other tours at the Pentagon, Alaska and Japan.

His military decorations include three awards of the Air Force Commendation Medal and the Medal for Humane Action. He was a member of the Air Force Association, Disabled American Veterans, The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Armed Forces Communications-Electronics Association, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Berlin Airlift Veterans Association, Cornell Society of Engineers, Washington Telecommunications Society, The Retired Officers Association and the National Association for Uniformed Services.

He leaves behind his wife of 52 years, Mary Louise Fitzpatrick of Potomac Falls, Virginia; two daughters, Colleen Batsakis of South Riding, Virginia and Karen Hall of Bristol, Virginia; and seven grandchildren.

A service will be held at the Fort Myer Old Post Chapel at a later date. Interment Arlington National Cemetery with Full Military Honors. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made in his name to the National Cancer Institute, Attn: Sandy Montgomery, MOCRU, National Naval Medical Center, 8901 Wisconsin Ave., Building 8, Room 5101, Bethesda, Maryland 20889.

Michael Robert Patterson

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