From a contemporary press report:
A memorial service for Robert E. McCall, a retired U.S. Navy Captain who died Wednesday, June 7, 2001, will be held at 2 p.m. today at Church Street United Methodist Church.
Following his retirement from the Navy in the mid-1970s, Captain McCall worked for two years at the Clinch River Breeder Reactor Project as chief executive officer of the engineering division of Project Management Corp.
He graduated from the University of Southern California, went into the Navy in 1939, and won an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, from which he graduated. He participated in mine-sweeping operations at Okinawa and the inland sea of Japan. After completing flight training in 1948, he completed advanced courses in nuclear ordnance, aerodynamics and electronics and taught at the Naval Academy.
From 1970-72, Captain McCall was commander of the Naval Air Station at China Lake, California.
He is survived by his wife, Marilyn Wray McCall; two sons and daughters-in-law, Rob and Kathy McCall of Key West, Fla., Jim and Marti McCall of South Lake Tahoe, Calif.; five grandchildren; one great-grandson; and two sisters, Mary Grambling of Orangeburg, S.C., and Dorothy McCall of Greenville, S.C.
After today’s service, the family will receive friends at the church. Captain McCall is to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Church Street “Rejoice” Program, c/o Church Street United Methodist Church,1900 Henley St., Knoxville, TN 37902; Little Creek Sanitarium, 1810 Little Creek Lane, Knoxville, TN 37922; or a charity of choice.
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