More detail on this person: Obituary -- Bill J. Comer, 59, a retired Army lieutenant colonel
who also had a career as a National Aeronautics and Space Administration aerospace safety manager,
died of a liver ailment June 27 at a hospital in Ocoee, Fla. This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site:
08/31/2024
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Col. Comer was a Missouri native and a graduate of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona
Beach, Fla. He lived in Springfield before moving to Florida in June to be closer to his relatives.
He served about 25 years in the Army until his retirement from active military duty in 1985 as an
aviation safety officer at Fort Rucker in Alabama.
He was an Army helicopter pilot in Vietnam during the conflict there. He later commanded an
aviation company at Fort Bragg, N.C., where he also was the aviation officer for the Golden Knights
Army Parachute Team. He also commanded a field artillery unit in Germany and pursued advanced
studies in fixed and rotary wing aviation.
After retiring from active duty, he joined NASA at its headquarters in Washington as an aerospace
safety investigator and served on the team that investigated the explosion of the Challenger
shuttle in 1986.
His military decorations included two Distinguished Flying Crosses and the Bronze Star. At NASA, he
received awards for exceptional performance and superior accomplishment.
Since his retirement from NASA in 2000, he formed a company called Air Safety Associates and
authored an unpublished book about saving lives at the risk of one's own, titled, "The Glorious
Quest."
His marriage to Sharon Comer ended in divorce.
Survivors include a son, Troy Comer of Winter Garden, Fla.; a brother; and a grandson.
From: Jill E. Redington, Head of Public Services, Aviation Technical Library, Building 9204, Fort
Rucker, AL 36362
I just read the obituary on LTC Comer and I think you got one of your facts wrong. When I enetered
the Army in 1974, then CPT B.J. Comer was Commander of Battery A (TA) 1st Bn 25th FA. CPT
Comer was my Battery Commander and he was a great soldier however he mentioned to me that during
his tour in Viet Nam with 1st AVN BDE he flew O-1E Bird Dogs as Aerial Observer. When his year was
up he extended his tour by 6 months and then retiurned to CONUS for the Field Artillery Officer
Career Course then the Q-Course at Ft Rucker for rating in Helicopters followed by an assignment to
Ft Bragg, NC where he flew the Golden Knights then served as XVlll Airborne Corps Artillery Staff
Aviation Officer and then assumed command of Battery A 1/25 FA. In 1975 he rotated to USAREUR to
2nd BN/ 41st FA at Bad Kissingen where he commanded HHB/2/41 until he was promoted Major. I lost
track of him after that.
Walter G. Dobinson, Jr., MAJ FA (Ret)