More detail on this person: KNOWLES,
WILLIAM R. Colonel (Ret.) 1923 to 2013 Bill
Knowles passed away peacefully in his sleep on
January 10, 2013, in Portland, Oregon, where he
had been visiting with his daughter Cindy and her
husband Hollis. He was preceded in death by his
beloved wife, Marmion, who also died on January
10, twelve years earlier. Bill was born February
5, 1923, in Seattle, WA, to Frank and Odelia
Knowles. He attended Cleveland High School and
the University of Washington. His education was
interrupted by World War II, when he dropped out
of school to fight for his country as a Marine
fighter pilot. He graduated from flight school as
a Lieutenant and at age 20 found himself on the
next plane to the South Pacific. Bill flew 52
combat missions with VMSB 243 (The Flying
Goldbricks) in close air support of troops
fighting in the jungles as they recovered island
after island from the Japanese. He flew dive
bombers - the Corsairs, Dauntless, and Helldivers.
After the war he returned to the states, finished
up his university degree, and earned a commission
in the Regular Army. Assigned to the Medical
Service Corps, Bill became a Master Aviator. He
graduated from the first MSC helicopter flight
class and continued flying helicopters and fixed
wing aircraft throughout his 30-plus year Army
career. Bill did two combat tours in Vietnam,
flying MEDEVAC helicopters. In his second tour of
Vietnam, with the rank of Colonel, he commanded
the 498th Medical Company Air
Ambulance-nicknamed "Dustoff." As a "Flying
Commander" he flew 330 combat hours, 262
combat missions, and evacuated 361 patients
during his tour. He was awarded the Legion of
Merit for his service in Vietnam. Following his
second combat tour, Bill was tapped to attend the
prestigious U.S. Army War College in Carlisle
Barracks, Pennsylvania, in 1968. After graduating,
he transferred to the Medical Brigade in Fort
Meade, MD, and took over as Chief of Plans and
Operations. Upon retiring from Military service in
1971, Bill began a successful second career in
real estate and property development in Arizona.
In 1977, Bill and Marmi made their last move
together to California, where Bill became Manager
of Agricultural Leases for the City of San Diego,
a job he continued and enjoyed until retiring in
Leucadia. A convert to Catholicism in his
twenties, Bill was a religious man who went to
Mass every day while his health lasted. He was a
generous, thoughtful, prayerful man who remained
devoted to the Catholic Church. He was an
inspirational father to his five children, and
held the family unit together with his wisdom,
strength, and great sense of humor as he and
Marmi shepherded the clan on more than twenty
moves overseas and around the United States.
Looking at his life, you can say that for much of
it he was a warrior who fought courageously for
God and Country. But the measure of his spirit was
the gentleness and kindness that was felt by all
with whom he came in contact. He is tremendously
missed by family and friends, who take comfort in
the fact that after many years of not having her
by his side, he is again reunited in heaven with
the love of his life, his wife Marmion. Bill is
survived by daughter Cindy (Hollis) of Portland,
Oregon; sons, Rick (Joan) of Cardiff by the Sea,
CA; T.J. (Diann) of Denver, Colorado; Jeff (Tara)
of Laguna Niguel, CA; Rob (Kristi) of Manhattan
Beach, CA; and his sisters, Joanne Blankenship
(Don) of Anacortes, WA; Kristi (Craig) Butler of
Seattle, WA; brother, Kerry (Connie) of
Fredericksburg, Virginia; and many beautiful
grandchildren and one beautiful
great-granddaughter, all of whom he dearly loved.
Family members will attend a private burial
service on Friday, February 22nd, at Mission San
Luis Rey in Oceanside. In lieu of flowers, please
make a contribution to St. Patrick's Church,
Carlsbad, CA.
Published in U-T San Diego on February 12, 2013
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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