William "Bill" Aaron Gauntt
May 15, 1945 - February 24, 2022
Lt.
Col. (Ret) William Aaron Gauntt, of Lookout Mountain, Tenn., went
to heaven on Feb. 24, 2022, surrounded by his family and his beloved
dog, Gracie.
Born May 15, 1945, in Greenville, Texas, and raised in Mount Pleasant,
Texas, Bill was a 1968
graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. As a captain and pilot in
the RF-4C Phantom II,
he was shot down over North Vietnam on his 121st mission and captured
by the enemy. He
was forced to walk 300 miles with no boots on to the prisoner of war
camp in Hanoi and was
there for nine months until released. His career as a pilot extended
to duty as a combat pilot, instructor pilot, Pentagon assignment,
and as an assistant base commander in Germany.
Bill received a master’s degree from the USAF Institute of Technology.
His Air
Force career earned him many accolades, including three Distinguished
Flying
Crosses, The Bronze Star with a V for Valor, two Purple Hearts, and
the POW
Medal, among others.
He retired from the Air Force in 1990 and began a career in Knoxville,
Tenn., as an environmental engineer. His final career was in home
healthcare, where he had the honor of caring for and spending time
with the elderly, often sitting by their bedside in their final moments
of life, knowing that one day, others would do the same for him.
Bill was loved and admired by people of all ages, including his many
grandchildren. His adventurous spirit will live on in each of them
as they cherish the memories of him taking them camping, cheering
them on during a sporting event or speaking to their classmates on
Veterans Day.
He was preceded in death by his parents, William Andrew and Ardelia
Gauntt, and his brother, Michael Gauntt.
He is survived by his daughter, Andrea Gauntt, of Wake Forest, N.C.;
and grandsons, Braedon, Carson and Lucas Stoy; his son, Peter (Jennifer)
Gauntt, of Woodrow, S.C.; his sister Gean Chapman, of Mt. Pleasant,
Texas; his brother Don (Carol) Gauntt, of Midwest City, Okla.; his
wife of 33 years, Nancy Powell Gauntt and family, Chris Wilson, Debbie
Wilson, Brooke (Andy ) Pippenger and Ashley (Drew) Vonderahe; and
grandchildren Parker, Barrett, Lizzie and Carter Wilson; Wiley, Janie
and Marguerite Pippenger; and Annie and Wilson Vonderahe.
A memorial service was held on April 8, 2022, at Lookout Mountain
Presbyterian Church, and a committal service with military honors
was held at the Air Force Academy Cemetery on April 18.
Memorials may be made to Tunnel to Towers Foundation at t2t.org or
to Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church, 316 North Bragg Ave., Lookout
Mountain, TN 37350.
(Brooke Pippenger, Grover Wilson and Nancy Gauntt)
Obituary - Friday, March 4, 2022 - Chattanoogan.com
William
Aaron Gauntt
Decorated U.S. Air Force Combat Pilot Was A Former Prisoner Of War
In Vietnam
William Aaron Gauntt (USAF, Lt. Col, ret.), of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee,
went to heaven on February 24, 2022, surrounded by his family and
his beloved dog, Gracie.
Born on May 15, 1945 in Greenville, TX
and raised in Mount Pleasant, Tx., "Bill" was a 1968 graduate
of the United States Air Force Academy. As a captain and pilot in
the RF-4C Phantom II, he was shot down over North Vietnam on his 121st
mission and captured by the enemy. He was forced to walk 300 miles
with no boots on to the prisoner of war camp in Hanoi and was there
for nine months until released. His career as a pilot extended to
duty as a combat pilot, instructor pilot, Pentagon assignment, and
as an Assistant Base Commander in Germany. Bill received a master’s
degree from the USAF Institute of Technology. His Air Force career
earned him many accolades, including three Distinguished Flying Crosses,
the Bronze Star with a V for Valor, two Purple Hearts, four Meritorious
Service Medals, nine Air Medals, two Air Force Commendation Medals,
the POW Medal, the National Defense Medal and the Vietnam Service
Medal.
He retired from the Air Force in 1990
and began a career in Knoxville, as an environmental engineer. His
final career was in home healthcare, where he had the honor of caring
for and spending time with the elderly, often sitting by their bedside
in their final moments of life, knowing that one day, others would
do the same for him. Bill was loved and admired by people of all ages,
including his many grandchildren. His adventurous spirit will live
on in each of them as they cherish the memories of him taking them
camping, cheering them on during a sporting event, or speaking to
their classmates on Veterans Day. Their stories abound of the numerous
times he showed up for them.
He was preceded in death by his parents,
William Andrew and Ardelia Gauntt and his brother, Michael Gauntt.
He is survived by his daughter, Andrea
Gauntt, of Wake Forest, NC, and grandsons, Braedon, Carson and Lucas
Stoy; his son, Peter (Jennifer) Gauntt, of Woodrow, SC; his sister
Gean Chapman, of Mt Pleasant, TX; his brother Don (Carol) Gauntt of
Midwest City, OK; his wife of 33 years, Nancy Powell Gauntt and family,
Chris Wilson, Debbie Wilson, Brooke (Andy) Pippenger and Ashley (Drew)
Vonderahe; grandchildren, Parker, Barrett, Lizzie and Carter Wilson;
Wiley, Janie and Marguerite Pippenger; Annie and Wilson Vonderahe.
A memorial service will be held on Friday,
April 8, at Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church. A reception in the
Fellowship Hall will at 11 a.m., followed by a memorial service at
12:15 p.m. in the sanctuary with interment in the LMPC Memorial Garden.
A committal service with military honors
will be held at the USAF Academy in Colorado Springs on Monday, April
18, at 10 a.m. with a reception following at the Eisenhower Golf Club.
Friends and family are welcome to attend the service of their choosing.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be
made to Tunnel to Towers Foundation at t2t.org
or to Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church, 316 North Bragg Avenue,
Lookout Mountain, TN 37350.
Arrangements are entrusted to Covenant
Funeral & Crematory, Crox family owned and operated,www.CovenantFuneral.com.
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We have just been informed that Bill pased away
on February 24, 2022. Please read the Patriot Post about Bill here.
To my classmates at the USAF Academy:
Sad news, indeed.
Bill Gauntt is in my prayers. He and
I had a long career together. Just as all of you, we were classmates
at the USAF Academy, class of '68, and we were both in the final 26th
Cadet Squadron at graduation.
Other than pilot training (I went to Williams AFB, Bill went to Vance
or maybe Webb?) we both were assigned to several more assignments
together. We both flew T-33 at Tyndall AFB, then on to Shaw AFB for
RF-4C school, then to Udorn Air Base Thailand where we both flew the
RF-4C in the 14th TRS 1971-1972 for Operation Linebacker.
Here's Bill Gauntt (blue marking around him) and me (yellow ) in a
14th TRS squadron photo, probably around May 1972 at Udorn Thailand.
At Udorn, we each had an airplane with
our name on the canopy rail. Although, we flew every plane in the
squadron, rarely got to fly our own plane!
On 13Aug1972, Bill Gauntt was flying 'my' plane (RF-4C 680604) and
was shot down in North Viet Nam. His back seater, Fran Townsend was
captured and killed on the ground, Bill was captured marched to Hanoi
and became a POW.
Bill was a specialist in survival training at the Academy, and it
served him well during the long trek up thru the jungles and railroads
to Hanoi. As I recall, Bill told us that his NVN guards were impressed
with his survival skills when he found tubers and plants that were
edible for them and his treatment, while always unacceptable, slightly
improved.
This was me, on 'my' plane (604) that Bill was shot down in. A few
years ago, Bill returned to Viet Nam as a tourist and was given some
small parts of the plane as a souvenir, which he offered to me! I
turned him down -- he owned the plane that day, so it was his!
Dan Eikleberry
Class of 1968
26th Cadet Squadron
