William James Barnes, Jr.

Our beloved William (Bill) James Barnes, Jr. passed peacefully on August 8, 2012. Bill was born in Decatur, Illinois, on November 9, 1925, to William and Greta Barnes. He enlisted in the Air Force following his graduation from Stephen Decatur High School in 1943. Bill become a skilled flight engineer and was selected to serve as a member of General Douglas MacArthur's personal flight crew aboard his plane, the B-17 "Bataan" and subsequently the Constellation "SCAP" (later renamed "Bataan"), during MacArthur's term as Supreme Commander of Allied Powers. In that capacity, he was on the historic flight that returned General MacArthur to the United States in 1951, following his dismissal by President Truman. When General MacArthur returned his plane to the Pentagon in May 1951, he expressed his gratitude for "a great plane, a great crew, a great pilot". Later, Bill was selected to become a member of the Special Air Mission ("SAM") squadron and was stationed at Andrews Air Force Base. He served as a SAM flight engineer during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. During that time, Bill flew Air Force One and Two, providing transportation for the President, Vice President, Cabinet, members of Congress, and other high-ranking American and foreign dignitaries. In 1959, he was a member of the SAM flight crew that took delivery of the first Boeing 707 Air Force One aircraft that is currently on exhibit at the Boeing Museum of Flight. After retiring from the Air Force in 1967, Bill went to work for Boeing as a flight crew instructor. Bill worked for Boeing until his retirement in 1988.

While stationed in Tokyo, Japan, Bill met and married the love of his life, Fumiko Miyoshi. They were married 65 years and were still together in love at the time of his passing. Bill is survived by his wife Fumi, brother Joe, sister Betty (Graham), brother-in-law Chuck Graham, son Jim, daughters Carol (Schille), Debbie, Lisa and Susi (Tapson), and sons-in-law John Schille and Gregory Tapson. He is also survived by his adored grandchildren Lindsay and Willy Yazzolino and Nicole Tapson. Bill was preceded in death by his beautiful daughter, Amy.

Bill had many professional accomplishments but he is best known for his character. He was a gentleman of great integrity, wisdom, caring, generosity and humor, "Keep smiling!" He was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, son and brother. You are our hero, Bill. We will miss you and love you always and forever.

Bill's service will be held on Friday, August 24, 2012, at 2:00 p.m. at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 8398 Northeast 12th Street, Medina (Bellevue), Washington 98039. Please visit www.sunsethillsfuneralhome.com to view Bill's photos and sign the guest book.

In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to the National Feder-ation of the Blind (http://nfb.org), or to the charity of your choice .

.Published in The Seattle Times from August 16 to August 19, 2012