Riley E. Scruggs

Lt. Col. Riley E. Scruggs, USAF Ret, entered his final rest Monday, November 27, 2000 at the age of 83. Born in Danville, Virginia July 12, 1917, he entered the Army Air Corp in 1937 and flew submarine patrol off the Atlantic Coast when World War II was declared. Later he was assigned to the Pacific Theatre where he flew bombing missions as a B-25 Command Pilot to the 820th Squadron, 41st Bomber Group, 7th Air Force. His crew called him a "pilot's pilot", and for his service he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. After the War he earned a BS degree in Physics and math from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. He returned to the Air Force and attended New York University to study Meteorology and was assigned to Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C. as Base Weather officer under General Curtis LeMay. In 1952, he transferred to the JAMMAT in Ankara, Turkey as the Meteorology Advisor to the Turkish Air Force. Upon returning he was assigned to Brookley AFB in Mobile, Alabama flying C-124 transports to Europe. In 1959 he retired from the Air Force while stationed at Goodfellow AFB in San Angelo, Texas. He then accepted a position in the Air Material Command at Kelly Air Force Base, San Antonio, TX, retiring from Civil Service after 20 years. He was an avid golfer and belonged to the NARFE Golf Group. He is survived by his wife, Nell B. Scruggs; one daughter, Dr. Martha Y. Scruggs, The Woodland Hills, CA; five grandchildren, Matthew, Emily and Allyson Scruggs, Aimee Lawson, and Ginee Drennan; two great grandchildren, Hailey Lawson and Andrew Drennan.