Lt. Col. Robert T. “Wedge” Sweginnis (aka Bobby, aka Bob) came into this world at 0831 hours on 16 August 1970, mere hours after his family moved into base housing at Sheppard AFB, Texas. Wedge never did anything simply because it was “convenient,” as his entrance into this world can attest. After a brief stint in Texas and a few years in Ohio, Bob settled into Redlands, California and claimed this as his true hometown. It was here that he met the love of his life, although he didn’t know it at the time. He and Lisa Catherine Davis met in 8th grade, and though they remained friends throughout high school, they did not date, as they both were concentrating on their studies and their sports. Bob was a swimmer and water polo player in his younger years, and he was also an avid surfer, as anyone who knows him can attest.
After high school, Bob attended UC San Diego (a surf town for sure!) and then pursued his other passion, aviation. He moved to Prescott, Arizona, where his parents lived so he could get the appropriate training for his private pilot license. With license in hand, Wedge approached a USMC recruiter and told him he wanted to be a Marine pilot. From Officer Candidate School to The Basic School to initial pilot training, Wedge not only survived, he thrived (in typical Wedge fashion). Also in Wedge-like fashion, he always managed to be stationed within an hour from a beach. From Pensacola (aviation preflight indoctrination) to Corpus Christi (initial fixed-wing flight training) to Pensacola (initial helicopter training) to New River North Carolina, Wedge got plenty of opportunities for both air time and beach time. Next stop was El Toro California and a 6-month cruise to the Middle East. Rumor has it Wedge brought his surfboard and scuba gear with him!
After brief stops at Camp Pendleton and Okinawa, Wedge returned to Pensacola where he got to fulfill another passion (one handed down from his father, Bob the Elder): teaching. He taught both in the classroom and in the cockpit, and loved every minute of it…except when the weather kept his plane on the ground or the projector for his power point presentation was not operational. It was during this tour that Wedge reconnected with Lisa Davis, fell in love and married her before she could change her mind.
From Pensacola, Wedge returned to the rotor-wing life across the ocean in Okinawa, flying with HMM-265. During his billet there, he transitioned to HMM-262 and deployed to Al Taqadum, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. It was shortly after Wedge’s return to Okinawa that he and Lisa found out that they were going to be parents. Sedona Sweginnis was born in July of 2008, not long after Bob and Lisa moved to Virginia so Wedge could take up his new task of “flying the president around.” Wedge served in multiple capacities while at HMX-1, but he was most proud of being selected as a Presidential Command Pilot under then-president Barak Obama. Before they left Virginia, Bob and Lisa were blessed with another child – this one a boy named Lincoln…Bob’s favorite president.
Wedge was a little disappointed with his next assignment to the staff of Commander, US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, as it took him out of the cockpit, but he loved the challenge of the assignment, the people he worked with and the surf in beautiful Hawaii!
Wedge was able to return to flying when he left Hawaii and returned to Okinawa, this time at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. He served first as Operations Officer and then as Executive Officer of the base, and as part of his duties, he was lucky enough not only to have a hand in fostering positive relationships with Okinawans and Americans, but also to pilot a UC-12 KingAir to transport “high priority passengers and cargo” throughout southeast Asia and the western Pacific.
His final assignment with the United States Marine Corps was unfortunately one he did not expect, nor desire: Marine in the Wounded Warrior Battalion at Naval Air Station North Island. With the dual missions of “knowing God and making God known,” Wedge fought the most courageous battle of his life against an aggressive form of brain cancer, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). In this assignment, his only duties were to “cleanse, nourish, exercise, and rest.” Though he ultimately lost his battle with GBM, he did fulfill these missions and perform these duties with the utmost integrity, befitting of the amazing human being he was.
Bob was a phenomenal father, devoted husband, dutiful son, loving little brother, faithful friend, dedicated Marine, and above all, superlative human being.
Bob leaves behind his wife Lisa, daughter Sedona, and son Lincoln. He is also survived by his mother Jacqueline, sister Donna Oliver (Bernard), and sister Teri, as well as numerous aunts, uncles, nieces, and cousins who all considered Bob “our superhero.” He was preceded in the flight west by his father, Robert William Sweginnis, who surely greeted him in Heaven. Both will be missed immeasurably.
Services are being held at the chapel at MCAS Miramar, followed by a committal ceremony with full military honors at the National Cemetery, Miramar, where Wedge can eternally watch his beloved USMC aircraft come and go from MCAS Miramar. Semper Fi, Wedge. Believe the best and rest.
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