WELTZIN, SR. USAF, Richard F. (Dick)

Hanson-Runsvold Funeral Home, Fargo. N.D. Published June 07, 2002 Col. Richard F. Weltzin Sr., USAF (Ret.), 83, Fargo, ND, born Feb. 21, 1919, in Seattle, WA, died Monday, May 27, 2002, in his winter home in Sun City, AZ. Col. "Dick" Weltzin grew up and attended school in Fargo. His mother, Grace Caple Weltzin, was an English teacher at Agassiz Junior High School for 26 years. He graduated from North Dakota State University in 1941, and was active in music, ROTC and Sigma Chi. He entered active duty in 1941 and served in the USAF for 27 years. He graduated from Advanced Flying School at Stockton, CA, in 1942 and was assigned as a B-26 instructor pilot at McDill AFB, FL. He served as a B-26 bomber pilot and operations officer in France, Belgium and Germany with the 596th Bomb Squadron, 397th Bomb Group. He led a flight on D-day against a German gun emplacement behind Omaha Beach. On Dec. 23, 1944, he led an attack on the Eller Railroad Bridge at the Battle of the Bulge. He completed 65 missions and was awarded a number of decorations, including the Distinguished Flying Cross and 10 Air Medals. Col. Weltzin also served in Japan and Korea during the Korean Conflict with Headquarters, 5th AF. He was promoted to colonel in 1951 and was assigned to the Central Air Defense Force Headquarters in Kansas City. In 1954 he was assigned as base commander, Grandview AFB, MO, where he flew F-86D aircraft and led a team to the USAF Rocketry Competition. In 1957 he became chief of the USAF Mission to Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 1960 he assumed command of the 32d Fighter Interceptor Wing at Minot AFB, ND, where he flew the F-106 Delta Dart. His last assignment was as the USAF advisor to the Massachusetts Air National Guard where he flew F-86 and F-84F aircraft. During his distinguished military career, he completed over 6,000 flying hours. He was awarded an Alumni Achievement Award by NDSU in 1962, and after his retirement from the USAF he worked for the NDSU Development Foundation. He was a senior member of the Fargo Country Club, was secretary-treasurer and president of the Retired Officers Association, and he also was a member of the First Methodist Church choir. He was preceded in death by his first wife of 30 years, Virginia Thais Johnson Weltzin, in 1978. Surviving to cherish his memory are his beloved family, including his devoted wife of 20 years, Gail Francine (Aamoth) Story Weltzin; two sons, Col. (Ret.) Richard "Rick" Weltzin Jr. and his wife, Elaine, O'Fallon, IL, and W. Brooks Weltzin and his wife, Kathy, Alexandria, MN; a daughter, Jane Thais Weltzin Burr and her husband, Wilfred, Arlington, VA; a stepson, CPO (Ret.) Robert P. Story and his wife, Nina, Fremont, CA; and a stepdaughter, Jennifer L. Story (Moore), Fergus Falls, MN; 10 grandchildren, Christopher Burr, Radford, VA, Tammy DeBord and her husband, Bill, f Graham, WA, Kristin and Tamara Weltzin, O'Fallon, Tanner and Zoe Weltzin, Alexandria, Anthony Story, Fremont, Robert "Boomer" Moore and his wife, Trina, New Marshfield, OH, Melissa Moore, Woodstock, GA, Jason Moore, Fargo; and four great-grandchildren, Kaycee, Kallee and Keller DeBord, and McKenna Moore. In his spare time, Dick loved playing golf and even boasted a hole-in-one. He also spent his life enjoying the opera, either singing in the choir or a musical, attending the theater or listening to the music. His hobbies included stamp collecting, reading, gardening, bird watching and feeding the quail in his back yard in Sun City. In lieu of flowers, his family requests that memorial donations be made to either the North Dakota State University Development Foundation in Fargo or the First United Methodist Church, Fargo, or the Fargo/Moorhead Civic Opera. A memorial service will be held Monday, June 10, at 2 PM in First United Methodist Church, 906 1st Ave. S., Fargo. Burial with military honors will follow at the Riverside Cemetery, Fargo. Arrangements by Hanson-Runsvold Funeral Home, Fargo.