- Date Of Birth: March 14, 1924
- Date Of Death: January 6, 2013
- State: Georgia
Raymond Dean Falls died peacefully Sunday January 6, 2013 at his residence with his loving family around him. He was born March 14, 1924 in Chattanooga, Tn to J. Raymond and Julia Moore Falls. As a teenager, he loved cars, working in his uncle’s Auto Repair, and flying gliders. He received his fixed wing pilot license at the age of 16. He graduated from Central High School in 1942 and after graduation was selected as a cadet in the Army Air Corps. He attended the University of Alabama and then flight school in Miami Beach FL. He was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant and flew the P-51Mustang Fighter. After World War II, he joined the United States Air Force 445th Reserve Squadron at Dobbins AirForce Base in Marietta Georgia. As a reservist, he went from prop fighter planes to the first jet fighters. His Reserve unit later became a Military Air Cargo unit and he started flying C-123s and C-124s and later, the C-130 cargo jet. He was activated to fly equipment and military personnel during the Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961 and again during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. During the height of the Vietnam War, his Military reserve unit was activated from 1967- 1971 again flying troops and cargo to Southeast Asia. He retired form the Air Force as a Major. When not on active duty, he worked for E.I. DuPont company in Chattanooga for over 30 years. At DuPont he worked on the development of mechanical wind up machines that are used in textile manufacturing. He traveled to DuPont facilities across the United States and Canada and instructed personnel on this equipment. As for his personal life, he eloped in September 1942, with his high school sweetheart, Alice Rivers Falls. They celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary before Alice’s death in 2008.
