LCDR Edward S. King, 96, of Huntsville, passed away Monday. During his senior year at Augusta, KS High School at age 17, Mr. King signed up on April 29, 1943, for the naval aviation flight training program. This program was known as V5 Flight training.
On August 13, 1943, his orders came through to report to Kansas City. In Kansas City he joined a group of Navy inductees and boarded a train to Corpus Christi, TX for training of work on the flight line as Seaman 1st class.
In December 1943, Mr. King went to Ohio Weslyan as a V5 Aviation Cadet. After three months of schooling, he was transferred to Webber College, Ogden, UT and from there to St. Mary’s preflight in August of 1944. In December of 1944 he went to Norman, OK for primary flight training and then on to Pensacola, FL in April 1945, completing flight training in October 1945. October 15, he was commissioned an ensign in the US Navy and received his wings as a Naval Aviator.
After commissioning in 1945, he served in flight operations at Olathe, KS Naval Air Station until September 1950.
In September 1950 he was assigned to a patrol Squadron VP-881 flying PV2 (Harpoon) and PB4yZ (Privatier). Their mission was Air Sea Warfare (ASW). Their Reserve Squadron drilled one weekend a month and he was active duty in places such as Woodby Island NAS, Bangor ME NAS, Barkers Point NAS, and Oakland NAS.
In 1956, he transferred to Transport Squadron VR882 flying R5Ds to support Navy transport requirements at bases such as New Orleans NAS and Port Lyautey NAS Morocco.
He changed his mobilization assignment to aeronautical engineer in 1974 and retired from ready reserve July 1, 1978.
Concurrent with the above Navy experience, he graduated from Wichita University with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 1951.
Prior to working for Boeing Aircraft Co., he worked for Beech Aircraft and Cessna Aircraft Co. He started working for the Boeing Co. on December 1, 1951, as a flight test engineer. In 1953 he was assigned as a test pilot for the B47 airplane.
In 1963, they relocated to Huntsville, AL where he worked as an engineer on the Apollo Saturn Program. In 1967, they transferred to Cape Kennedy NAS, FL where he worked as an engineer on the Apollo Saturn launch system.
In 1972, they returned to Huntsville with Martin Marietta working on the Skylab Program. In 1974, they returned to Wichita, KS with Boeing Airplane Co. as an engineer on the B42 and KC-135 airplanes.
They transferred to Boeing-Seattle to work on the AWA Program and on the EAA 767 airplanes. He also worked on the E-6 TACMO.
In 1985 they returned to Huntsville where he worked on the Space Station. He retired from Boeing in March, 1987.
After retirement from Boeing, he and his wife joined the Coast Guard Auxillary under the Department of Homeland Security and spent 24 years in support of patrolling the Tennessee River area.
Survivors include his wife, Ruth Ann “Corky” King; son, Eric Lee King; brothers, Keith Albert King (Joan) and Donald Lee King (Joanne). Mr. King was preceded in death by his brothers, Charles and Kenneth King; and son, Brian King.
A private graveside service will be held at Sunset Lawns Cemetery in El Dorado, KS.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola FL, or the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, LA.
