George W. Hueckstedt, age 100, Lt. Col. USAF Retired, of Sunny Hills and Panama City, FL passed away on June 15, 2018.  He was born in October 1917 to William and Eva Hueckstedt of LaPorte, Indiana.

His military career started with induction into the U.S. Army Air Corps on 13 August 1941.  His first assignment was to help establish U.S. Army Aircraft Maintenance Schools at Sheppard and Amarillo Fields, Texas.

In 1943 he was selected for flight training at the University of Nebraska.  He received his Second Lieutenant wings in December 1944 at Victorville, CA.  He was immediately sent to attend the first U.S. Army Airborne Radar School in Boca Raton, FL.  Upon graduation he was assigned as an instructor to train B-29 aircrews in radar navigation and bombing procedures at Barksdale Field, LA.

He was transferred to a training unit in Utah in 1946 in preparation for the first atom bomb test at the Bikini Islands.  He was separated, however, from the U.S. Army Air Corps a short time later and assigned to the U.S. Army Reserve at South Bend, IN.

He was recalled to active duty in the U.S. Air Force on 17 December 1950.  Upon completion of training in B-26 bombers at Langley AFB, VA, 1951, he was sent to Korea where he completed 50 bombing missions.  Upon return to the U.S. at Mather AFB, CA, he trained conscientious objector aircrews for duty in Korea.  An urgent request to establish a new navigation school at Harlingen, TX, sent him and a cadre of 6 officers to set up the navigation course in 1952.

Transferred to the Tactical Command in 1954, he and a cadre of five officers were sent Cambridge Research Center, MA.  In conjunction with Lincoln Laboratory and MIT they completed the first computerized Air Defense System called "SAGE."

A tour at Yokota AB, Japan, followed where he helped establish a bomb scoring system for tactical aircraft.  Returning to the U.S. in 1962 he was assigned as a Weapons Controller in the SAGE Air Defense Sector at Truax Field, Madison WS.  An assignment arose for entry into Officer's Electrical School at Keesler AFB, Biloxi, MS.

Upon graduation in 1965, he was assigned to Wright Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio, as Chief, Armament and Electronic Division, Deputy of Flight Test.  At Wright Patterson AFB he retired from the U.S.A.F in July 1968.

During his retirement, George and Marjorie lived and traveled extensively throughout the U.S.  Continuing his love of sports, he played tennis daily until the age of 85.  Col. Hueckstedt was a lifetime member of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign War and the Military Officer's Association of America.

George is survived by his wife Marjorie of 76 years, daughters Carrie Partenheimer (Bob) and Marilyn Paul, five grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.  He also leaves two nephews, Michael and Dick Draves of Indiana.

George will be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery, Washington D.C.