The Meade County Messenger

ROSS LEE CARSON

Ross Lee Carson, 84, Brandenburg, died Nov. 20, 2010. He was born March 22, 1926, in Lewis, N.Y., the son of Frank Ross and Cora Edith McDougal Carson.

He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and served faithfully in many capacities including elder’s quorum president, high priest group leader, stake high council, branch president and bishop of the Brandenburg Ward. He and his wife, Lora served a mission to Lame Deer, Mont., on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.

He graduated from Elizabethtown-Lewis Central High School in May 1943, whereupon he and his brother, James Carson, enlisted in the U.S. Navy. While serving as a seaman, first class in the Pacific Theatre aboard the LST USS Midas, his ship barely survived a Japanese suicide kamikaze attack.
Discharged in December 1945, Ross attended Champlain College and Albany Business College, aspiring to become an attorney like his older brother, Harlan Carson. But flying seemed more beckoning and Ross enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1948 as a cadet pilot trainee at Williams AFB in Arizona. Barely surviving a near-fatal nighttime crash during his flight training, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. Later, he successfully flew more than 100 combat missions in the Korean War as an F-51 Mustang pilot. He received the Purple Heart for wounds received on a bombing mission over North Korea and was also awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second highest award for “extraordinary heroism.” In 1963, Ross was selected for a prestigious and dangerous mission as a test pilot in the Mohave Desert, for the experimental F-106 Delta Dart. He often flew with the world famous test pilot, Chuck Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier. Ross became only the 18th pilot in the world to fly a jet fighter at more than Mach II, two times the speed of sound. He narrowly missed becoming one of the first 25 NASA astronauts in the early years of space exploration. In 1968, during the height of the Vietnam War, Ross flew more than 200 combat missions in his F-4 Phantom fighter jet. In less than 18 months, Ross was promoted from major to full colonel, a remarkable feat in itself. His heroic leadership in Vietnam earned him his second Distinguished Flying Cross, the Silver Star (the nation’s third highest heroism award) and the Bronze Star. He had logged more than 6,100 hours of flight time throughout his military career, including nearly 700 hours in direct combat missions. Ross retired from the military on June 30, 1972, after serving more than 26 years of distinguished military service spanning World War II, The Korean War and the Vietnam Conflict.

He was preceded in death by his previous wife, June Elizabeth Lydamore Carson; his parents, two sisters; and three brothers.

Mr. Carson is survived by his wife Lora Bennett Carson; his sons, Craig (Diane) Carson, Gregory (Sherry) Carson and Rupert (Karrie) Carson; 13 grandchildren; and 16 great-grandchildren.

Friends and family may call from the chapel of the Bruington-Jenkins-Sturgeon Funeral Home from 4–9 p.m. Nov. 23, and on Nov. 24 after 11 a.m.

Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m., Nov. 23, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ chapel in Brandenburg. Burial will take place at a later date in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., with full military honors.

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