Submitted photo

Brig. Gen. Robert Urquhart

Decisions made more than 25 years ago by a local man, who died Monday, still affect St. Joseph’s economy.

It was Brig. Gen. Robert Urquhart’s decision that transformed the 139th Air Refueling Group into the 139th Airlift Wing, said Col. Bob Agee, a retired Air Guard member and president of the local chapter of the Missouri Air National Guard retirees.

“As the wing commander, the general fought to get the unit into Lockheed’s C-130s, the type of aircraft we still fly,” said Col. Stephen Cotter, the current 139th Airlift Wing commander.

Having those planes allowed the unit to become an Airlift Wing that today has more than 1,000 members stationed at Rosecrans Memorial Airport, Mr. Agee said.

If the Air Guard unit had continued as an air refueling unit it’s doubtful the Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center would have started in St. Joseph, Mr. Cotter said.

Mr. Urquhart supported the creation of the school after he assumed his duties in Jefferson City as the assistant adjutant general for air.

“He broke the ice, as the first man from Rosecrans to become a general officer and wear stars,” said Maj. Gen. Frank Crooks, another retired Air Guard man from St. Joseph.

Then came retirement and work with a number of local service organizations.

“Even after he retired, Mr.

Urquhart came through as a stand up supporter that the schoolhouse (training center) could depend on,” said Maj. Gen. Steve McCamy, a recently retired member of the St. Joseph unit.

Born in St. Joseph, Mr. Urquhart graduated from St. Joseph Junior College before entering the Army Air Corp during World War II. He trained in and flew the Douglas C-47 Skytrain. The popular World War II transport acquired the nickname “Gooney Bird.” As a transport pilot, Mr. Urquhart flew numerous combat missions but one would be extremely memorable. In September 1944, Mr. Urquhart participated in operation “Market Garden,” made famous years later in the Hollywood film “A Bridge Too Far.”

“During a flight over the Netherlands as part of ‘Market Garden,’ his plane got shot down and he was wounded,” said Mary Jane Urquhart, his wife for 63 years.

Back in St. Joseph, his family knew only that he was missing in action.

With the help of the Dutch resistance, a wounded Mr. Urquhart and some of his aircrew evaded German patrols for five days until they could be returned to the Allies and sent to a hospital in England. Later, the military awarded him the Purple Heart Medal because of his wounds.

After the war, Mr. Urquhart joined the Missouri Air National Guard unit that formed at Rosecrans Memorial Airport, retiring in 1981. One of his last flying missions was to Guyana after the Jonestown massacre in 1978.

Marshall White can be reached at marshall@npgco.com.