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Major Leonard Lee Arbon, USAF, retired, 89, passed away Sunday, May 1st, 2011 in Dripping Springs, Texas. First child of Rhoda Lee Lewis and Leonard Arbon, of Salt Lake City, Utah, husband of Peggy Mae Hanseler of Austin Texas, farther of Leecia Ann Rad of Portland, Oregon, Bill Arbon, of Johnson City, Texas, Marc Arbon of San Antonio and Tara Lee Weaver of Oak Hill. Lee will be cherished and remembered by friends and families of the Austin area for many years to come. As you will see in this story, Lee Arbon was scholar, Bird man, soldier, flier, airman, artist, skin diver, sourpuss, craftsman, home builder, adventurer, student, scoundrel, father, mentor, multi - career man, and full time human being possessing the qualities that mark us all - the good, the bad and the ugly... And the beautiful!
thus...I wrote for Dad's obituary. I tried to be objective and non sentimental, working to achieve a level of understanding without too much emotion. Or rather without so much emotion that every word suggests nothing but grief rather than celebration. Now I am going to pull out all stops wherever they may occur to perhaps give a better meaning to Dad's story. Of course, what is missing from Dad's story is Mother's story because they are part and parcel of the same story. And after Mom and Dad, there is the family story - the story of the children which is not the subject of this web page, but rather is also interwoven in THEIR story - even if unmentioned because in a military family, the wife and children live and suffer silently and alone with every mission, every assignment, ever lengthy separation to a degree rarely experienced in civilian life. Our family story is not being neglected, however. A good chunk of it follows this one of a special dedicated Fin Twisters page. Click Fin Twisters to see at least one of our family adventures happening simultaneously within Dad's own life story.
One of the first of the many enlisted pilots to be trained just before the beginning of World War II, Lee completed flight training as a Sergeant Pilot at Luke Field in Arizona. As one of nearly 3,000 enlisted pilots trained before and during the war under Public Law 99 am emergency law designed to train more pilots as there were not enough college graduates to fill all the government's needs for trained pilots. As a member of enlisted pilots, Dad counts among his peers the likes of Chuck Yeager, Carrol Shelby and Bob Hoover. Trained as a C-47 Skytrain (Gooney Bird) twin engine transport airplane pilot, Dad, and the hundreds of other pilots pioneered the cross Atlantic supply runs that carried tons of men and material to the war fronts and battles against the retreating Nazis in North Africa and Southern Europe. Flying mile after mile over South America and then the deep blue Atlantic hitting the tiny isle of Ascension in the middle of the Atlantic, while evading enemy submarines and German radio guiding interference, then on to Ghana, Africa! Through establishing this overseas route, Lee and his cohorts forged a permanent link between the soldiers on the early fronts of the European war and the good ole USA. The very day Dad's fifty ship unit departed Del Valley Army Air Corps Field in November of 1942, he had been married to local Austinite, Peggy Mae Hanseler for exactly one day.
Ferrying supplies and troops all across north Africa during the fight against Ernest Rommel's Afrika Korps, kept Dad's transport wing busy. Only occasional sight seeing side trips to Cairo and sites of ancient civilization broke the tension of ever present danger. After successful air drops of the 82nd Airborne in the invasion of Sicily, and the disastrous drop on Salerno where 12 planes of the group - and their paratroopers - were lost to friendly fire, Dad returned home. Lee's second mission of WWII was to ferry the sick and injured troops to medical centers that specialized in treating the injuries sustained by soldiers during the liberation of Western Europe. During this phase of the war, Lee embarked upon his first parallel career: he became a father. Leecia Ann, was born in September 1944 while Dad was stationed stateside for the duration of the war. Bill Arbon was added to the family just after the war ended making the family of four ready to face the world. After the war, Lee remained in the military and held a number of posts prior to the Korean War. Tranferred to Japan in 1946, Lee brought his family over to stay during the time he was to be stationed at Johnson Army Air Corps, Base, Irmagawa, just outside Tokyo. Immersing himself and the family in all things Japanese, all manner of Japanese goods were obtained to furnish his home and adorn his children; kimonos were worn by all. Added to the clothing, rattan wicker sofas, lounge chairs, cabinets, tables - all manner of goods were procured - many of which remain today in the care of his children. Added late to the list of additions, Marc was born in Japan and became the fifth member of the Arbon Clan. Amazingly enough, upon return from Japan, Lee was re-assigned to the newly named and organized Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin, Texas - home town of Peggy, her mother and sisters-the kids' grandmother. Living in Austin allowed favorite aunts and uncles to keep the kids attention! Not only was the station a step up on Lee's career ladder, but was a homecoming for the whole new - and growing - family. Bergstrom was not to be an idyllic interlude for as soon as the family got comfortable, the war in Korea broke out and the entire tactical (ironically under SAC authority) air base's wings of F-84 Thunderjets was ordered to mobilize and relocate to the Far East for the duration of the war. During this time, Lee aided the morale of the troops of his base with his line drawing cartoons - thanks to his long artistic bent - which were insightful - even sarcastic - of views of the war from the trenches. You can read his Korean War Diary. After Korea, Lee returned to Bergstom Air force Base and the returning base received a huge ticker tape parade down Congress Avenue in Austin (I wonder how many of you in Austin remember that). Austin mourned its lost fliers and prepared itself for the new decade of the fifties, finally able to put an end to the wartime footing that gripped most of the country for the entire last decade. By now, the Cold War was in full swing and Lee was recalled to active duty as an officer, ordered to report to Keesler Air Force Base as a squadron commander - a post he would hold for over five years - given the desk job to end all desk jobs. Besides routine duties of receiving recruits from Lakland Air Force Base and pass them on to more important duties and responsibilities yet to come - once their training was completed, Lee embarked on a third life mission: to explore the deep. He even went so far as building his own aqua lung (as scuba gear was called in the 50's) from various hard ware parts he obtained while taking the family on shopping, sight seeing, and eating trips to New Orleans - then a major important port in the United States. So involved with the idea of diving under water (and flying over it ) that he formed a diving club for Keesler Air Force Base, the Fin Twisters Fin Twisters. This saga alone is worthy of a book or at least a novel or a short story;-) Just as with all his other passions, we kids and mom all took part in these experiences. I tell people to this day that I didn't grow up on the Gulf Coast, but in the Gulf of Mexico. It's true. I've got the pictures to prove it on the Fin Twister's page! The number of week- end expeditions to deep water for exploring all along the northern Gulf of Mexico became a passion in and of itself for the whole family. For Dad, once he had seen the underseen world that Jaques Costeau was showing world wide audiences, he decided he had to know more and added formal education to his curriculum. Lee discovered the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory Gulf Coast Research Laboratory right across the bay from Biloxi in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. He and Peggy enrolled in a number of zoology courses and became researchers and assistants to Dr. Gordon Gunter, Director, and other Ichthyologists in gaging the bio wealth of the Mississippi gulf coast. Carrying his family with him on these expeditions became for them, a once in a lifetime experience. Today, a NOAA research ship, the Gordon Gunter , carries Dr. Gunter's name on its stern. Being stationed at Keesler Air Force Base for over five years produced for Dad a hunger for knowledge, a deep understanding of leadership and another member of the Arbon family, Tara, who was born there March 1957. But darker clouds loomed. After having obtained his jet rating late in his Keesler assignment, Lee was selected by the Strategic Air Command to be aircraft commander of one of it's 1500 active duty B-47 Stratojet nuclear bomb carrying Bombers. Trained to be on trigger alert in case of an enemy attack, SAC crews spent long hours practicing bomb runs all over the US in the 1950's and 60's. Missions always included mid air refueling and attempts at interception by defending U.S. Air Force fighter jets - attacks that produced war- like experience making the crews of these planes battle ready at all times. Dangerous, exhausting, and tedious, often times producing unfathomable psychological stress knowing you were carrying the means of destruction for millions of people of the world at the same time your loved ones were threatened with same. The national defense policy was called MAD - Mutual Assured Destruction - and the term fit perfectly within that realpolitik world during the Cold War. Three years of this deadly game came to an end when Lee's military career ended with his retirement in 1961. Now it was back to Austin, Texas with the whole family and a new future. Adjusting to a state of staying at home, Lee thought up projects for he and his family and bought an old home in Hyde Park in Austin. Using the artistic influences he brought back with him from Japan, Lee remodeled his home to reflect the style and added a Japanese garden to the back of his home - complete with Torii gate made from an old telephone pole! The garden was surrounded by a hand made bamboo fence which was built with the help of Marc and Bill. Lee's artistic bent carried on and with the added artistic talent of wife Peggy, developed his wood working technique into a business called Arbon's Attic. Antiquing furniture and making decorative items were the highlights of their work. Lee and Peggy's work reached an apex with her decoupage Ten Commandments which were commissioned by Temple Beth Israel, in Austin - where they can still be seen today. Having hammered his home into shape, Lee now embarked on another twenty year career at the Austin National Bank. Working with the public and later director of eduction, Lee's many talents were utilized by the bank from which he was to retire again to the privacy of Blanco County, where he built his home by hand and finished his working career being an interpretive ranger at Pedernales Falls State Park. All the while living and working in his country house, Lee and his fellow neighbors bought a little Cessna 150. He maintained his flying status health wise for many years beyond the time when most pilots had retired due to old age. Much of his time he spent with his buddies comparing stories of flying and air exploits. Lee and Peggy joined the Henley Baptist Church because so many of their local friends worshipped there. The construction of his old house in Blanco County was a herculean effort. Summoning his sons to help build the foundations of his home made from gigantic cypress beams - some nearly twenty feet long, two feet wide and four inches thick. Living on site, the project took several years to complete as Lee did most of the plumbing and electrical layout himself. Lee, Peggy and the youngest of the clan, Tara, lived in this abode until his and Peggy's health became too fragile to remain isolated in the countryside. Selling their beloved place in Blanco County was hard, but living outside Oak Hill near their daughter Tara gave them a comfortable and cozy retirement. Of course, Lee can never be tied down, so he and Peggy once again embarked upon projects that would span the whole country collecting Indian art - pottery, blankets, art of all kinds and the like, while Lee became author and scholar of the history of the Sergeant Pilot program of the United States Army Air Force. He also had time to travel and he and son Marc traveled to Alaska together in what is called his 'trip of a lifetime'. For nearly 20 years, Lee worked on bringing back to life the story of the flying sergeants - so many of whom were utilized by the armed forces during the second world war. Attending conferences, seminars, visiting libraries and archives all across the land enabled Lee to gather his material that he used to reference his book and give it scholarly credence. So thoroughly researched and expertly written, the book was finally published by the Smithsonian Institution Press. Lee continued with all his ongoing projects and had plans for more even while dealing with debilitating illness which finally proved too much for his body to bear. He died quietly in Dripping Springs under the watchful eyes of Peggy and her sons Marc, his wife, and Bill. All are joyful his suffering is over. Our family is heartbroken Dad is gone. Bill Arbon - for the whole family of father Lee Arbon and mother Peggy.
Author Lee Arbon's book detailing the history of enlisted pilots in aviation up to the second world war. Lee Arbon was himself, an enlisted pilot graduating from flying school under the New Deal program for the military that was designed to train thousands of pilots before the second world war. In fact, Lee graduated in class '42 F in June of 1942. After intensive twin engine training under the aegis of commercial airline pilots, Lee and his cohorts departed Del Valle Army Air Base in November, 1942 to support allied troops in North Africa and the Mediterranean Theater of war.
Lee had an interesting career with the Air Corps and later, the new branch of the armed forces, the U.S. Air Force. During the war, all enlisted pilots were given field commissions as officers in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Shortly after the Second World War ended, Lee resigned his commission and entered civilian life in hopes of starting an airline. After a very brief dose of economic reality, he re-entered the Air Corps and assumed the rank of Sergeant once again. Holding a variety of posts both here and abroad (twice to Japan), Lee was recalled to officer status and assigned to be a squadron commander of training cadets at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi. During this assignment, Captain Arbon resumed his flying status with the U.S.Air Force, flying C-45s, B-25s and C-47s on cross country flights. He was assigned to the Strategic Air Command and trained as an aircraft commander to pilot Boeing B-47 aircraft. He was stationed at Chennault Air Force Base, Lake Charles Louisiana in his last flying role for the U.S. Air Force, retiring in 1961.
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