Houchin, Lloyd K.

Lloyd K. Houchin (Col USAF, Ret) “Headed West” on July 18, 2007

Retired Colonel Lloyd K. Houchin USAF, 71, of Lebanon, Ill., born Nov. 14, 1935, in Osceola, Ark., passed away peacefully Wednesday, July 18, 2007, at his home.

Col. Houchin moved to Karnak, Ill., from Osceola in 1940. He graduated from Karnak High at the age of 16, in 1952.
Lloyd was an Air Force ROTC cadet at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Ill., where he graduated at the age of 20 with high honors and was commissioned in the Air Force as a second lieutenant. He married Mary Kathryn Mitchell from Tamms, Ill., on May 25, 1956.

He attended flight school and became a fighter pilot with his first assignment flying F-100s at Itazuke Air Base Fukuoka, Japan. During three years at Itazuke, Lloyd was deployed from his home base for 16 months, sitting on nuclear alert in Korea and Okinawa. While in Japan, Lloyd and Mary had their first child, Ramona.

Following the Itazuke assignment, Lloyd was assigned to England AFB, Alexandria, La. At the height of the cold war and while assigned at England AFB for four years, Lloyd was deployed for almost three years. In response to the building of the Berlin Wall, his squadron deployed to Germany for four months. He also deployed for nuclear alert in Turkey, attended Squadron Officer School, and responded to the Cuban Missile Crisis where he sat alert in Florida prepared to attack Cuban missiles. He also graduated from the Air Force Fighter Weapons School “Top Gun,” the U.S. Army Parachute Course, and deployed flying the F-100 for two combat tours to Vietnam. During this assignment, Lloyd and Mary had their second child, Mitch.

Lloyd’s next assignment was for two years as an exchange officer to the British Royal Air Force (RAF), flying Hawker Hunters. In this assignment, he trained new RAF pilots to become fighter pilots at RAF Chivenor, North Devon.

After the British exchange tour, Lloyd attended Air Force Command Staff College (ACSC)and then flew F-111’s at Nellis AFB, Nev. During this assignment, the F-111’s were grounded for a major wing box rebuilding modification so Lloyd volunteered to go back to Vietnam. He trained as a helicopter pilot and became a Vietnamese Air Force Wing Commander advisor and spent a year flying combat in UH-A, “Hueys” out of Da Nang.
Following the Vietnam assignment, Lloyd spent four years on the faculty of ACSC at Maxwell AFB, Ala., where he authored several articles on fighter tactics and interdiction. He was also the research director for ” The Battle for the Skies Over North Vietnam” which was published in a book entitled Tale of Two Bridges and the Battle for the Skies over North Vietnam.

After ACSC, Lloyd was assigned to Strategic Air Command (SAC) at Offutt AFB, Neb., where he was a senior controller in the SAC command post and executive officer for the Director of Operations. After over three years at Offutt, he was assigned to Whiteman AFB, Mo., where he was the Director of Operations and Vice Commander of a Minuteman Strategic Missile Wing. While at Whiteman AFB, he was also appointed the Chief of the Safety Investigation of the Titan Nuclear Missile explosion near Little Rock (Damascus), Ark., in 1981.

His final military assignment was as commander of the ROTC Detachment at the University of Illinois, Champaign. Lloyd retired from the Air Force in 1985, after a 29-year career. His military decorations include The Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Air Medal with 13 Oak Leaf Clusters, and Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, several Vietnamese medals, and campaign ribbons.

Upon retirement from the Air Force, he immediately began working for A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc., where he became an investment broker, a Certified Financial Planner, and a Trust Specialist. After a successful second career of more than 20 years of helping clients obtain their investment objectives, he was forced to retire due to the onset of primary lateral sclerosis, a form of the more commonly known amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease).

He was preceded in death by his father, Lloyd S. Houchin; his mother, Edna, nee Egner, Houchin Sielbeck; and his stepfather, Louis Sielbeck.
Surviving are his wife, Mary Kathryn, nee Mitchell, Houchin; a daughter, Col. Ramona Dolson USAF, of Scott AFB, Ill.; a son, Ret. Lieu. Commander Mitchell (Deborah) Houchin of Plattsmouth, Neb.; two grandsons, Alex and Steven Houchin.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the ALS Association, 27001 Agoura Road – Suite 150, Calabasas Hills, Calif., 91301 or to BJC Hospice, 1 Memorial Drive, Alton, Ill., 62002.

Upon his request, Lloyd’s body was donated to Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo.