Samuel Thomas Dickens

West Point, 1951

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Jose A. "Andy" Chacon on January 2, 2007:

Samuel Thomas Dickens Born October 6, 1926 - Died December 29, 2006 Samuel Thomas "Sam" Dickens was born in Argentina on 6 October 1926 of American parents, Fred William Dickens and Grace Gesell Dickens. Mr. Dickens served on the Faculty at the University of Tucuman, was co-founder of the Pan American games and coached two Argentine Olympic teams. Circa 1945 Sam was handed a copy of West Point Today at the American Embassy in Buenos Aires. Two years later he showed up as an Army Sergeant with an Army appointment to West Point. A hard worker in the section rooms and an all-around athlete, Sam's great love, as a cadet, was diplomatic history. On graduation Sam went in the Air Force and after flying school served in Korea with the 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron where he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal. Sam married Marcella "Marcy" Fay Smith in London, England on January 26, 1957. They had met at Acapulco in 1955 on his return from Korea. Sam then served with the 20th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron at Shaw AFB in 1954, and with the 9th Air Force Tactical Air Command in 1955. He was a Flight Commander with the Royal Air Force Fighter Squadron No. 263 in England from 1956 to 1958. Returning to the States Sam was named Commander of a Midshipmen Company at Annapolis from 1958 to 1961. The Field Officers Course at the Air Command and Staff College followed in 1962, and then assignment to the 4510th. Combat Crew Training Wing, Tactical Air Command from 1962 to 1964. The years 1965 and 1966 were spent as Assistant Air Attache in Madrid, Spain. Sam then was assigned to Viet Nam as Commanding Officer 616th. Tactical Fighter Squadron from 1968 to 1969 and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for "heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight." He also earned eleven Air Medals. On return from Nam Sam was assigned to Headquarters USAF from 1969 to 1970. Then followed attendance at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces resident course from 1970 to 1971 during which he also earned a Master of Science in Administration degree from George Washington University. On completion he was assigned as Deputy Commander for Operations, 401st Tactical Fighter Wing from 1972 to 1973. He then returned to Spain and served as the Commander of the Torrejon Air Base from 1973 to 1974 where he also represented the Pentagon Air Staff on diplomatic base negotiations with the Spanish. Additional duties included service with the Joint US Mission Military Advisory Group, for which he was awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal. Returning to the States Sam served in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel & Operations Headquarters, USAF from 1974 to 1979 for which he was awarded the Legion of Merit. Sam retired as a Colonel 1979. In retirement, Sam Dickens was a consultant on national security affairs. He was also Chairman of the Council for the Defense of Freedom. He served Virginia on the Board of Regents of the James Monroe Law Office and Memorial Library. He was a frequent commentator and participant in seminars and on radio and television, speaking on national security issues for all the major networks in Spanish and English. Sam and his wife Marcy made their home in Falls Church, Virginia. They had two sons; David Thomas Dickens, is with an international patent company; Samuel T. Dickens, Jr. maintains and coordinates all the computer activities for Prison Fellowships and is married to the former Jill Karn; and one daughter, Pamela Grace Sellars who worked on national security affairs for Senator Dan Coats of Indiana. He also leaves eight grandchildren: Sophia, Henry, Gavin, Trey, Brandon, Jake, Victor and Tessa. ***************************************************************** Bob Howes adds: Sam: You have slipped the surley bonds of earth, and touched the face of God. And now you tread in the Long Gray Line, Where they of the Corps have trod! Rest Well Old Friend! 'Till we meet again. **************************************************************** And from the Washington Post: Col. SAMUEL T. DICKENS Samuel T. Dickens, 80, a 1951 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and retired Colonel in the U.S. Air Force, died December 29th. Col. Dickens, a resident of Falls Church, Virginia passed away at his daughter?s home in Oakton, Virginia. A veteran of the wars in Korea and Vietnam, he flew tactical fighter aircraft, and he later served as chief of plans and policy for the western hemisphere on the Air Staff at the Pentagon. After retiring in 1979, Colonel Dickens dedicated his life to shaping national security policy, particularly in the western hemisphere, through work as a consultant and with a number of educational organizations. Sam Dickens was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on October 6th, 1926 to Fred W. Dickens, a pioneer in the field of physical education in Latin America and coached the Argentine delegations to the Olympics in the 1920?s in Paris and Amsterdam, and Grace Gesell Dickens. After graduating from high school during WWII, he became a clerk in the Foreign Service at the American Embassy in Buenos Aires, and in late 1945 he enlisted in the Army and as a sergeant entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point through a competitive enlisted appointment in 1947. After graduation in 1951 and pilot training in 1952 he attended all weather instrument training, gunnery training and tactical reconnaissance training before reporting to the 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron in Korea. He flew twelve combat missions in RF-80 and F-80s prior to the 1953 truce. In March 1954 the squadron deployed to Komaki Air Base, Japan where it undertook Top Secret photographic missions in RF-86F Sabres over the Soviet Union, China and North Korea specifically authorized by President Eisenhower. Lieutenant Dickens, a flight commander and assistant operations officer, was privileged to fly wing on his operations officer on an overflight of the Vladivostok area in April of 1954. These missions were declassified in 1999 and publicized in a 2002 symposium Col. Dickens helped to organize in Washington, D.C. Documenting these secret reconnaissance flights was one of Dickens? great late life passions. Subsequently Dickens served in the 20th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 9th Air Force?s support squadron, as a Flight Commander of RAF Squadron No. 263 (flying Hawker Hunter Mk 6s), Commander of a Midshipmen Company at the U.S. Naval Academy, attendance at Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, F-100 instructor pilot at Luke AFB, and Assistant Air Attach?Spain. Upon assignment to South Vietnam in 1968 he became operations officer and then commander of the 615th Tactical Fighter Squadron flying 225 combat missions in F-100s. Following a brief tour with Air Force Doctrine on the Air Staff in the Pentagon he attended the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at Fort McNair, Washington, DC, where he also obtained a Master of Science degree in Administration from George Washington University in 1971. Successive assignments were base commander of Torrejon Air Base, Spain, Director of Operations of the 401st Tactical Fighter Wing (F-4E Phantoms), and coordinator of U.S.-Spanish negotiations on U.S. military presence in Spain. In 1974 he became Chief, Western Hemisphere Division, Air Force Plans and Policy, the Air Staff. Among his duties he was a delegate to the Inter-American Defense Board, Co-Chairman, Canada-U.S. Regional Planning Group, NATO, and delegate to the Permanent Joint Board-Defense, U.S. - Canada. He retired from the USAF in 1979 with the grade of Colonel. The Legion of Merit, two Distinguished Flying Crosses and twelve Air Medals had been awarded to him. For a year and a half Sam was advisor to the National Commander of The American Legion on national security and foreign policy issues before becoming Director, of Inter-American Affairs with the American Security Council Foundation in 1981. He often testified before foreign relations committees of both houses of congress on Central America and was a frequent guest on national radio and television programs, including Cross Fire and Larry King Live. A number of his op-ed articles have appeared in the Washington Post, New York Times, and The Washington Times, and he was frequently interviewed on CNN during operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm respecting Air Force tactics and strategy. Colonel Dickens served as an adviser to the 1984 Kissinger Commission on Central America and served as Secretary of the James Monroe Memorial Foundation and on the Board of Regents of the James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Retired Officers Association, and the Sabre Pilots Association. An active member of the West Point Class of 1951, he served as the class Vice President. In 2000, upon the 50th Anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, Dickens was chosen to represent the U.S. Air Force along with representatives of the other uniformed services, to receive the newly authorized Korean War Service Medal. The Ambassador of the Republic of Korea pinned the medal on the six recipients at a ceremony featuring President Clinton. In addition to his wife of almost fifty years, Marcella of Falls Church, he is survived by sons David T. Dickens of Arlington, Virginia, Samuel T. Dickens, Jr. of Oviedo, Florida and daughter Pamela Sellars of Oakton, Virginia, as well as his sister, Cornelia Dickens of Santa Barbara, California. He also leaves eight grandchildren: Sophia, Henry, Gavin, Trey, Brandon, Jake, Victor and Tessa, and many loving relatives and countless good friends. ******************************************************************

admin