Page 38 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2016

KEESLER AFB name dropping
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Keesler Air Force Base honors namesake with retreat ceremony
story by Brian Lamar,
81st Training Wing Public Affairs
Hphotos courtesy of KAFB
undreds of Airmen
lined Meadows Drive in formation as Keesler Air Force Base’s leadership, military retirees and local business and civic leaders
gathered in front of the 81st Training Wing Headquarters during a 75th anniversary retreat ceremony May 13.
The ceremony was to honor the career and life of Lt. Samuel Reeves Keesler, Jr., for whom Keesler Air Force Base is named. Keesler was born in Greenwood, Miss., in 1898. He was an outstanding student leader and athlete in high school and at Davidson College in North Carolina. He entered the Army Air Service in 1917, was commissioned a second lieutenant and received training as an aerial observer. He was killed
in action during World War I while performing a reconnaissance mission behind German lines on Oct. 8. 1918. Keesler and his pilot came under heavy gunfire from four enemy aircraft. The pilot lost control of the badly damaged airplane while Keesler continued to fend off the attackers even as they plummeted to the ground. Seriously wounded during the battle and ensuing crash landing, German ground troops captured and held Keesler prisoner. Unable to receive immediate medical attention, Keesler died the following day. He was posthumously awarded the
THIS PAGE: LT. SAMUEL REEVES KEESLER, JR., namesake of Keesler Air Force Base. OPPOSITE PAGE: The 75TH Anniversary retreat ceremony honoring the career and life of Lt. Keesler.
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