Edward James Tackett

Military

media-45448.jpeg UPL 45448 Edward James "Jimmy" Tackett
Navigator
Edward C. Kinzler Crew
490th BG - 848th BS - 8th AF 466th Bomb Group collection

Personal Collection
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/126598881/edward-j.-tackett

Object Number - UPL 45448 - Edward James "Jimmy" Tackett Navigator Edward C. Kinzler Crew 490th BG - 848th BS - 8th AF

Retired from the USAF with the rank of Lt. Colonel after serving in both WW2 and Korea.

Connections

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Units served with

490th Bomb Group

Unit Hierarchy: Group
Air Force: Eighth Air Force
Type Category: Bombardment

848th Bomb Squadron

Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
Air Force: Eighth Air Force
Type Category: Bombardment

People

Edward C Kinzler

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 490th Bomb Group 848th Bomb Squadron
Service Numbers: O-692796
Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
Role/Job: Pilot

Aircraft

42-94891

Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
Nicknames: Mairzy Doats
Unit: 490th Bomb Group 848th Bomb Squadron

Places

Eye, home of the 490th Bomb Group, photographed from the air. Image via Mark Brown, AFA. Written on slide casing: 'Eye from air.'

Eye

Site type: Airfield
Known as: Brome

Events

Event	Location	Date	Description
Born	Maysville, OK	28 December 1922
Died	Abilene, TX	17 March 2014	A good man died on Monday, March 17, 2014. Edward J. Tackett of Albany, Texas passed away at Hendricks Memorial Hospice Center in Abilene. Mr. Tackett was a child of the depression, born in Maysville, Oklahoma December 28, 1922 on the edge of a broomcorn field. His father Walter E. Tackett and mother Annie V. Tackett (ne: Hamm) and extended family picked and pulled cotton in East and North Central Texas all during his childhood. They often lived in tents, and Dad attended school when and where he could. The family finally settled in Albany, Texas where Dad enrolled in high school and graduated at the age of 15. He was a cast member of the first Albany Fandangle his senior year in high school. His first job was as a member of the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) working on the restoration of historic Fort Griffin. Ed married M. Jeanne Polk in Breckenridge, Texas on February 7, 1942. He enlisted in the United States Army Air Corp in December 1942. After completing Cadet School in Hondo, Texas, Dad was assigned to the 8th Air Force, 490 Bomb Group, 408th Squadron. His first two missions over Germany were flown on D-Day. He served as lead Navigator for the squadron for 30 missions and returned to the States. Mr. Tackett worked for the Civilian Aeronautics Authority (now the FAA) for the next ten years while he stayed in the Air Force Reserve. In the late 1940s Mr. Tackett moved his wife and children, who believed the world began in Dallas and ended in Lubbock to the Panama Canal Zone. It was an adventurous decision at that time. The family remained in Panama until 1956 when they returned to the United States.In the Korean War Mr. Tackett went back to active duty in the Air Force where he stayed for the next twenty years. Mr. Tackett served in an active combat role as a Weapons Officer in the 18th Special Operations Squadron which flew AC119 K gunships. His career in the Air Force spanned thirty years and three wars. The family never lived in one place more than two years for most of that career. Transitions were a way of life. Mr. Tackett retired as a Lt. Colonel in 1974.After retirement Mr. Tackett returned to Albany where he worked as a land man, Manager of the Chamber of Commerce, and Mayor from 2009 to 2011. (He was elected to the office at age 87!) Mr. Tackett was proud of Albany and worked tirelessly to promote it. Among his most significant accomplishments were the new Albany Airport and the Weaver Heights subdivision. Jeanne Tackett, Mr. Tackett's beloved and devoted wife of 62 years died in 2004. After a period of grieving, Mr. Tackett remarried Arlene J. (Joie) Parsons. Ed and Joie had a wonderful nine years together in the Ole Nail House Inn on the courtyard square. They were the picture of love, devotion and the joy of life. There were few events in Albany where Ed and Joie were not in attendance and on the dance floor.For all of his life Dad was known for his love of God, his wife, his family, and his country. He was an honorable man in all aspects of his life. He loved life and enjoyed it to the fullest. He was known as a story teller, and it is accepted by all that while he would never lie, he might often be guilty of a little embellishment to make a good story better. He was a good friend, a mentor, and a role model to many. He will be sorely missed.Ed is survived by his wife, Joie Parsons-Tackett; his children, James Tackett, Jan Fulkerson, Lea McGussin, and Phillip Tackett, their spouses; 12 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren; and his step-children Mike, Rocky, and Rusty Parsons and their wives and families.
Buried	Albany, TX	20 March 2014	Albany Cemetery Albany, Shackelford County, Texas, USA Plot West, Bl 13, L 31
	Arlington, TX		300 S. Center
	Breckinridge, TX		602 N. Rose St
Other 490th BG Combat Tour	Eye Airfield, UK		Completed a 30 mission tour