Initial mission 18 January 1944; last mission 21 July 1944; crash landed in Dubenborf, Switzerland; spent time in Dubendorf, Adelboden & Wengen; finance officer in Wengen; completed 3 missions before shot down; landed with 1 1/2 engines working; 'escaped' January 1945 with help from Hans Hungerbuler; member of American Ex Prisoners of War, Metrolina Chapter; current Jr. Vice Commander of State of NC; past chapter Commander



Longtime Charlotte resident Ed Halliburton, Sr., passed away August 7, 2020. A World War II Eighth Air Force veteran and former prisoner of war, Ed enjoyed a notable career in marketing following the war. His lifelong love for his wife, Dorothy, as he liked to tell people, was the source of his warmth and good humor.



Born on November 5, 1924, in Nashville, Tennessee, Ed’s family moved to Charlotte, NC when he was five years old and settled in across the street from where four-year-old Dorothy Propst and her family lived. Ed and Dorothy quickly became inseparable friends, attending local schools together up through Central High School. In high school, Ed was Commander of the ROTC unit, a member of the marching band, and President of the Boys Good Sports club.



Following graduation from Central High in 1942, Ed enrolled at Clemson College. He was again active in the marching band, as well as the Enlisted Reserve Corps. In March of 1943, he was called into service with the Army Air Corps and was trained to be a gunner and a radio operator on a B-24. He and Dorothy married on April 7, 1944, at Asbury Memorial Methodist Church in Charleston, SC, shortly before his deployment to England with the 492nd Bomb Group.



On his third mission over Germany the bomber he flew in was heavily damaged by flak and, with only one-and-a-half working engines, quickly lost altitude. The crew headed toward Switzerland and was forced by an escort of Swiss Air Force fighters to land at a small, fighter aircraft airfield near the border. The crew was taken into custody. It was forty-five days before Dorothy, his truelove back home, received word that he was still alive. Six-and-a-half months later, together with two other POWs, he made a harrowing escape to France, assisted by the American legation and the French Marquis. For his service, he was awarded the POW Medal, the French Croix de Guerre, and the ETO (Europe, Africa, Middle East campaign Medal) with two battle stars, among other medals.



Following the war, Ed worked for Sherwin Williams as a branch manager in a number of communities in North and South Carolina, including Charlotte. He earned recognition as the second-best Branch Manager in the South Atlantic Region. He later joined True Value Hardware and became the number one True Value paint and coatings representative for three consecutive years. Continuing with True Value Hardware, he worked his way up to Marketing Supervisor, overseeing 330 stores. He retired from True Value in 1994 at the age of seventy.



He and Dorothy raised three sons and were active members at Providence United Methodist Church in Charlotte. Both were in the first “Stephen Ministries” class offered at the church. He served a term as president of the Men’s Wesley Bible Class and always emphasized that his experiences during the war imbued him with a deep and abiding faith in the grace of God.



Ed was a longtime member of the Charlotte Sales Executive Club. Following his retirement, he was active in a number of veterans’ associations: He served as Commander of the Metrolina Wing of the Eighth Air Force Historical Society for several years before being elected to serve as President of the North Carolina Chapter. Ed was also Commander of the Metrolina Chapter of the American Ex-Prisoners of War and also served as State Commander of the North Carolina Department, consisting of eleven chapters at that time. In addition, he was elected Commander of the Veterans Group at Plantation Estates for several years. People remember him for the levity he often added to the gatherings with an ever-ready list of humorous anecdotes and jokes. He also became a popular speaker, addressing various veterans’ groups and church gatherings, and speaking at other civic events in and around the Charlotte area. He always ended his talks with a note of thanks to the Lord for taking care of him and bringing him home safely. Ed was preceded in death by Dorothy, his beloved wife of 76 years, who passed away in June of this year; son Edward, Jr., of Sun City Carolina Lakes, SC; son David of Houston, Texas; and son Richard and his wife Kathy of Charlotte; three granddaughters and four great-grandchildren.







Group Citation/ Freedom Medal/ United States Campaign Air Medal/ POW Medal/ ETO 2/ 2 devices/ Good Conduct Medal