March 28, 1943 - June 15 2007
Col. Thomas Michael Messett (USAF Ret.) of Bend, Oregon, died June 15 of natural causes.
A graveside service was held on Friday July 13, 2007 at the Deschutes Memorial Gardens / Valor Gardens in Bend, Oregon.
Col. Messett was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 28, 1943. He attended California State College at Long Beach and received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and later a Masters Degree in Business Administration.
During his military career, he served as a distinguished fighter pilot in the Vietnam War, as a squadron commander in Korea, as a deputy chief of staff, Latin America, and retired as a colonel in the United States Air Force. He received many awards including the distinguised flying cross, the air medal and the silver star.
After retiring from the USAF he was afforded the opportunity to work for various defense contracting firms worldwide.
Survivors include two sons, Todd, of Las Vegas, Nevada, and Paul of Bend, Oregon; a brother Phillip, of Long Beach, California; and two sisters, Patricia of Apple Valley, California and Erin, of Lakewood, California.
He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice Center, 2075 N.E. Wyatt Court, Bend, Oregon 97701.
I hope
there's a place, way up in the sky,
Where pilots can go, when they have to die-
A place where a guy can go and buy a cold beer
For a friend and comrade, whose memory is dear;
A place where no doctor or lawyer can tread,
Nor management type would ere be caught dead;
Just a quaint little place, kinda dark and full of smoke,
Where they like to sing loud, and love a good joke;
The kind of place where a lady could go
And feel safe and protected, by the men she would know.
There must be a place where old pilots go,
When their paining is finished, and their airspeed gets low,
Where the whiskey is old, and the women are young,
And the songs about flying and dying are sung,
Where you'd see all the fellows who'd flown west before.
And they'd call out your name, as you came through the door;
Who would buy you a drink if your thirst should be bad,
And relate to the others, "He was quite a good lad!"
And then through the mist, you'd spot an old guy
You had not seen for years, though he taught you how to fly.
He'd nod his old head, and grin ear to ear,
And say, "Welcome, my son, I'm pleased that you're here.
"For this is the place where true flyers come,
"When the journey is over, and the war has been won
"They've come here to at last to be safe and alone
From the government clerk and the management clone,
"Politicians and lawyers, the Feds and the noise
Where the hours are happy, and these good ol'boys
"Can relax with a cool one, and a well-deserved rest;
"This is Heaven, my son -- you've passed your last test!"
Author: Capt. Michael J. Larkin
Dedicated to: Capt. E. Hamilton Lee
FLYING WEST
