Baskett on left, Cumberpatch
on right. Photo rights to John Starr.
Maj.
James R. Cumberpatch
(4th Fighter Interceptor
Wing yearbook - 1954)
(4th Fighter Interceptor
Wing yearbook - 1954)
(4th Fighter Interceptor
Wing yearbook - 1954)
"Curley, Baskett and
Cumberpatch at K-3, on time war flight. 30 Mar '54"
(fabulousrocketeers.com)
Obituary:
James R. Cumberpatch,
Colonel, USAF (Ret) passed away on April 28, 2017 at his assisted
living facility in Harwood, MD following a brief illness. Born on
June 8, 1922 at the Fort Sam Houston Army General Hospital in San
Antonio, TX to the late James T. and Louise K. Cumberpatch. His father,
a career Army Air Corp officer, earned his pilots wings in 1917. James
followed in his footsteps, attending the U. S Military Academy at
West Point and graduating on June 6, 1944, part of the 'D-Day Class.'
After graduation he was trained and qualified to fly B-24 bombers.
Before he could be assigned duty in Europe, he was sent to B-29 training.
He completed B-29 combat crew training as an airplane commander and
was assigned to the 93rd Bombardment Squadron on Guam. Shortly after
his arrival on Guam, in July of 1945, the War in the Pacific ended.
Later he was adjutant of the 31st Air Service Group, 314th Bomb Wing,
20th Air Force, Guam. In 1946 he was transferred to the Operations
Division of the 5th Air Force Headquarters, Nagoya, Japan. On returning
to the States, he attended the Georgia institute of Technology where
he received BS and MS Degrees in Aeronautical Engineering in 1949
and 1950. Subsequent tours of duty included assignments as a project
engineer in the Jet Fighter Branch at Air Material Command HQ in Dayton,
OH and Chief of the Production Branch in the Office of the Air Force
Plant Representative at the Lockheed Aircraft Company in Burbank,
CA. During this assignment he flew over 250 acceptance test flights
in factory new T-33 and F-94C jet fighters. In 1953 he graduated from
the Jet Fighter Command Gunnery School at Nellis AFB, NV, was promoted
to Major and then served in Korea as the Executive Officer of the
336th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (The Fabulous Rocketeers), 4th
Fighter Wing at the Kimpo Airbase flying combat missions in the F-86E
Sabre Jet. Returning stateside, he attended and graduated from the
Air Command and Staff School at Maxwell AFB, AL, in 1955. In 1956
he was assigned as Chief of the Plans and Management Office, Production
Directorate, Sacramento Air Material Command. From 1957 to 1959 he
served as Assistant Chief of Staff of this command which consisted
of 27,000 military and civilian personnel. He was then selected to
be an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
in Cambridge, MA where he received an MS in Industrial Management.
From 1960 -1963 he was assigned to the Office of the Secretary of
the Air Force, Washington, DC, as an Air Force Liaison Officer with
members of the U. S. Congress. He was promoted to Lt. Colonel in 1963
and served as Assistant Executive Officer to the Deputy Chief of Staff,
R & D, USAF, at the Pentagon. In 1964 he was promoted to Colonel
and was the Director, Command Secretariat of the Air Force Systems
Command at Andrews Air Force Base, MD. He served in that position
until he retired from active duty in 1968. He was awarded the Army
Commendation Ribbon and three Air Force Commendation Medals. After
retiring from the Air Force he worked as a Production Manager for
Garrett AiResearch in Torrance, CA. Next, he became Executive Vice
President of Program Control Corporation, a software company, where
he directed the development of the 'Mark III' project management computer
software, one of the first successful project management computer
systems introduced in the 1970's. He then founded Decision Technology
Corporation, a project management consulting firm specializing in
the design and implementation of project management methodologies,
development and implementation of project management policy and procedures,
software development, and in-house project management seminars and
executive briefings. He personally conducted several hundred seminars,
across the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. Clients
included Fortune 500 companies, government and DoD agencies, and ARAMCO,
in Saudi Arabia. He fully retired in 1996. Col. Cumberpatch was a
member of the Army-Navy Club, The Order of Daedalians, The Quiet Birdmen,
the Lost Patrol, the Sabre Jet Association, and the West Point Association
of Graduates. He served many years on the Advisory Board for the Centers
for the Handicapped, in Silver Spring, MD. He was an avid rail roader,
always building layouts and tinkering with 027 gauge Lionel model
trains. He is survived by his children, John (Paige) Cumberpatch of
Sherwood Forest, MD, Michael (Lynn) Cumberpatch of Annapolis, MD,
Mary Louise (Robert Durbin) Cumberpatch of Kensington, MD, Thomas
(Lisa) Cumberpatch of Annapolis, MD, Mark (Sharon) Cumberpatch of
Murrells Inlet, SC and Joseph Cumberpatch of Silver Spring, MD; his
grandchildren, Lily, Kate, Chris, Liz, Jody, Colleen and Ian Cumberpatch
and Clara and Patrick Durbin. He was preceded in death by his first
wife, Mary O. Cumberpatch, and his second wife, Eloise Mahon Cumberpatch.
His oldest son, James R. 'Rick' Cumberpatch was killed in Vietnam
June 23, 1966, while serving as a combat medic with the 1st Air Cavalry
Division.
Source:
Capital
Gazette
and Kalas
Funeral Home & Crematory
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