From http://defender.west-point.org/service/eulogies.mhtml?&u=20289
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I am saddened to report the death of our Classmate, Cyrus C. Cassells, Jr., on 2 January 1999 at his home in Escondido, CA. Cy died from lung cancer. His funeral and a memorial service, attended by several Classmates, were held on Saturday, 9 January. With him at the time of his passing were his wife, Isabel, and their three sons, Cyrus III, of Texas, and Kevin and Robert of Los Angeles. Cy separated from the USAF in 1967 and went almost immediately to work with NASA, with whom he remained until his retirement. For the past several years he had been a principal docent at the San Diego Aerospace Museum. His Company mates from I-1 and the entire Class will miss this most singular and gracious gentleman. Be Thou at Peace, Well Done. |
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From http://defender.west-point.org/service/display.mhtml?u=20289&i=2062
Cyrus Cassells Jr.,
65; historian for Tuskegee Airmen chapter
Jack Williams
STAFF WRITER,UNION TRIBUNE
Friday 8 JAN 1999
Cyrus Cassells Jr.'s most challenging mission came several years after duty as
an Air Force pilot and flight test engineer. As historian and spokesman for the
San Diego chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen Inc., he was dedicated to seeing that
pioneering African-American aviators were recognized for their role in the
history. Beginning in 1995, he spearheaded a campaign that resulted in the
unanimous support by Tuskegee Airmen chapters of a resolution he wrote endorsing
retired Army Lt. Col. Charles M. Bussey for the Medal of Honor. Mr. Cassells, a
retired flight test and aerospace engineer, died of cancerSaturday at his home
in Escondido.
He was 65."For the last five years, he had been working with me to get the Army
to correct the official history of the black Army," said David K. Carlisle, a
fellow graduate of the U.S. Military Academy. Long before his involvement with
the Tuskegee organization, Mr. Cassells was among six African-Americans in 1951
who brought integration to dormitories at West Point, Carlisle recalled. "Each
reported to his new company and received his room assignment," Carlisle said.
"Then, each stood in the hallway outside his room, declining to enter. After
considerable time, each was assigned to a new room with white roommates."
Mr. Cassells found two ideal outlets for his lifelong love of aviation after
moving from Lancaster to Escondido in 1991: the San Diego Aerospace Museum and
an education program designed to reach both children and adults. Mr. Cassells
led tours at the Balboa Park museum and helped coordinate the Willa Brown
Aviation Program, offered through the San Diego Community College District and
the San Diego Housing Commission. "Busloads of kids from the San Diego Unified
School District would go to Gillespie Field, where Cyrus would talk to them
about aviation and show them through planes," said Lois Bruhn, manager of
economic development for the San Diego Community College District. "He was a
wealth of information and loved helping people develop their potential. With his
contacts, Cyrus brought employers, aviators and others to talk to children and
set up aviation days." Mr. Cassells also reached single parents and women
through the Willa Brown program, exposing them to the various career
opportunities in all phases of the aviation industry. "If he didn't have the
contacts to bring in, he found them," Bruhn said. "He gave of himself and didn't
expect any payment back. He was a great man, and I haven't met many like him."
Although his expertise was aviation, Mr. Cassells also aided the community
college district in a program to recruit heavy equipment operators, Bruhn said.
A fountain of knowledge on the history of aviation, Mr. Cassells was especially
interested in the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first blacks to be trained
as military pilots in the United States. The airmen escorted American bombers
over Europe and North Africa in World War II, providing a virtually impenetrable
shield while shooting down hundreds of German fighter planes. Their pioneering
efforts, in facing racial barriers and paving the way for future black aviators
such as Mr. Cassells, were the subject of a 1995 HBO movie, "The Tuskegee
Airmen." One of those airmen was Roger C. "Bill" Terry, Mr. Cassells'
brother-in-law. Terry was assigned to Freeman Field, Ind., where he eventually
was court-martialed. In August 1995, the court-martial was reversed "on the
basis of equity," vindicating Terry's belief that the real issue was the color
of his skin. Tuskegee Airmen Inc. was formed in 1972 and has expanded to 39
chapters, including the one in San Diego, which opened in 1995. Born in
Wheeling, W.Va., Mr. Cassells grew up in Detroit and developed a passion for
flying as a teen-age Eagle Scout. After a year at Wayne State University, he
received an appointment to West Point. He joined the Air Force after graduation
and served as a military air transport pilot. Mr. Cassells earned a master's
degree in engineering in 1963 from the University of Washington and was assigned
to Edwards Air Force Base. He worked there 25 years, both as an Air Force
officer, attaining the rank of major, and as a civilian. Starting as a flight
test engineer, Mr. Cassells worked his way up to projects engineer for the
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration. When he retired in 1988, he operated an air conditioning
business for a while, both in Lancaster and Escondido, where had lived since
1991. He is survived by his wife, Isabel; sons, Cyrus of Wimberley, Texas, and
Kevin and David, both of Los Angeles; a sister, Edith Young, and brother,
Norman, both of Detroit.