Lt. Col Edgar A. Hambleton
U.S. Army Air Force, 5th Air Force, 312th Bomb Group, 388th Bomb Squadron
A-20 Havoc Pilot in the South West Pacific Area

Background
Edgar A. Hambleton was born August 19, 1918 to parents Earnest Albert Hambleton and Josie Ann Rhodes Hambleton in DeQueen, Arkansas. Nicknamed "Ed".

Wartime History
On January 7, 1942 enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as an aviation cadet. After completing flight training, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant with serial number O-663721. Shipped overseas as a passenger aboard SS Nieuw Amsterdam across the Pacific to Australia.

Assigned to the 5th Air Force (5th AF), 312th Bomb Group (312th BG), 388th Bombardment Squadron (388th BS) as an A-20 Havoc pilot. He was assigned A-20G 43-9458 that he nicknamed "Je Reviens" after the book by Didier Schuller that he read aboard SS Nieuw Amsterdam during the voyage from California across the Pacific to Australia. In New Guinea, he began flying low level strike missions in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA). In 1944 promoted to the rank of Captain.

Postwar
He remained in the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and served as an operations staff officer in a NATO group in Germany and in the Strategic Air Command (SAC). He was also a graduate of the Air Force Command and Staff School. In 1963 he retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Memorials
Hambleton passed away on May 15, 2005. He is buried IOOF Cemetery in Norman, OK.

Relatives
Mary Elizabeth Tabb Hambleton (wife)

References
NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Edgar A. Hambleton
FindAGrave - Edgar Allen Hambleton (photos, grave photo)
Obituary for Lieutenant Colonel Edgar A. (Ed) Hambleton World War II Aviator
Retired Air Force Lt. Colonel Edgar A. Hambleton, age 86, a decorated world war II aviator, died Sunday, May 15, 2005. Interment will follow at the I.O.O.F. Cemetery in Norman, Oklahoma. Grandsons will serve as pallbearers. Honorary bearers will be the 312th Bombardment Group. Services are under the direction of Havenbrook Funeral Home of Norman, Oklahoma. Colonel Hambleton was born on August 19, 1918, in DeQueen, Arkansas, to Ernest A. and Josie (Rhodes) Hambleton. As a boy he grew up in the oil fields of Oklahoma. Colonel Hambleton attended the University of Oklahoma in Norman. In December 1941, after Pearl Harbor, he applied for the Army Air Corps flight training and was accepted January 6, 1942. After receiving his flying commission, he was assigned to the 312th Bombardment Group.

During World War II, he named his A-20 Havoc "Je Reviens" after a book he read by the same name on the long triip overseas. Colonel Hambleton flew sixty-eight combat missions in the A-20 Havoc in the Southwest Pacific area for which he was awarded the air medal with clusters and other decorations. During his military career, he served as operations staff officer in various organizations including a Troop Carrier Group, a NATO group in Germany and in the Strategic Air Command (SAC). He was also a graduate of the Air Force Command and Staff School.

Following retirement from the Air Force in 1963, he moved with his wife and four children to Norman, where he was associated with the insurance industry for many years. He was a member of the Kiwanis Club, past president of the Norman Life Underwriters Association, a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), member of the OU Alumni Association, member of the Retired Officers' Association, a charter member of the O-YOU Good Sams Travel Club, driver for Norman Meals on Wheels, and a member of McFarlin Memorial United Methodist Church, where he was a member of the Bible Study Room 222 Sunday School Class, Men's Prayer Breakfast, member of the choir for fifteen years, and also has served on the church board.

Colonel Hambleton was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers, Lawrence and Charles; and two sisters, Trixie Lucy and Martha Compton. Survivors include his wife of fifty-six years, Mary Elizabeth Tabb Hambleton, of the home; two sons, David Hambleton and wife, Sue, of Morrisonville, NY, and Mark Hambleton and wife, Janet, of Tahlequah, OK; two daughters, Cheryl Weddle and husband, Royce, and Kathleen Williams and husband, Billy, all of Norman; nine grandchildren, Todd Hambleton, Heather Hambleton, Danny Weddle, Michael Weddle and wife, Melinda, Dana Weddle, Travis Williams and wife, Devon, Jason Williams, Marisa Hambleton and Matthew Hambleton; and sister, Edna Graham, of Tulsa, OK.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Norman Meals on Wheels, P. O. Box 1371, Norman, OK 73070 and Norman Regional Hospital Foundation, P. O. Box 1665, Norman, Oklahoma, 73070.

Contribute Information
Do you have photos or additional information to add?