MEMORIAL ARTICLE Published Assembly Jul '90 Arthur Burt Wilcox   No. 15896   Class of 1946  Died 8 April 1952, near Golden Colorado, aged 26 years. Interment at Fairlawn Cemetery, Decatur, Illinois

 BORN 28 OCTOBER 192.5 in Decatur, Illinois, Arthur Burt Wilcox, Jr. was always known as Bus to his family and friends. He grew up in Decatur and was greatly influenced in his choice of careers by an uncle, John B. Sullivan, USMA ‘31.  His brother recalls that on one occasion Bus wore one of his uncle's old uniforms to a masquerade ball in high school. Bus always wanted to go to West Point, but unlike his uncle who retired from the Army as a brigadier general, Bus wanted to become a pilot. In his younger days, Bus was an avid collector. At one time he had a spectacular collection of matchbook covers which was viewed as a potential fire hazard by his family. He also had excellent collections of Indian Head pennies and Indian Head nickels. Always industrious, Bus, while in high school, worked for his father in his restaurant, the Wayside Inn. Located a block from the only high school in Decatur at the time, it was the "in" place for students, especially during the lunch hour when the crowd resembled a mob scene from a DeMille movie.

Following graduation from Decatur High School, Bus attended Sullivan Preparatory School in Washington, DC, for one year before he entered West Point on 1 July 1943 with the Class of 1946. His year at prep school helped Bus make the transition from civilian to plebe with a minimum of difficulty.  He accepted ”beast barracks" as a test of his endurance and proved to himself that he could handle it. As with so many of his classmates, when Bus double timed up to that fourth floor room that hot humid day during "beast barracks" to try out for the Cadet Choir, his "Glory to God" was greeted with this response: "Mr. Wilcox, musically you are color blind." A good solid student, academics didn't bother Bus much. Although not on any varsity squads, Bus was a good athlete and enjoyed most sports. Always optimistic, Bus was a very determined individual with clear objectives as a cadet, to graduate and to fly.

 Thus, Bus was overjoyed when he had the opportunity to opt for flying training as a cadet. He was selected for the program and journeyed to Brady, Texas, for his primary flying training in the spring of 1945. Brady is northwest of San Antonio, and it so happened that Bus' aunt, Florence Sullivan, was living in San Antonio at the time while his uncle was overseas. Florence recalls that she often would drive to Brady on weekends and bring Bus and a classmate to San Antonio for a break. She often wondered how they were able to find much entertainment because most places were closed to servicemen after 2200 hours. One evening, Bus invited Florence to accompany him. As they approached the door of an all-night of cafe, the doorman was in the process of turning them away when Bus pointed to his USMA collar insignia and explained that he was a "WAC recruiter" and thus not subject to the curfew! With that, the party was ushered in and served immediately. Florence no longer wondered how Bus and his friends found entertainment in San Antonio.

 Returning to West Point, Bus completed first class year and graduated with his wings and second lieutenant bars, 4 June 1946. During graduation leave, Bus married Jane Williams, 22 June 1946. His first assignment was to Enid Field, Oklahoma, for transition training to multi-engine aircraft. Following Enid, Bus went to the Philippines for a short time before being assigned to Okinawa in 1948. Nineteen forty-nine saw Bus return to CONUS to serve as an instructor pilot at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. Prior to this, his marriage to Jane ended in divorce and on 15 May 1949 he married Patricia Heard. In 1950 he was assigned to Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma, again as an instructor pilot.
 In 1951, Bus was assigned to Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, to receive combat training. In early April 1952, Bus was the pilot of a B-25 bomber on a cross country, flight. At 0712 hours CST on 8 April, Bus left Fairfax Air Force Base, Kansas, en route to Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado. In addition to the normal crew of three on the B-25, there were eight passengers. The scheduled arrival time at Lowry was 10:53 hours MST. At 1038 hours, the plane radioed the Lowry tower that it was 45 miles east of Lowry at 9000 feet and the weather was closing in and it was going on instruments. Lowry tower routed the plane to a nearby instrument landing signal marker and instructed the plane to follow it in. At 1044 hours-the plane acknowledged it was on the ILS marker and coming in. That was the last word heard from the B-25. The wreckage of the plane was finally discovered on 10 April by a Civil Air Patrol search plane. The B-25 had smashed into Golden Peak 400 feet below the summit. Golden Peak is about 10.5 miles northwest of Golden, Colorado. There were no survivors. A memorial service for all11 passengers and crew of the plane was held at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, on 14 April t952. Services for Bus were held on 16 April in Decatur, Illinois. Bus was survived by his wife Patricia, his parents, a brother John and four children, Marshall. Michael, Karen and Arthur, III (born eight months after Bus died).
 Bus was a happy, good natured person. He made friends easily and everyone liked him. Generous with his time and talents, he impacted positively on all who came in contact with him. He had a great love of family. Whenever he was near a family member on his cross country. flights, he always made it a point to go see them, if only for a few hours.
 Having achieved his lifelong ambition to go to West Point and to fly. Bus was happy with his life. He was proud of being a West Pointer. He lived by the motto, “Duty, Honor. Country.” These weren’t just words to him. but a credo that governed his life. Bus wanted to serve his country and it is his country’s loss that he was taken from its service so early in his career. Arthur Burr Wilcox, Jr. joined the Long Gray Line at a very young age, but his family, friends and classmates will always remember him with love and affection.  He was a good man and the world is a better place because of the short time he was here.  Well Done, Bus, Be Thou At Peace!

Personal Eulogy