A.L. Padilla

A.L. Rick Padilla, 90, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, passed away on January 14, 2018 surrounded by his loving family.

Rick was born on June 11th, 1927 in Mosquero, New Mexico, To Rebecca and Tomas Padilla.

He is survived by his wife Rita, Son Rick, Daughter Mary, Along with Brother Edward of Albuquerque, Sister Shar Avery of Texas, Laura Van Cleave, of Denver, and Josephine Duran of Cimarron New Mexico.; 6 grandchildren and multiple great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and brothers, Julian, Earnest, Arthur and his daughter Anita.

In the early years of 1945, A.L. Rick Padilla entered the U.S. Maritime Service boot training on Catalina Island, CA. Seaman Padilla's sea ventures carried him half-way around the world from the Philippines to the shores of Europe. From Seattle to the tip of Chile in South America. Rick was assigned on board the S.S. Brazil during the repatriation of 400,000 German POW's from the United States to England and France. On Subsequent trips between New York and Europe, Rick's ship was the main source of transportation for 6,000 European war brides to the United States.

In June 1946, upon his return from Hawaii, Padilla enlisted in the U.S. Corp. Private Padilla underwent basic training at the San Antonio Air Cadet Center (now known as Lackland AFB) with subsequent assignment with the U.S. Occupation Forces in Seoul, So. Korea. Upon arrival in Korea, Padilla was promoted to Corporal and assumed the duties of the one and only fire inspector at Kimpo Air Base in December 1946. In June 1947, he was promoted to Sergeant and assumed the duties of Chief Clerk for the Base Installations Officer. And then as an intelligence specialist, he served under a joint task force called the Joint Air Defense Force. With representatives from different branches of the service, they worked together to collect intelligence information to report to the theater commander of the Far East, Gen. Douglas McArthur. He was stationed just north of Seoul after it had been temporarily secured by a massive marine landing at Inchon. Sgt. Padilla was subsequently transferred to Japan and assigned duties as Administrative Inspector. Upon his return of the 'Zone of Interior'. Sgt Padilla saw duty at Mitchell Field in New York, Denver, Colorado, and San Bernardino, California, with duties as Chief Clerk, Investigator and Sgt Major. In January 1952, Sgt Padilla was again shipped to Korea and assigned duties with the 5th Air Force Intellegence. Sgt Padilla accepted his discharge from active duty upon his return to the U.S. in December 1952 at which time he applied for admission to the University of Denver. Sgt Padilla continued his military career when he enlisted in the Colorado Air National Guard in September of 1953.

Sgt. Padilla received his BS in Business Administration from the University of Denver in September 1956 and subsequently joined the Air Technical Detachment as an Education Tech. Sgt Padilla went on to be First Sergeant of the 140th Air Base Squadron and was employed full time as a personnel technician under the Administrative Division.

During the 1960's, through the 1980's, Padilla was First Sergeant and Chief Loadmaster in the Air National Guard out of Van Nuys California. He flew C-130's and was responsible for cargo to our troops which included many trips to Vietnam. Padilla retired from the Air Force in 1987 as Chief Master Sergeant. He also earned his PhD from The University of San Diego Business School in Business Administration.

During the late 60's through the 80's, Padilla was also employed with North American Aviation out of Downey California and was a part of the Gemini and Apollo Space Programs.

Five decades after serving several tours in the Korean war, in 2001, While living with his family in Grand Junction, Colorado, It was discovered that, after 5 decades, Padilla had not received a medal he had earned during the Korean conflict. So in 2001, he was awarded the U.S. Commendation medal from Sen. Wayne Allard, R- CO. The medal was 48 years overdue, but not too late to be appreciated. The medal was awarded during a ceremony at the U.S. Air Force academy in Colorado Springs along with 17 other veterans receiving medals. Although his medal was never pinned to his uniform, Padilla knew that in 1952, that he had earned it...

Services will be held at a later date after his wife Rita joins him in death. At that time, he will be given full Military Honors and burial with his wife at The Washington State Veterans Cemetery in Medical Lake, Washington.