LT. COL. (RET.) WILLIAM J. SUGG
March 17, 1919-Jan. 17, 2015
Lt. Col. (Ret.) William Joseph Sugg, 95, of Princeton, died Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015.
Born March 20, 1919, he was the son of the late William Perry and Louise Massey Sugg.
He is preceded in death by his wife, Merle J. Sugg; sisters, Annie Louise Woodard and Frankie Sugg Heyward.
The funeral service will take place in the chapel of Casey Funeral Home on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015 at 7 p.m.
The Rev. Norma Roberts will be officiating.
Burial will be on Friday, Jan. 23, 2015, at 11 a.m. in Princeton Cemetery.
He is survived by a son, William J. Sugg, Jr. and wife, Cindy, of Clayton; daughters Kata Gootee of Winnabow and Frankie Jenson of Salisbury; seven grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; one great-great grandson; a brother, Raymond Sugg of Princeton; and a sister, Nancy Sugg Smith of Wilmington.
Mr. Sugg attended and played sports for Princeton High School and was one of the committee members who named the Princeton mascot "Bulldogs." He attended North Carolina State College (NCSU) and was a member of the college baseball and basketball teams.
He served in World War II as a B-17 co-pilot and was shot down during one of the bombing mission and held in a German POW camp for 14 months.
Mr. Sugg also participated in humanitarian flight missions known as the Berlin Air Lift post World War II and earned his Senior Pilot Wings.
He served as Communications Commander at Templehof in Berlin, Germany, after the war.
He retired from the US Air Force after 22 years of service.
During those years of service, he received many military medals and commendations, which included Purple Heart, Air Medal with One Oak Leaf Cluster to Air Medal by Command of Major General Doolittle, Prisoner of War Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal (Air Force), Medal of Humane Action, World War II Victory Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, National Defense Service Medal, World War II Army of Occupation Medal (Germany), Air Force Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, Air Force Presidential Unit Citation for Extraordinary Heroism and Action Against an Armed Enemy with Three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and the Air Force Longevity Service Award.
Mr. Sugg was a former member and served on the board of the Cardinal Country Club.
He was also a former member and former officer of the Lions Club and had been a member of the Princeton United Methodist Church since 1931.
The family will receive friends on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015, from 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. at Casey Funeral Home Chapel.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.caseyfh.com
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on January 20, 2015 1:48 PM