I first met Gareth in the early 90's when he came to the Army Aviation Support Facility as from active duty. He was a scout pilot like me and I liked him immediately. Our careers collided when we both applied to and were hired to a brand new unit, the VA RAID team in Oct 1993. Our unit was made up of a mixed diverse lot of pilots and crew chiefs; Shawn, Charlie, Gareth, Wayne, Edwin and Herbert, who was quickly replaced by Jimbo. We learned the mission as we went along, but seat of the pants flying I learned from OB. OB was truly a gifted teacher/IP. He mastered how to teach complex skills, influence techniques and flight maneuvers and made it fun. OB as we knew him, was a man of few words, but when he spoke, it was always relevant, to the point and 100% accurate. My favorite memory was one day in the middle of a group "Come to Jesus" meeting he simply stated he was out of words, done, end of discussion. I counted OB as one of my closest friends, and when we both retired in 2012, I missed the daily contact we had shared. We talked often in retirement because we were both involved in Boy Scouts, so we compared notes on our Asst Scoutmaster adventures.
When I look at all that he accomplished in his 60 years, Eagle Scout, Master Aviator, CW5, Regional RAID Instructor Pilot, I am in awe of how easily he navigated these responsibilities. Whenever he took on a challenge, he always left things better than he got them. He was a great husband to Flora and devoted Dad to his children. He lived a life of service, to God, Family and Country, and was always there for his Brothers in Arms. In 2014 I ventured on to finish a previous career. he would always ask me when I was going to retire for good, but I always said I wanted to finish what I started. He asked me a couple months back while at another dear friends funeral when I was going to retire and start enjoying the retirement we worked for? I let him know it would be soon and I wish I had taken his advice sooner. Saying goodbye to a great Patriot will be hard, but I will be with family and friends who loved then man like I did. I am proud to have known him and called him friend. As long as we his friends are alive, OB will live within our stories, our hearts and our great memories of him. When we started RAID, none of us thought we would make it to 18-year lock in called "Sanctuary" but we did and now he has again made it to "God's Sanctuary". Rest in Peace my Brother!
