Memorials › SGT Chester Aubrey "C.A." Long

SGT Chester Aubrey "C.A." Long

29 Nov 1922 – 11 Apr 2012

Birth29 Nov 1922
Death11 Apr 2012
CemeteryEvergreen Cemetery
Ballinger , Runnels County , Texas , USA
Added byOldSoul-Progressive Spirit on 19 Feb 2021
FaGhttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/90267585

Gravesite details

Stone is incorrect by two days. He was born 29 Nov 1922.

Bio

Obituary, SA Times: Chester A. Long , 89, was born into everlasting life on Wednesday, April 11, 2012. He passed away peacefully in his home in Culver City, Calif. He was born on Nov. 29, 1922, in Runnels County, Texas, the son of Andrew J. and Sallie V. (Trammell/Howell) Long. C.A. (as he was known) was a graduate of Ballinger High School. He served his country in the U.S. Air Force during World War II. C.A. was a radio dispatcher for the Texas Highway Patrol in San Angelo for several years before moving to Culver City, Calif., where he worked in the aviation industry until he retired. He attended the Church of the Nazarene in Cerritos, Calif., with his daughter, Diann. C.A. is survived by his daughter, Diann Long of California; two brothers, O.R. (Lois) Long of Tecumseh, Mich., and the Rev. Charles (Shirley) Long of Austin; one sister, Sibyl Watkins of San Angelo; as well as numerous nieces and nephews, and his special friend, Phyllis Cantor of San Diego, Calif. He was preceded in death by his parents; and two brothers, Jack and Bill. C.A. was a loving father, brother and uncle and he will be greatly missed by all those lives he touched. C.A.'s family invite those who knew him to join them in a memorial service at 11 a.m. Friday, May 18, 2012, at Freedom Fellowship Church, 324 S. Chadbourne St., San Angelo, with the Rev. Harold Watkins officiating. Cremation has taken place and burial will be at 2 p.m. in Evergreen Cemetery in Ballinger following the memorial service. Chester Aubrey (C.A.) Long was born in Ballinger, Texas 29 Nov 1922, the second of five sons born to Andrew Jackson Long & Sallie Howell. He attended Ballinger High School where he played halfback for the Bearcats and was the only three-year letterman on the district champion team of 1940-1941. While still attending school, he and his older brother Jack joined and underwent training with Company C of the Texas National Guard which became the 142nd Texas. While Jack remained therein, C.A. evidently declined to re-up because he moved to Dallas immediately after graduation and went to work building AT-6s at the largest aircraft factory in North America during World War II: North American Aviation in Grand Prairie. He recalled that they would put two 50-caliber machine guns in each wing of the AT-6s and send them to China for defense against the Japanese. He also pulled a stint as an inspector at Six Flags before going into the service. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps 20 Apr 1943, being assigned service number 38513250. He served as the Radio Operator on a B-25, attaining the rank of Sergeant. His crew underwent extensive training for overseas combat but he never saw action. On 7 Aug 1945 he was sitting in San Franciso crewed up with orders in hand to leave for Manila the next day when "Little Man" was dropped on Hiroshima, thereby changing the course of events. C.A. remained in the service for another six months after VJ Day and was discharged 25 Feb 1946 at Ft. Devens Massachusetts. He returned to Ballinger and got a job as a surveyor for an oil company. After about a year and a half, the crew was reassigned to South America which was not appealing, so he took a short-term job as bookkeeper at Angelo Feed & Supply in San Angelo. Not long for that job, he began training to take his DPS Radio course which he completed in 1949. In January of 1950 he gained his dispatcher status and joined the staff of KKA451, the San Angelo DPS Radio Station. While there, he was reunited with Leo Sides, an old teammate from Ballinger High and fellow Army Air Corps Veteran. Together, they served as assistant to Chief Operator Jake Sharp. In September of 1957, C.A. was promoted to Chief Operator and moved to the regional headquarters in Midland. Growing tired of the routine work and having liked the west coast while stationed out there, he moved to California in 1960 and went to work for Packard Bell building early television sets. His final move was to Hughes Tool Company, owned by business magnate and fellow Texan Howard Hughes, and he remained there until his retirement in 1988. In 1946, he married Pauline "Polly" (Underwood) St. Martin, a widow with a daughter. They had one child together, Carol Diane. His final years were spent in Culver City, CA where he passed away at the age of 89. Regardless of how far he travelled, C.A. loved reminiscing about Ballinger and what life was like growing up there. His ashes were returned to Texas and are interred in the plot of his parents at Evergreen Cemetery. ~ Compiled for publication in Vol. 6 of "Veterans of Runnels County" by Zebulon Long

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