Obituary: William Dinwiddie Tucker (1928-2023)

William Dinwiddie Tucker (Age 95)

Lt. Col. William Dinwiddie “Bill” Tucker USAF (Ret.), 94, of Arlington, Virginia, passed away peacefully on January 18, 2023. Bill, son of the late Hubert Quinton Tucker, Sr. and Mary Elizabeth Carpenter Tucker, was born in Washington, DC, on October 5, 1928.

Bill was raised in Washington, DC, and graduated from Central High School in 1948. He attended the University of Maryland – College Park, where he was a Track & Field athlete competing in middle distance and hurdles, a football player, a wrestler and a member of Kappa Alpha Order fraternity. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree (Dean’s List) in Physical Education in 1953.

In 1950, Bill went to Missoula, Montana, to train as a smokejumper, an elite group of fewer than 6,000 members. He was active for three seasons in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and had ten practice jumps and jumped into and fought nine forest fires. One such fire was immortalized in the article “I Jump into Hell,” published in the October 1955 issue of Cavalier magazine, where he was part of a team struggling to get their wounded colleague out of the forest. Bill can also be seen in the 1952 film “Red Skies of Montana,” working alongside Richard Widmark and Jeffrey Hunter. Until recently, Bill returned periodically to Montana for smokejumper reunions where he would work on clearing trails and reminisce over cold bottles of Moose Drool beer with his friends.

In 1953, Bill joined the USAF Reserves, transitioning to active duty in 1961. He served as a USAF Military Pilot and Aircraft Commander with the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron (Hurricane Hunters) at Ramey AFB in Puerto Rico. In Vietnam, Bill served as a Pilot and Instructor flying C-123s and C-130s on transport and defoliation missions. After the war ended, Bill went back into the USAF Reserves, working at Andrews AFB with the 459th Congressional Wing until he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1979.

His military decorations were many and include the Air Force Commendation, an Air Medal with ten Oak Leaf Clusters (one for Hurricane Hunting and nine for his service in Vietnam, with each Cluster for Vietnam representing five combat missions) and the Distinguished Flying Cross. The citation for the Distinguished Flying Cross notes how Bill successfully completed a high priority mission despite his aircraft sustaining significant damage. He also flew a number of transport missions during the Battle of Khe Sanh.

While stationed at Ramey AFB, Bill met the love of his life, Jeanne McCoy, who was teaching on the base. Bill and Jeanne married on August 31, 1968, in Elyria, OH. The couple eventually settled in Arlington, VA, where they lived in Bill’s family home. They remained happily married for 53 years until Jeanne’s death in 2021.

His love of horses began in his youth, leading him to be a trainer, to play polo and to ride in the Rappahannock Hunt. He was a member of the Blacksmith Guild of the Potomac, and an avid collector of U.S. Calvary memorabilia, with many of these artifacts being featured in the U.S. Calvary Museum in Fort Riley, Kansas. One of Bill’s greatest joys was spending time down at “the cabin,” his family property in Culpeper, Virginia.

Bill will be greatly missed and remembered fondly.

Bill was preceded in death by his wife Jeanne McCoy Tucker, and his brothers Dr. Hubert Quinton Tucker, Jr. and Joseph Travis “Joe” Tucker, Sr. He is survived by his sister, Mary Frances Tucker Fannon, as well as many loving nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews and a great-great niece.

Bill will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, with the interment and a memorial service to be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the National Smokejumper Association, https://smokejumpers.com.

Submitted by Murphy Funeral Home