Robert "Bob" M. Dawson

Robert “Bob” M. Dawson, age 99, died Wednesday, January 22, 2020. Born in Portland, OR, Bob dedicated a great deal of his life to the service of his country. Enlisting in the Army Air Corp in 1942, Bob became a B-17 pilot in WWII. When his plane was shot down over Germany, a mere 12 miles from Switzerland, he was hospitalized in Rottmunster for serious burns, and later incarcerated in Aitbergergen, Germany, Shubin, Poland, and Sagen, Germany.

He survived the frozen death march from Sagen to Nuremberg in January 1945. Bob retired from the USAF at a Lt. Col. in 1967 and entered Civil Service at Kirtland AFB as a mechanical engineer. Bob was an avid outdoorsman, once holding the record for most ascents of Mt. St. Helen. He loved the outdoors and the mountains and spent memorable retirement summers working for the U.S. Forest Service at Trapper’s Lake, CO.

Bob is survived by his daughter, Susan Van Namee; and brother, Doug Dawson.

Graveside Services with Military Honors will take place Thursday, February 6, 2020, 2:15 p.m., at Santa Fe National Cemetery.