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MAESTAS -- Jose "Mike", 83, passed away August 31, 2007. He was born in Santa Rosa, NM to parents Adelicia and Nazario Maestas. He served in WWII in the Pacific, worked for the Corps of Engineers, US Forrest Service, and retired from the City of Albuquerque. He enjoyed listening to Mariachi music. He was preceded in death by his parents; daughter Toni Sprague; wife Angie Maestas and brother Pablo Maestas. He is survived by sister Susa Salazar; sons, Wally Aragon, Joseph Ortega and wife Bernadette, Timothy Maestas, Gary Maestas and wife Kim; daughter Anna Marie Ortega and husband Larry; granddaughters, Terry, Christine, Michelle and Patricia; grandsons, Donovan and Gary Jr.; great-granddaughter Deanna; 17 foster children, numerous other family and friends who will always love and miss him. A Memorial Service will be held at Northeast Church of Christ, 11000 Paseo del Norte NE, Monday, September 3, 2007 at 9:30 a.m. with John Phillis officiating. He will be interned at Santa Fe National Cemetery at a later date. Arrangements by Direct Funeral Services 2919 4th St. NW Albuquerque, NM 87107 (343) 8008.
        Published on: Mon September 03, 2007

MARTINEZ -- Evan James Evan, It has been seven years since we have seen your beautiful face. We miss your laugh and your smile. We Love you! Love Always, Dada, Brudder, Grandma, Grandpa, and the rest of Your Family Who Will Never Forget YOU!
        Published on: Mon September 03, 2007

MARTINEZ -- Rose Martinez, 83, resident of Albuquerque, died Wednesday, August 29, 2007. She is survived by her daughters, Virginia Woodward and husband, Grant, of Dana Point, CA, and Julianne Leighty of Ft. Worth, TX; sons, Ronald Martinez and wife, Suzy, of Chandler, AZ, and Eugene Martinez and wife, Anita, of Minneapolis, MN; grandchildren, Brett and Ryan Woodward, and Tamara Basford and Megan Leighty; sisters, Frances Chacon, Vi Wilson, Connie Pacheco, and Lucia Arellano; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Fred G. Martinez; parents, Manuel and Anita Rael; and sisters, Teddy Garcia, and Lupita Garcia. Rose was born in Arroyo Hondo, NM. She was a loving mother, grandmother, aunt, and was beloved by all who knew her. The family would like to thank The Woodmark for all their loving care in the last year of Rose's life. A Rosary will be recited Sunday, September 2, 2007, 7:00 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Tuesday, September 4, 2007, 10:00 a.m. at Queen of Heaven Catholic Church, 5310 Claremont NE. Interment will immediately follow at Santa Fe National Cemetery. French Mortuary 1111 University Blvd. NE (505) 843-6333 www.french.mortuary.com
        Published on: Mon September 03, 2007

MEASE -- Marie E. Mease, went to be with her Lord, August 27, 2007. Born in Erie, PA, June 21, 1913, she was preceded in death by her devoted husband Jack Mease. Marie found her true calling in life as an outstanding homemaker, mouth-watering baker, perfect hostess and a fierce bridge player. She was a constant companion to her husband as she followed him on many Tours of Duty. She never had an unkind word for anyone, was loved by all and will be greatly missed. Her family was truly blessed with her love for them. She leaves behind a son, Glen and wife, Catherine of Conroe, TX; two beloved granddaughters, Marcy Mease and husband Pat Moser of Albuquerque and Lynne Daves and husband, Scott of Austin, TX; their mother and Marie's good friend, Anne Mease; two great-grandchildren, Wesley Tanner and Casey Daves of Austin, TX; and one step-great-grandson, Tyler Moser. Services will be held at French Mortuary, 10500 Lomas Blvd. NE, Thursday, September 6, 2007 at 10:30 a.m. Interment will follow at Santa Fe National Cemetery. French Mortuary, Inc. 10500 Lomas Blvd. NE (505) 275-3500 www.frenchmortuary.com
        Published on: Mon September 03, 2007

MINZNER -- Pamela Burgy Minzner, 63, died Friday, August 31, 2007 after a courageous battle with cancer. Pamela is survived by her husband of 39 years, Richard C. Minzner; two sons, Carl F. Minzner and wife, Yufeng Mao of St Louis, MO, Max J. Minzner and wife, Mary Tobler of New York, NY; her brother, Robert E. Burgy and wife, Sandra of Waynesville, OH and their son, Matthew as well as many other family members and friends. She was born in Meridian, MS to Eldred J. and Rita Branning Burgy, who preceded her in death. Justice Minzner will be remembered as the first female Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court and for her graciousness, intellect and fidelity to the law and will be deeply, deeply missed. She was a tireless jurist, a trailblazer for other women and a former UNM Law School professor widely admired by her students and colleagues. A memorial service will be held Saturday, Sept. 8, 2007, 11:00 a.m. at Popejoy Hall at UNM preceded by private family interment services. Memorial contributions may be made to the UNM Foundation, designated for the UNM Law School or the UNM Cancer Center, MSC07 4260, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131 or to the First Congregational Church 2801 Lomas Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106. French Mortuary 1111 University Blvd. NE (505) 843-6333 www.frenchmortuary.com
        Published on: Mon September 03, 2007

O'BRIEN -- LaCorda L. O'Brien August 31, 1923 - August 29, 2007 Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel. Let us remember w/thankgiving what GOD has done through His servant LaCorda O'Brien. LaCorda LuElla (Schuetz) O'Brien was given life by her Creator and was born on August 31, 1923, the child of Rev. Henry and Mrs. Emily Schuetz, in Scotland, South Dakota. Soon thereafter, at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Scotland she received the gift of Holy baptism and became a child of God. And at the same Church, also by her father, she was confirmed, publicly confessing her faith in Jesus Christ and was given Isaiah 54:10 as her Confirmation Verse: "Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor My covenant of peace be removed." Says the LORD, who has compassion on you. NIV On December 12, 1945 she received the gift of her beloved husband, Brad O'Brien and were married. She was then blessed with the gift of: Alice Depew of Blufton SC, Candace Jones of Clarksburg MD, Patty O'Brien of Morgan Hill CA, and Sharon Sedillo of Albuquerque NM, her beloved children. And now also gifted with their families. God blessed LaCorda's life with many special people as she served God in churches, and in community. Finally, on August 29, 2007 GOD blessed LaCorda with a holy death and took her to her Heavenly Home, to rest in the arms of Jesus. The LORD gives and the LORD takes away; yet in the faith we say: Blessed be the Name of the Lord. We thanks to God our Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, for our sister in Christ, LaCorda, who lives before Him. Memorial Services will be at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 210 Alvarado SE, Albuquerque, NM, 256-9881, Sunday September 9, 2007 at 1:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be given to Redeemer Lutheran Church.
        Published on: Mon September 03, 2007

ORTIZ -- Manuel Ortiz, 52, passed away August 31, 2007. He was preceded in death by his parents, Catarino and Felipa De Ortiz. He is survived by his wife, Manuela Ayala; sons, Edgar Ortiz, Adrian Ortiz, Ricardo Ortiz, Aron Ortiz, and Gerardo Ortiz; daughters, Erica Ortiz, Iriz Ortiz, Juliana Ortiz, Miriam Ortiz, and Casandra Ortiz. A Visitation will be held Tuesday, September 4, 2007 from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Salazar & Sons Mortuary, a Rosary will be recited at 7:00 p.m. following the Visitation. Funeral Services will be held Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 10:00 a.m. at Salazar and Sons Mortuary. Arrangements by: Salazar & Sons Mortuary 400 Third St. SW 247-4124
        Published on: Mon September 03, 2007

APODACA -- Celina Apodaca, 86, died peacefully at home, September 1, 2007. A Rosary for Celina will be recited Tuesday, September 4, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. at San Jose de Los Duranes Church. Funeral Mass will be celebrated Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 1:00 p.m. at San Jose de Los Duranes. Interment will follow at The Gate of Heaven Cemetery. In lieu of Flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Arrangements by: Salazar & Sons Mortuary 400 Third St. SW 247-4124
        Published on: Tue September 04, 2007

ARMIJO -- Santiago Armijo (Jimmy), 91. Our beloved father and grandfather, Santiago Armijo, died on September 1, 2007. A Rosary for Santiago will be recited, Tuesday, September 4, 2007, at 7:00 p.m. at Salazar & Sons Mortuary. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated Wednesday, September 5, 2007, at 10:45 a.m. at Immaculate Conception Church. Interment will follow at Mt. Calvary Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a contribution to Casa Angelica, 5629 Isleta Blvd. SW, Albuquerque, NM 87105. Arrangements by: Salazar & Sons Mortuary 400 Third St. SW 247-4124
        Published on: Tue September 04, 2007

ARNOLD -- Rhodes F. Arnold was born on January 5, 1919 in a rooming house in Alexandria, Rapides Parish, Louisiana, Dr. Cooper attending. Son of Captain Rhodes F. Arnold of Minot and Devils Lake, North Dakota, and Jessie Mary Taylor Arnold of Kansas City, Missouri, Rhodes descended from the first emigrant Arnold, John Arnold of Armswell, Alton Pancras, Milton Abbas, County Dorset, England. John Arnold resided in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Winthop Street in 1634 and was a founder of Hartford Plantation in 1636. Rhodes comes from a long line of military ancestors: Samuel Brown Prince Arnold and Jabez Arnold in the Revolutionary War, both of Haddam Neck, Connecticut; Private Henry Willard Arnold of the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry, wounded at Port Gibson, LA, in the Civil War, and his father, the first Rhodes Felton Arnold. Captain Arnold served with the 3rd Missouri Regiment as a Sergeant and First Lieutenant, went to the Mexican border in Texas as the Commander of Co. F, 140th Infantry, Missouri National Guard, and when the Guard was called up for the "war to end all wars," he took Company F from Camp Doniphan, Oklahoma, to the trenches in Verdun, la belle France. Shortly after Rhodes' birth the Captain was mustered out and the family moved to Detroit, Michigan, at the suggestion of his paternal aunt, Charlotte Arnold Wirts. The family lived at an apartment at 1167 Webb, in a house owned by Charlotte's mother-in-law Mrs. Maria Wirts. He became a carpenter, making wooden window frames for automobiles until he read in the Infantry Journal that the Army was in need of officers. He took a competitive examination at Camp Custer, Michigan, passed, and was offered a commission as a Captain in the Regular Army. He was stationed at Fort Wayne, Michigan, Detroit, where Rhodes' brother Richard Ennis Arnold was born on February 6, 1921, in the Post hospital. Rhodes' first memory at age 2 was of a ship "going through his front yard" at Ft. Wayne, obviously on the Detroit River. In the fall of 1921 the family departed Ft. Wayne for Fort Benning, Georgia, where the Captain attended the Company Officer's Course at the Infantry School. The family lived in a tent in the Harmony Church area of Ft. Benning, and Rhodes' brother Richard slept in the tray of a foot locker. Upon completion of the course at Ft. Benning, the Captain was ordered to the 5th Maryland Regiment in Baltimore as an instructor to the Maryland Militia. The family resided in Mrs. Woodson's house at #9 Prospect Circle, Windsor Hills, Maryland, where Rhodes learned to read at his mother's knee from the Sunday comics of the Baltimore newspaper. In late 1924 The Captain received orders to transfer to San Juan, Puerto Rico. In preparation for the journey Rhodes and Richard were taken to an office building in downtown Baltimore, where they had their first ride in an elevator, and received shots for the tropics. Looking out the window of the clinic, Rhodes was astounded by the view from that height of the dockyards of Baltimore. In June 1925 the family journeyed by train to the Port of New York, where they were taken aboard the U.S. Army transport Ste. Mihiel. En route to San Juan Rhodes fell out of his upper birth and broke his right arm through the elbow. Young Rhodes was rushed to the infirmary where the x-ray machine was found inoperative. Rhodes heard the doctor tell his parents that he would set the bones "by feel," and upon arrival in San Juan the elbow would be x-rayed, and had it not healed properly it would be "re-broken and re-set." Fortunately, the elbow had set perfectly. The family took up residence in La Ballaja, a large quadrangular building not far from the historic fort, El Morro. It was while living at La Ballaja that Rhodes witnessed his first aerial machine, the ZR-3 dirigible, the Los Angeles. Little did he know that aviation was to become a life-long passion. After five months in La Ballaja Captain Arnold was moved to command D Company of the 56th Infantry in Fort San Cristobal. The family lived in quarters built by the Spaniards two hundred years before, and Rhodes played with the only kids his age, the Puerto Rican children in the street and in the Plaza de Colon. He learned Spanish in the process. Life in San Cristobal was wonderful for a youth Rhodes' age. In the morning he was taken by GI truck to St. John's Academy, where he had classes with other Army brats and Puerto Rican children. He had many classes, among them Spanish and Arithmetic (taught in Spanish). At noon the children returned to quarters, were given lunch and a siesta. At about 2:30 each day the GI truck returned them to the Escambron Beach (now the site of the Caribe Hilton) for beach activities. During the family's stay in Puerto Rico, Mrs. Arnold contracted malaria. When she found that she was pregnant the local doctor decided that having a child in that climate might be dangerous to her health, so the family was sent to New York on the Army transport Chateau Thiery, and by train to Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. It was there on 3 November 1926 that Ruth Elena Charlouise Arnold was born. When the family was ready to travel again they went by train to Norfolk, Virginia where they boarded the Navy transport Henderson (later redesignated AP-1) for a 13-day cruise to Charleston, South Carolina. Then they went on to St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, Port au Prince, Haite, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and finally to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Rhodes resumed his idyllic life under the tutelage of the family "striker," Jose Antonio Gonzales, a soldier in Company D. Rhodes was taken by Antonio to the market to buy crabs and seafood for the meals, and he was helped with his Spanish by talking to Jose. He spent many pleasant hours in the tunnels and ramparts of Ft. San Cristobal, chasing lizards, iguanas, and hermit crabs. In later summer of 1927 Jessie and the three children took passage on the San Miguel to the mainland and on to Baltimore, where they took up residence in an upstairs flat in downtown Baltimore. Rhodes had completed second grade in Saint John's Academy. When he was registered in the U.S. his mother was told that "he couldn't have been properly educated in Puerto Rico," so he had to repeat the second grade. When the Captain returned from Puerto Rico in 1928 he had orders to proceed to Ft. Snelling, Minnesota, where the family arrived by train in early March, 1928. They were quartered in a duplex, Quarters A-24, in "A" row. Across from A row were large brick barracks, and Captain Arnold became Company Commander of G Company, of the 3rd Infantry. That regiment, now known as "the Old Guard," is stationed at Fort Meyer, and performs the public functions of the White House, such as funerals at Arlington National Cemetery. Captain Arnold, a Colonel by his retirement, his wife Jessie, and his son Richard are all buried at Arlington National Cemetery. In March 1929 Rhodes and a friend were witnesses to an aviation incident of some note when a pilot bailed out of a Mohawk Pinto over the Ft. Snelling golf course. Rhodes and his friend were the first people at the crash site where the pilot announced as he rolled up his parachute that he was Charles "Speed" Holman, at the time a well-known racing pilot and First Pilot of Northwest Airlines. Rhodes later witnessed Speed Holman looping a Ford Trimotor to the West of Ft. Snelling, near Minneapolis. While at Ft. Snelling Rhodes attended Homecroft School, which was just across the 7th Street Bridge in St. Paul. Rhodes received a double promotion and was advanced a grade. Early in 1929 Captain Arnold was detailed to the Cooks and Baker's School at Ft. Riley, Kansas. That summer the Arnolds were temporarily stationed at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, where Captain Arnold became the summer camp mess officer, responsible for all messing activities for the Post. During that summer his sister Ruth developed whopping cough, and for the entire three months the Arnolds were quarantined. Upon returning to their quarters at Ft. Snelling, one of Captain Arnold's students from the Minnesota National Guard, Theodore N. Bolin, an enlisted man in the 109th Observation Squadron, applied for admission to cadet status in the Army Air Corps. His girlfriend was a student at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Ted was ordered to Randolph Field, near San Antonio, Texas. When he received his gold bars and wings he was sent to 1st Pursuit Group, Selfridge, Michigan. Once settled in he learned he could check out a Curtis P-1 Hawk for cross countries on weekends. He asked Mrs. Arnold if the family could put his girlfriend up at Ft. Snelling on weekends. There developed a frequent relationship between the two. He would do stunts over the quarters and land at Wold-Chamberlain Field. Mrs. Arnold would pick him up and take him to see his girlfriend. Rhodes went along each time and developed his love for the Curtis Hawk. Captain Arnold bought his first car at Ft. Snelling, and in the late summer of 1931 the family drove from Ft. Snelling to Columbus, Georgia, where Captain Arnold would spend the next school year in the Advanced Course at the Infantry School at Ft. Benning, Georgia. For the first five months of the year the family resided at 2428 Bell St., but eventually moved to quarters at Ft. Benning. Rhodes attended classes at Winton School where he learned something about discrimination. Belling Jordan and Rhodes had both come from Ft. Snelling and were considered "Damn Yankees." They were ostracized, ignored, and pointedly singled out as unwanted students. At the conclusion of the course at Ft. Benning, Captain Arnold was transferred to Fargo, North Dakota, in the fall of '32 where he became a regular Army Instructor to the Eastern North Dakota companies of the 164th Infantry, North Dakota National Guard. Rhodes enrolled in Roosevelt Jr. High School, a short walk from their first lodging at 1130 Broadway, Fargo. Roughly a year later Major Arnold found a four-bedroom house at 1315 13th St. N. and the family moved into that palatial abode. The house was across from the Agricultural College and not far from the Fargo airport, Hector Field. From then on Rhodes was "in heaven." Every time he heard the sound of a military engine he could head for the field. In '33 Major Arnold was detailed to the administration of the Civil Conservation Corps and became the sub-district commander at International Falls, Minnesota, renting a house there. While there a beautiful Douglas Dolphin amphibian landed on Rainy River. The pilot was St. Clair Streett, a famous pilot, who picked up Major Arnold and flew him over his remote camps on Lake of the Woods. In 1936 Rhodes was given a 616 Eastman folding camera, the perfect camera for photographing airplanes. He developed a long-lasting friendship with Gordon Oschwald who had similar interests in WWI and modern aircraft. At Hector Field he met such aviation greats as Clarence Chamberlain (who flew the Atlantic shortly after Lindberg), Lincoln Ellsworth (and his beautiful Northrup Polar Star), and Sir Hubert Wilkins, both of whom became famous Artic and Antarctic explorers. He also met Art Goebel when he came to Fargo twice to do skywriting; he was the winner of the Dole Pineapple race. He also met Richard Halliburton, the famous world traveler and author. Rhodes' neighbors to the north were Russell and Robert Whempner, both of whom were amateur radio operators with the call sign, W-9 TNT, "the dynamite station of the red river valley." Listening to them talk to someone at Little America in Antarctica kindled in Rhodes an intense interest in radio to the point where he subscribed to Popular Electricity and began building his own short wave radio. This allowed him to listen to the BBC, Radio Habana, and other stations around the world. He joined the radio and camera clubs at Fargo High School, from which he graduated in June of 1937. Shortly after graduation the family moved to Plattsburg Barracks, New York, stopping en route at 899 Edison in Detroit to visit Major Arnold's aunt, Mrs. Stephen Wirts, and their daughter Mary Wirts. When they arrived at Plattsburg Barracks the Major was assigned quarters 18 and Rhodes was given the bedroom on the third floor. Rhodes was driven to Dairy, New Hampshire, where Rhodes and his mother were conducted through a diesel submarine, the Permit, by a Lieutenant Commander who had been on the Henderson with them in '26. Then they went on to Durham, New Hampshire, to enroll him in the University of New Hampshire. He was put in a WWI dormitory and enrolled in compulsory military training (required in all land grant colleges). After some months drinking nothing but skim milk for lunch, Rhodes developed a vitamin A deficiency and withdrew from the university. He hitchhiked to New York City and on to Boston and College Park, Missouri. En route he visited air bases, museums, etc. and the Smithsonian, and his intent was to join the Army Air Corps as an aircraft mechanic, hoping to be stationed in either Puerto Rico or Hawaii. He found the Air Corps headquarters was in the old State Department building in Washington, D.C., and he went to visit a family friend, Colonel Charles Thomas Phillips, hoping that he could "grease the skids" to get him into the Air Corps. Unfortunately, Col. Phillips called Major Arnold to ask if he wanted his son to be an aircraft mechanic. When the Major said, "No," he put him on the next train to Plattsburg Barracks, New York. (Col. Phillips was later killed in a B-26, attacking shipping in Tunis Harbor early in WWII). Rhodes spent the remainder of '37 and early '38 swimming, boating, fishing, etc., on Lake Champlain, reading as much of the history of the Revolution as he could find. In the spring of 1938 Major Arnold decided Rhodes would attend the University of Missouri, where he could attend as a resident as a result of the Major having enlisted in the Missouri National Guard in December 1912. Upon enrolling Rhodes found lodging at the Smith House at 1304 Bass where his roommate was J. Dewitt Richards, from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Being another land grant college, Missouri University, required all enrollees to sign up for military science, but Rhodes refused to attend classes until receiving a stern warning from the Dean of Men. He checked out a uniform and rifle and spent classes in artillery training asleep. Naturally, he failed military science. The summer of 1938 he hitchhiked to Kansas City, Ft. Des Moines, Iowa, and then to Ft. Snelling, Minnesota. Then in Fargo he found that Mrs. Oftedahl, a former bridge partner of his mother's wanted someone to drive her to Syracuse, New York. They drove from Fargo to catch the ferry across Lake Michigan and caught the last ferry to Ludington, finding no lodging except a room with one big bed. She had him strip to his shorts, and she went in to the bathroom. When she came out she had rollers in her hair and white mud all over her face, so that she looked like a ghost from Christmas past. When she climbed into bed she shook her finger and said, "You stay on your side of the bed!" Rhodes left the car in Kent, Michigan and hitchhiked to 899 Edison in Detroit. While there his uncle Stephen paid for a beautiful green suit for Rhodes, and he and his daughter Mary went with Rhodes to the Yacht Club. After several days at the Wirts' home Mrs. Oftedahl picked Rhodes up, and they continued on to Syracuse where he got out. Rhodes stayed a night with the Schlepfer family, and then he hitchhiked to Schnectady where he met his Fargo buddy, Mason Arvold, in the Mohawk Valley School, Union Theological Seminary. Mason was studying to be a stage electrician, and Rhodes helped him rig the lights. After the play they were invited to a tea where they met the famous actors, Charles Coburn and Sally Eilars. The next day Rhodes headed east to Durham and Dover, New Hampshire. Rhodes spent the night in Dover, and hitchhiked north to Meridith, New Hampshire where he spent the night with Unwar Samaha. The next day Rhodes paid $4 to take the train over the Green Mountains to Montpelier, Vermont. He hitchhiked to Burlington, placed a reverse charge phone call to Plattsburg and asked his mother to pick him up at the Port Kent Ferry terminal in New York State. Mrs. Arnold took him to the Post doctor and he determined that Rhodes had vitamin A deficiency, and that that had caused to have problems with his eyes. He spent the remainder of '39 at Plattsburg Barracks, until August when Major Arnold received orders to Grand Rapids, Michigan and assumed command of the Western Michigan Military District. En route the family stopped to see the Wirts family, while the Major and his son went west to look for a house in Grand Rapids. They soon found a house at 507 Union S.E., and Rhodes was enrolled at Grand Rapids Junior College. They then heard that Germany had invaded Poland. Rhodes didn't do well scholastically, being too tired after football practice, so Major Arnold thought Rhodes the colleges he had chosen for him had not interested him and told him to choose a college that did. Eventually Rhodes discovered that the state of New Mexico would accept a twenty-one year old student if he signed an affidavit that he wished to establish residency in New Mexico. The school had courses in Geology and Anthropology, two of his requisites, so he applied for admission, was accepted, and took Greyhound from Grand Rapids to St. Louis and west. Riding through Kansas he was appalled to think that New Mexico might look like Kansas, but suddenly Pike's Peak appeared, and then the bus pulled into Trinidad, Colorado. He knew he was in the right part of the world. As the bus rolled through Glorieta Pass into Santa Fe and rounded the Sandia Mountains, he knew he had made the right choice and would love the Southwest. He spent the first night in the YMCA and then found lodging at Mrs. Gibson's house at 112 S. Stanford, not far from the University of New Mexico campus. He soon developed a friendship with Frank C. Barnes, son of a Los Angeles policeman, who had interest in Geology and guns in common with Rhodes. (Eventually Frank C. Barnes authored the book Cartridges of the World, published by Guns and Ammo magazine). UNM was a wonderful school with only 1500 students and courses in Geology, Anthropology, Archeology, and Mineralogy. He realized he had found a home where people spoke Spanish and he was among students with a common interest. He quickly found a love for the cuisine of Albuquerque, Santa Fe, El Paso, and other Hispanic cities. He spent the '40-'41 school year at Albuquerque, taking field trips to geological features and archeological sites throughout northern and western portions of the state with which he fell more and more in love. For the summer of 1941 he went to Camp Roberts, California where then Lt. Col. Arnold was commander of the huge sprawling base. He hustled beef in the cold storage warehouse where it was below freezing and stocked boxes in another warehouse where the temperature at the top of the pile was 120 degrees. Finally he got a job working in the recreation center, fishing soft drink bottles out of tubs. At the end of summer he resumed his studies in anthropology and geology. Then on a sunny Sunday he came back from the Monsano Mountains and heard the sad news that Pearl Harbor had been bombed. In the words of one of the students at the Indian School, "Who the hell is she?" As an Army brat he felt he had no choice than to head for the recruiting office on Monday the 8th. He was told to return to the University and take his exams-given on the 16th-and on the 17th he enlisted, processing in Santa Fe and receiving serial #18067680. His good buddy David Clark, a Navajo from Ft. Defiance, Arizona, was close behind was close behind him and received the serial #18067685. The enlistees returned to Albuquerque and were taken to the Santa Fe Depot and were told to board the only Pullman on the train, while the draftees were told to board coaches for the overnight trip to El Paso. At El Paso they were taken by truck out to the Logan Heights area of Ft. Bliss where they were quartered in tents. Their basic indoctrination into the Army consisted of drill, interior guard duty, movies about VD, chemical warfare and first aid, and the school of the soldier. After five days at Ft. Bliss they boarded a troop train to Sheppard Field near Wichita Falls, Texas. In January of '42 they commenced the course which would eventually qualify each of them as an aircraft mechanic. The training concluded on the 28th of May '42. The next day they boarded a troop train for Santa Monica, California. When they arrived at the foot of Pico St. they were taken to the Edgewater Club Hotel and assigned beds, Rhodes' being in the ballroom decorated with fake palm trees and monkeys. They were fed in the hotel dining room, and the following morning each was given a box lunch. They then boarded Grey Line buses which took them over the hills to Burbank, where they had classes on airplanes in a closed automobile dealership. In Rhodes' case he took classes in a Lockheed Hudson Bomber. At lunch they were taken to the factory, and told to follow a Hudson down the production line as it was assembled-one of the best educations he was to receive. During the month of June '42 he followed the production of approximately 60 Hudsons as they went down the production line, two a day. Upon completion of the course they were again put on a troop train and headed east. Several days later the train stopped at a station near Midland, Texas, and Rhodes was told to get out and report to the Base Headquarters at Midland Army Flying School, Sloan Field, midway between Midland and Odessa. The next day he reported to work in the 487th School Squadron as a mechanic on the Beachcraft AT-11 bombardier trainer. He was assigned a particular aircraft which, for the next month, would be his responsibility. The Air Corps was short of mechanics at the time, so their workday was twelve hours long, with a 1/2 hour for lunch. On the 4th of August he was told to report tout suite to Base Headquarters. There he was informed by Colonel Isaiah Davis, Base Commander, that he was to be promoted to Corporal and leave that afternoon on a train to Army Air Forces Officer Candidate School, Miami Beach, Florida. On the 6th of August they arrived at Miami and were taken by truck to Miami Beach where Rhodes was quartered in the Crest Hotel, but unfortunately his baggage did not come. For the next thirteen days he had no change of clothes! Classes at Miami Beach to the Army brat were Mickey Mouse, but eventually he became an upper classman and was moved to the Shorecrest Hotel. Some days later Rhodes was on guard duty at the Plymouth Hotel when a vehicle parked at the hotel across the street, and out of the vehicle came Clark Gable and another civilian, accompanied by two Colonels. He was taken into the building, and an hour or so later, they exited dressed in khakis, each with a GI brush cut, and Clark Gable without a mustache. Clark and Rhodes graduated on 28 October 1942. Upon completion of courses at OCS each was given orders to their first assignment as 2nd Lieutenants. Rhodes was ordered to report to the 18th Replacement Wing at Salt Lake Army Air Base in Utah. Not long after he arrived he was given an opportunity to become a weather officer, and a couple of weeks later he entered a program at the University of Utah. The school was run by a professor from BYU, Dr. Vern Hailes, and their instructors were enlisted men from the Air Corps and a staff member of the local weather bureau office. In 1942 2nd Lt Rhodes Arnold was married in Los Lunas, New Mexico to a Lakota Indian, Alice Marie Halsey of Standing Rock Reservation, Ft. Yates, N.D. January 16, 1943 their son Rhodes F. Arnold, III, was born in North Dakota while Rhodes was still at school in Salt Lake City. As it turned out Salt Lake City and the University of Utah were probably as good a place as any to study meteorology. Salt Lake was in the Great Basin, which had a weather of its own. The Geology building at the university was higher than most of the weather affecting downtown Salt Lake City. Rhodes felt that when they finished the course they genuinely knew how to forecast. Upon graduation each of them was sent to a 2nd Air Force base where bomber pilots and crews were being trained. Rhodes' orders sent him to Biggs Field at El Paso, Texas, where he became the weather officer of 330th Bomb Group and its four squadrons of B-24's. Rhodes spent a full year at El Paso, with the exception of three weeks spent at Chanute Field, Illinois. There he received his promotion to 1st Lt. In April '44 Rhodes requested a transfer to Intelligence School at Orlando Army Base in Orlando, Florida. Upon graduating from Intelligence School he went by train to Ft. McClellan, Alabama, where Col. Arnold required him to qualify on the M-1 rifle, and Rhodes surprised him by making Expert. He also required him to complete the Infiltration Course required of all infantrymen, probably one of the few Air Corps officers to do so. After the 12-day delay en route Rhodes continued to 2nd Air Force Headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he was given his choice of bases as an intelligence officer. He chose Rapid City Air Base to be as close as possible to his wife's home in Fort Yates. He bought a house in Fort Yates for $1500 where his wife could live. While at Rapid City Army Air Base he was assigned to teach Aircraft Recognition to B-17 crews. One day the Chief Intelligence Officer received a requisition for an Intelligence Officer in the grade of LT to be transferred to Langley Field, Virginia, to attend a special school. He went by train to Langley and, upon arrival, was told he could be in the first class of Radar Intelligence Officers' School. During the time at Langley he had three flights in B-17's and one in a B-24, learning to operate AN/APS-15, Sea Search and Bombing Radar. Their practice bombing target was Princeton, New Jersey. Upon completion of the three-week course they returned to their previous duty stations for overseas movement. Rhodes moved his wife and son to Ft. Yates and then prepared for overseas. Some time in November '44 he was transferred to Camp Kearns, Utah, for overseas preparations. There he met classmate 1st Lt Simon Goldsmith who would proceed to Alaska with Rhodes, along with 66 enlisted radar men. They were sent by troop train to Ft. Lawton, Seattle, Washington. There they boarded U.S. Army transport Chirikof. They spent Christmas '44 at sea en route to Whittier, Alaska. One evening in the wardroom a 19-year old Transportation Corps Officer joined him. Rhodes asked him where he was from. He said he had lived at West Point, where his father was an instructor, and one year at Long Island Sound where his divorced mother lived. He said his name was Gore Vidal. Rhodes asked if his father was a member of the Civil Aeronautics Board, and he said, "Yes." They talked briefly, never seeing one another again. They disembarked in Whittier and were taken to Anchorage by train, and to Ft. Richardson, to which Elmendorf Army Air Base was attached. After approximately ten days there Simon and Rhodes were flown by C-47 to the island of Adak via Cold Bay and Umnak. At Adak they found rooms in the BOQ. Major General Davenport Johnson, Commander of 11th Air Force, wanted to interview them, having been advised that two radar intelligence officers were being assigned to his command. They explained their understanding of their jobs; he asked questions, and he seemed satisfied with their answers. The next day they were told they were to be sent to Shemya, and Rhodes was told he would be assigned to the 28th Bomb Group (C), and Simon would be assigned to the Advance Command Post, 11th Air Force Headquarters. Rhodes was attached to the 404th Bomb Squadron for duty, rations, and quarters, and he lived with that squadron for the remainder of 1945. He briefed the crews for missions in the morning, giving headings for bomb runs. When they returned from missions Rhodes interrogated the radar operators, bombardiers, and navigators. The B-24's were for flying combat missions to Japanese facilities 600-700 miles away on the islands of Shimushu and Paramushiru. On the 12th of August '45 Rhodes was able to get permission to fly a combat mission to Suribachi Air Base on Paramushiru with the David Long crew to operate the radar scope camera. After the bombs dropped he joined the pilot and co-pilot and was fortunate enough to see a volcano erupting dead ahead, complete with red lava bombs and an enormous cloud of smoke. On the way home he saw Cape Lopatka and mountains on Kamchatka, Siberia. When they landed at Shemya they had been in the air for ten long hours over the cold north Pacific Ocean. On 1 October '45 he was promoted to the grade of Capt, and on the 28th of December he boarded the liberty ship SS Henry Failing. Returning to Seattle they stopped at Dutch and Kodiak harbors and then continued across the Gulf of Alaska and ran into a horrendous storm during which a couple of plates were split, and the speed was reduced to 2-3 knots. Ashore Rhodes was told to take a troop train of veterans to Ft. Bliss at El Paso. He was mustered out at Ft. Bliss and elected to stay in the Army Air Force Reserve. He immediately took a train to Albuquerque and went to his mother's house in Atascadero where his wife and son were staying. By that time Colonel Arnold had been sent overseas to Manila in the Philippines where he became Commander of the Luzon Prisoner of War Camp #1. Rhodes returned to Albuquerque with his wife and son to find that there was yet no housing for veterans, so they went to the Mescalero Apache Reservation and rented a cabin there. When Rhodes learned that housing was available at Silver City Teacher's College (now New Mexico Western), he bought a "junker" and they drove to Silver City to register at the college. At the end of summer school they drove to Albuquerque and obtained an apartment in university housing at Kirtland Air Force Base. Rhodes was one of the founding members of the New Mexico Air National Guard and became Commander of the 188th Weather Station and continued his studies at the University of New Mexico. They formed the Guard in July of '47 and had the first summer camp on the base in the summer of '48. Rhodes graduated in June of '48 with a BA in Anthropology and a large minor in Geology. After graduation Rhodes went to work for the University of California Atomic Energy Program at Sandia Base as a meteorologist, working in data reduction with frequent trips to the Naval Test Station at the Salton Sea where they recorded instrumentation of atomic bomb casings falling off B-29's and B-47's. The day after Rhodes went to work at Sandia Base, he was offered a job as Base Supply Officer with the Air National Guard at $100 more a month than he was making. Prior to assuming the position he attended a three-month course at the Air Force Supply School at Lowry Field, Denver, Colorado. He made arrangements to continue working at Sandia until his date to transfer to Supply School. In March he was terminated at Sandia and went to Lowry. In early June he graduated as the Honor Graduate of the school and returned to Albuquerque to assume the position as Base Supply Officer. Upon arriving in Albuquerque he had to inventory all Federal property in the hands of the Air National Guard, and it took over two months to count everything the squadron had; when they finished they were $10,000 short. Rhodes had to prepare a Report of Survey, which he then sent to the Adjutant General, General Sage, in Santa Fe. After reviewing the Report of Survey, General Sage asked if it was possible to buy surplus on the civilian market to replace the lost property. Rhodes reported knowing of a couple of places in Los Angeles that dealt in surplus material. General Sage told him to take a clerk and fly to Burbank to buy all the items they could find. Eloy Pena and Rhodes flew out there and stayed in a bunker on the Burbank airport. With a borrowed Jeep they went into a large surplus warehouse in LA and started accumulating a pile of surplus items. When they finished they had purchased $10,000 worth of items for $2,000 in New Mexico State money. They returned to Albuquerque with their booty. On August 9, 1949 Rhodes' daughter Raquel Maria Arnold was born in Albuquerque, but on that day Rhodes had to fly with an advanced detachment to San Marcos, Texas, to prepare for their first summer camp away from home. He had a crew from Supply and Motor Pool, and they had to unload all the equipment from the boxcars and flatcars and get everything ready for the arrival of the troop train the next day. At the conclusion of summer camp they returned to Albuquerque. In June of 1950 North Korea invaded South Korea, and the United Nations decided to support an offensive to return the North Koreans to their own territory. Between Christmas and New Year's Day the Adjutant General staff had to fly in bad weather from Albuquerque to Warrner Robbins Air Force Base near Macon, Georgia for a pre-mobilization conference. They returned to Albuquerque the 2nd of January, and on the 1st of February they received orders to move the squadron to Long Beach Municipal Airport, California, to provide air defense for the Los Angeles area. Rhodes remained in Albuquerque, turning in to Kirtland Air Force Base all the post, camp, and station property that didn't go to Long Beach. When Rhodes completed disposition of all property and was cleared to leave, he flew to Long Beach for four days before being sent to Camp Stoneman, California, for further shipment to Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. This journey to Alaska was a pleasant cruise on the APA-18, USS President Jackson, docking at Whittier, Alaska, and on to Anchorage by train, arriving there on August 6, 1951. It was raining the day he arrived at Elmendorf, and it rained every day until 28th of October, and then it snowed. At Elmendorf he was assigned as Group Supply Officer to the 57th Fighter Group equipped with Lockheed F-94B aircraft. When he reported in he ran into two fellow New Mexicans, Stanley Jennings and Burr Laxon, and while they were waiting to be interviewed by the Group Commanding Officer, Colonel John Mitchell, the Adjutant, took their form 66's in and handed them to the Colonel. "Where are these three guys from?" The Adjutant replied, "All three are from the New Mexico Air National Guard." Colonel Mitchell, the famous squadron commander who led the flight of P-38's to shoot down Yamamoto said, "Some more of those damn worthless Guardsmen." The Adjutant ushered them into the office. After reviewing their form 66's Colonel Mitchell, expressed great surprise that Rhodes' two friends had graduated from the Tyndall AFB All Weather Flying School, realizing that they were the only two officers in his Group that had all weather training. He also noted that Rhodes was a graduate of Air Force Supply School at Lowry AFB and had been a base supply officer since June of 1949. He then welcomed them and said he hoped they could help straighten the Group out. Rhodes conducted a survey upon taking over the Group's Supply. He realized that the Group's supply records were in appalling condition and generated Reports of Survey, eventually approved. Early 1952 the Air Force audited officer records and found that Rhodes had a higher MOS as an Intelligence Officer than as a Supply Officer. It was determined that he should be assigned as an Intelligence Office, and keep Supply as a secondary duty. In October '52 he finished his service in Alaska and returned to Albuquerque where he resumed his position as Base Supply Officer with the AG. In '57 he was appointed U.S. Property and Fiscal Officer for the state of New Mexico, inheriting the duties of Colonel William Poe, a retiring Army officer. He was one of only 53 officers in the military in that position. There was one for each state, and the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. In that capacity Rhodes was in charge of all property and fiscal matters pertaining to both the Army and the Air National Guard and the state of New Mexico. In taking over the position he made changes that were to bear fruit several years later. He had seen a pattern of racial discrimination in the Guard, and he told his personnel on the day he took over there would be no discrimination on the basis of race, religion, or any other reason; they would be promoted on merit alone. As a result several of the Mexican American enlisted men were able to obtain commissions. One, Ed Baca, eventually became a Lieutenant General, commanding the entire National Guard Bureau, and another, Melvin Montano, became a Major General and the Adjutant General of the state of New Mexico. A number of others became full Colonels in the Guard, a legacy of which Rhodes was very proud. In '59 a change in politics in the state of New Mexico caused Rhodes to resign from the position and look for employment in private industry. He was hired as a Contract Administrator with Martin Marietta in Denver, Colorado, and he and his family moved to Littleton, CO. At Martin Marietta he worked in the Titan II program, negotiating contracts for construction of various components of the Titan II system. In '61 he asked to be transferred to the Titan II site at Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. He moved the family to Tucson and served as the Supervisor of Purchasing for the Titan II site, which included 18 missile holes. He began taking courses in Education at the University of Arizona, with a view toward teaching, so when they completed the missile sites in Tucson, Rhodes decided to teach rather than transfer to another Martin Marietta site. In 1964 he was offered a position at Pueblo High School, where he taught Physical Science and Social Studies for several years. Then he taught Special Education for eight years. After fourteen years at Pueblo he was transferred to Cholla High School where he taught Free Enterprise (comparative economic systems) for his final year of teaching. The school body at Cholla was different from that of Pueblo, Pueblo having kids of the lowest economic status. Conversely, Cholla kids came from families with greater income, including some with horses. Both schools had a mix of Hispanic American and Caucasian, with a few Orientals, Native Americans and African Americans from a very different economic stratum, so it was a different teaching experience. Rhodes knew, never-the-less, that he had made a difference, judging by the students' reactions. He later heard that some of his peers disagreed with his non-conformist methods of taking his kids outside for class, going on field trips, and taking frequent trips to the library. What mattered most to him was the feedback he got from the students that he was one of the most appreciated of the teachers, receiving a standing ovation from the entire student body on his departure. He took a leave of absence at the end of the school year, planning to retire some months in the future. As early as 1966 he had become involved with the creation of an air museum, first named the Pima County Air Museum, (later the Pima Air Museum). He had volunteered his services and eventually was made a member of the Air Museum Committee. Before officially becoming a member of the committee he discovered a Vultee BT-13 at Tucson High School and convinced the Board of Education that the airplane should be donated to the museum, their first acquisition. He then read that the Indian Air Force was still flying B-24 Liberators, and he wrote to the Indian government, requesting that one be donated to the museum when they were eventually phased out. In December '67 Rhodes received two communications from India advising that one B-24 was being "gifted" to the museum and would be available to be flown to a suitable airport in India. With his friends in the 9428th Air Reserve Squadron Rhodes began a campaign to collect funds to retrieve the airplane. By spring '69 Shell Oil promised to provide all fuel and oil for the flight, and the Reserve Squadron had raised approximately $6200. With a volunteer crew of five regular Air Force, Rhodes went to Poona, India, in March of '69. The airplane was turned over to the 9428th Air Reserve Squadron for delivery to the museum. After the crew had been checked out on the operation of the airplane, they began their journey from India to Tucson. Rhodes traveled from Poona to Karachi, Pakistan, to Tehran, Iran, Ankara, Turkey, Athens, Greece, Naples, Italy, and Madrid, Spain. There he had to leave the crew because he had to return to teaching. Having only $20 in his pocket, he hitchhiked from Madrid to Washington, D.C., to Oklahoma City, and to Las Vegas, Nevada. He then flew commercial to Tucson, completing his around the world trip. During the trip in the B-24 Rhodes called himself the "supernumerary," and he rode in the "waist" of the plane to watch the engines for excessive oil consumption. The B-24 arrived in Tucson approximately 16 days after Rhodes had departed Spain. The airplane was put on display at Davis Monthan AFB awaiting the construction of the air museum. Rhodes continued his activities with the air museum for many years and was responsible for obtaining its first hundred planes. At the completion of his leave of absence Rhodes retired from Tucson School District #1 and began looking for a piece of property in New Mexico. In a subdivision eight miles west of Reserve, New Mexico, he found a lot which he thought would be suitable for a retirement spot, and he built a house of his own design. The lot was located only a quarter mile from the Forest Service boundary. It seemed a perfect spot to relax, and write aviation history. During the next several years Rhodes wrote four books, self-publishing three of them, covering different aspects of aviation history. He had flown in more than 110 different types of aircraft out of, or into, more than 300 airfields in different parts of the world. He has had numerous articles published in aviation magazines in the U.S. and Britain. On May 21, 1993 Rhodes married Mary Wirts Clark in New Orleans and settled with her in Metairie, Louisiana. In September of 2005 Rhodes and Mary were stranded in a fifth-floor condo during hurricane Katrina, and were near death, when their grandson, David J. Roybal of Albuquerque, flew a small plane to Lafayette, Louisiana, and on to Metairie to rescue them. The long-time resident then returned to Albuquerque, a place he has always called "paradise," for the final years of his life. He is survived by wife, Mary; a daughter, Raquel Roybal; grandchildren, James Felton Arnold, Danielle Peralta, Laura Pals, David Roybal; and great-grandchildren, Brooke Rhodes Arnold, Colton James Arnold, Andrea Duran, Gabriella Roybal, Victor and Alexandra Peralta, and Jacob David Roybal. His son, Rhodes Felton Arnold III predeceased him on March 18, 2006. A Memorial Service will be held at French Mortuary Westside Chapel, 9300 Golf Course Rd. NW, on Saturday, September 8, 2007 at 11:00 a.m. Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, C/O Office of Development National Air and Space Museum, Ste3700 MRC 321 PO Box 37012 Washington, DC 20013-7012.fcFrench Mortuary 9300 Golf Course Rd. NW (505) 897-0300 www.frenchmortuary.com
        Published on: Tue September 04, 2007