Where is Keith Irwin?
Keith was a fraternity brother and a room mate for most of my college life. We lived off campus along with Dwight Paulsen. I can not find Keith Irwin anywhere in these United States.
But I have done more than one search of Keith Irwin to turn up empty. He graduated from LSU in 1962 and went off to USAF flying school. He did not make it. He was washed out primarily because he could not keep his stomach under control. There may have been other reasons too but he let us know about the stomach stuff.
I lost track of him like we all do as we go off to do our careers. I too went into the USAF along with Yvie Poret and Woody Bergeron. Unlike Keith, we all had successful careers. Yvie retired as a Lt Col, I ran into him at HQ Systems Command a few weeks before he retired. Did a whole career with only being away from home or his wife and family for some 20 or so days. Me I spent years away from my family. Yvie lives in Baton Rouge and enjoys hunting and fishing now days.
Woody also retired as a Lt Col, a war hero and POW survivor. He was actually on the ground in North Viet Nam for few days and was recovered. His techniques for escape and evasion were adopted by the USAF. He had been a Navigator in the back seat of an F-4 when shot down by a missile. He was able to get a slot in pilot training. I ran into to him at Davis Monthan AFB on his way to be upgraded to an A-10 pilot. Pretty sure Woody retired from Delta and lives around Atlanta should he still be alive.
So three of us, non-rated, had a successful career in the USAF. None of us had gone through advance ROTC, we went in during the Viet Nam war for various reasons and came out career men. The general population of Air Force troops call us "lifers." Pretty sure Keith is or was not a lifer.
But no Keith. I found several of the brothers, knew of a couple that have died. Dwight is probably the most successful of us all now living on the North shore of Lake Ponchartrian in a family compound. Dwight was a Mechanical Engineer with a Masters Degree in Business. He ended up involved with off shore oil drilling and was a principle in the company.
Others have been successful too. I shall not name them. Lawyers and engineers for the most part.
But I can not find Keith. I thought I found him in Colorado but got no answer back to my letters. Then I found a Keith Irwin in Louisiana but it turns out not to be the Keith Irwin. So the search ends up cold. I have no way to access Social Security Numbers (SSN), indeed I do not know Keith's SSN at all.
I hope he is safe somewhere. I hope he was not a casualty of war and that he has a family and lives on. We are getting old now, pressing 75 years so he may not be with us anymore.
Geaux Tigers!
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3 comments:
I ran across your blog one day while researching the tuscaloosa marine shale. you had commented on it and I enjoyed reading your blog and bookmarked it and read it from time to time. anyway, i read your comments about keith irwin and i saw an obituary for a keith irwin that passed away in sterling colorado that graduated from lsu in 1963. i don't know if this is your keith or not.
Keith William Irwin
1940 - 2013 | Obituary | Condolences
Keith William Irwin Obituary
Keith William Irwin, 73, of Sterling, passed away Sunday, July 21, 2013, in Sterling. Military Funeral Honors will be at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7, at Fort Logan National Cemetery, Denver.
Keith was born on June 22, 1940, in Pampa, Texas, to Mildred Dixie Vanderberg and Kenneth William Irwin. Keith was born in the Panhandle of Texas and moved with his family to Louisiana at age 10. He was an LSU graduate (1963) with a BS in engineering.
In January 1963 he was commissioned as a captain in the U.S. Air Force, serving as an F5 Fighter pilot during the Vietnam war. After his honorable discharge, he moved to Boulder. He worked at Rocky Flats, a manufacturing facility for plutonium cores for nuclear weapons, for more than 25 years as a manager of the Quality Engineering Department.
Since 1974, he was president and CEO of The Leprechaun's Inc, a company which provided consulting services. His wife, Eunice Mary Smith Irwin, died May 13, 1995.
He is survived by his daughters, Kitarra Daonnan Irwin Holcomb and Karen Johnson; and son, Keith Weeks Jr.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Mildred and Kenneth; and wife, Eunice Mary Irwin.
Memorials may be made in Keith's memory to Keith Irwin Memorial Fund in care of Tennant Funeral Home, P.O. Box 1547, Sterling, CO 80751.
Published in Journal Advocate on Aug. 3, 2013
- See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/journal-advocate/obituary.aspx?pid=166191057#sthash.3NnuGauN.dpuf
Thank you for your comments. I know this is a late response but I just did not see it. Keith was a fraternity brother at LSU, we graduated together. About TMS, go to Haynesville Shale Forum, there is quite a bit of info on the TMS. Thanks also for reading my blog. It is just something I do.
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