Herman C. Tracey

Lt. Col Herman C. Tracey, Sr., USAF retired, age 88 of Kissimmee, Florida, died on September 1, 2010. Lt. Tracey was transferred with battle stars for Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, and Germany. Col. Tracey married Louise F. Ruffinella on February 12, 1946 in Marseilles, France. When Col. Tracey retired, he had completed 40 years of service in various assignments in the Federal Department of Defense. He was assigned National Guard infantry assignments for 4 years active infantry duty in WWII. In WWII he was a Sergeant appointed to Second Lieutenant, was next assigned to Guard Air Force active duty for three years as a First Lieutenant. He transferred to the Air Force in 1950 and was a veteran of WWII and the Korean War. During his service he was awarded the Infantry Combat Badge and 18 other various service awards, medals and campaign ribbons. He was enlisted in the Army Active Reserve in December 1942 until retirement in April 1982 for a total of 40 years of reserve active duty service in the Dept. of Defense. On June 10, 1944, he landed in Normandy on Utah beachhead and reassigned as a Civil Affairs attachment as a Rifleman and a Military Police Officer. The attachment transported us to Saint Mere Eglise where he was assigned as a Tech Sergeant Military Police officer to a Military Police Platoon attachment which was assigned to the military police 4th Infantry Division, Germany and Belgium. He was assigned to the Headquarters Civil European Civil Affairs headquarters division. In 1950 he was deployed and transferred to the active Air Force in the Korean War as a First Lieutenant. He was assigned to the 101st Fighter Bomber Wing as a Wing Provost Marshal, and also assigned as a Commander of the 101st Wing Air Police Squadron from November 5, 1950 to July 1953. Then he was separated from active and assigned to 905th active reserve base group as Provost Marshal and Air Police Squadron Commander. Then on October 1, 1960, he was recalled in active duty again as a Military Personnel Officer Captain, and then during the Viet Nam War he was separated from active duty in September of 1961 to his active reserve position in the 439th Air Force Transportation Wing. Then they recalled him in November 1962 to the 905th Airbase as a Military Personnel Officer as a Captain. He was a member of Post 8 American legion in Winter Haven, Chapter 137 DAV in Kissimmee, and Post 3227 VFW in St. Cloud. He was born in Skowhegan, Maine and upon retirement from the Federal Government, US Air Force, and Department of Defense as a Base Executive Administrative Officer in 1978, he moved to Kissimmee from Chicopee, MA. His survivors are his wife, Louise F. Tracey of Kissimmee; sons, Herman C. Jr. of Casselberry, FL and Jon R. of Lebanon in CT; three granddaughters, Melissa of Orlando, Angela of Mount Dora, and Courtney of Casselberry. He was also an active member of First Baptist Church of Poinciana as an Usher and he and his wife were greeters for 9 years.

Herman C. Tracey

April 10, 1922 - September 1, 2010