Krieger W. Henderson, Jr., passed away from cancer at his home near Mount Vernon on June 12, 2018. Born in Covington, KY on July 27, 1923, Krieger grew up in Chattanooga, TN. and entered the 1945 Civil Engineering Class at The Citadel. Having a Private Pilot’s license, he left the Citadel at 19, joined the Army Enlisted Reserve Corps, obtained a Commercial Pilot’s license (Flight Instructor’s rating) and instructed Army Aviation Cadets to fly. Subsequently he transferred to the Air Transport Command to ferry Ford-built B-24s to modification centers around the US. It was on a train to Memphis that he met his wife, Joan, a Navy WAVE transferring from the Navy Hospital, Bethesda, MD, to NATTC, Memphis. They were married following a whirlwind romance of six weeks.
Krieger was assigned to the China-Burma-India theater flying “The Hump”. He received numerous American and Chinese decorations flying 116 missions. After discharge, he returned to The Citadel, graduating in 1950. He worked four years at Fairchild Aircraft as a structural engineer. From 1956 to 1962, he worked in consulting engineering. He then joined the National Academy of Sciences, serving as Assistant director of the Transportation Research Board and later as Director, Cooperative Research Programs.
After retiring in 1985, Mr. Henderson returned to flying for 10 years, flying a friend’s 1943 Stearman – the model in which he taught WWII cadets – and performing locally in the Flying Circus. He resumed his hobbies of gemstone prospecting, fishing, tennis, and Amateur Radio(N4HAM). He was a Presbyterian with continuous layman service between 1953 and 1976 on Boards of Elders, Deacons, and Trustees, eventually heading the Building Committee that oversaw the construction of Heritage Church.
Posted in: Washington Post
Posted on: 2018-06-25
Link to original obituary: https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?n=krieger-henderson&pid=189376386