David Lane Elliott
– Col. David Lane Elliott, USAF (retired) passed away peacefully on March 5 at his home in Phoenix at the age of 88 after a short battle with liver cancer.
For more than 30 years, David served his country in Ethiopia, Vietnam, South Korea, Thailand, Japan, and Brazil and was widely known and highly decorated for his leadership, bravery and kindness.
Born in Walters, Oklahoma on June 16, 1933, David enlisted in the US Army Air Corps shortly after graduating high school. While training as a tail gunner for the B-29, he was selected for Officers’ Candidate School and pilot training…which led him to serve in Korea and Vietnam as a fighter pilot and pilot instructor.
He went on to work in the US Air Force as a fighter squadron commander, combat support group commander in Ethiopia, and base commander in Thailand and Okinawa. He ended his 32-year Air Force career as the Air Attaché for the US Embassy in Brazil.
His military decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, 4 Air Medals, and the Legion of Merit. He also earned the Israeli Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions in combat while on loan to Israel from the USAF.
For his part in stopping the overthrow of Ethiopia’s Emperor Haile Selassie I in 1960, without a single loss of life, David was awarded a Gold Medal from the Emperor as well as induction into the Order of the Lion, which included the gift of a living lion. David re-gifted the lion to the Addis Ababa Zoo and 13 years later returned to Ethiopia with his family to show his children “their dad’s pet lion.”
David was particularly proud of his US Army GC medal indicating he was a Mustang (enlisted man turned officer) and his China Service medal that he earned while on loan to the US Navy. These two awards put him in a very small and exclusive club of military veterans with medals from all three branches of the US Armed Forces.
After retiring from his impressive military career, David became a safety and aviation consultant for a variety of companies including American Air, Rockwell/Boeing and Lockheed. In addition, he was the proud co-founder of the Unemployed Fighter Pilots Association.
David is preceded in death by his ex-wife, Betty Alice Erickson of Dallas, his parents, LD and Muriel Elliott of Roswell, NM, his older sister, Billie Joyce Howes of Roswell, NM, and his younger sister Carol Joan ‘Jody’ Dahlin of Lompoc, CA.
He is survived by his two sons, David and Michael, both of Dallas; his daughter, Kimberly, who resides in South Africa; two younger brothers, John Elliott and Charles ‘Rusty’ Elliott, both reside in CO, as well as 6 nephews; 4 nieces, 8 great nephews, 2 great-nieces, 1 great-great nephew, and 1 greatgreat niece. David was especially close to his great-niece Geneva, his niece Susan, and his great-niece Nikki. David had a large social group but was most fond of his ‘work out crew’ and their monthly birthday lunches at the Duck & Decanter. Most people fondly referred to David as the ‘Colonel’ or ‘Uncle Dave’.
Colonel David Elliott will reside at the Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery in Phoenix. Rest in peace Airman, Father, Uncle, Storyteller, Friend, and consummate Gentleman. You will be missed.