Keith Bell

PEORIA - Keith Willard Bell, 79, of Milpitas, Calif., formerly of Peoria, passed away Jan. 5, 2011, at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Fremont, Calif.

There will be no services or visitation. Cremation was accorded by San Jose Neptune Society.

Published in Peoria Journal Star on June 2, 2011

In July 1948, the 314th transferred to Smyrna AFB, Tennessee, and reorganized as the 314th Troop Carrier Wing in September 1949. On September 20, 1949, the 62nd was re-designated and, one month later, activated as the 62nd Troop Carrier Squadron (Medium). That same month, the C-47 Skytrain was replaced by the new airlift mainstay, the C-119 Flying Boxcar.

In August 1950, the 62nd went out on the road for what was intended to be a 60-day temporary duty assignment to Japan. It was to become a four-year stay in sunny, scenic Ashiya, Japan. The unit was originally tasked to join United Nations forces in the Korean conflict as a rotational unit. However, as the fighting on the Korean peninsula escalated, the commitment of the 62nd TCS to theater operations expanded and the squadron remained in Japan for approximately 4 years. During the Korean Conflict, while assigned in Ashyia, the 62d temporarily became known as the "Blue Barons." The blue portion of their emblem derived from their squadron color. "Baron" was chosen because history designates a baron as one of high position and honor, and a leader in the line of peers. The 62nd, having earned nearly every major honor and award for participating in the Korean War, returned from Ashiya, Japan to Sewart AFB, TN, with a distinctive title that captured the true spirit of the squadron...
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The 314th and 62nd late in Keith's service had their Boxcars stripped of insignia in order to carry out supply and napalm missions over Vietnam in support of the French under seige at Dien Bien Phu.