1918
Ray
2012
Ray Donald Harwood
February 23, 1918 — July 28, 2012
Major Ray Donald Harwood, USAF (Ret.), 94, of Charleston, South Carolina, husband of Wanda Allene Roberts Harwood, entered into eternal rest on the evening of Saturday, July 28, 2012. A Funeral Service will be held Wednesday, August 1, 2012 in the Westminster Presbyterian Church at 10:00 a.m. Interment will follow in Live Oak Memorial Gardens. Arrangements by J. HENRY STUHR INC., WEST ASHLEY CHAPEL.
Ray was born February 23, 1918 in Elkhart, Indiana, son of the late Charles Loren Harwood and the late Maude Stutzman Harwood. He was a retired U.S. Air Force Major, taught at the Charleston Air Force Base Tech Center and worked for Lockheed as an engineer. Ray was a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church, where he was a member of the church choir. He also sang in the Charleston Barbershop Chorus.
Ray was a great trombonist winning First Chair in the Indiana championship marching band. He won a trombone scholarship to Transylvania University in 1937. He continued to play very well to the end.
In WWII, Major Harwood served as a maintenance officer in the 504th Bomb Group which flew B-29s flying from Tinian to attack Japan. His creativity solved many problems on the B-29 including a fix to the radar system to make it much more accurate for the missions. He also invented a spot welder that fixed bullet holes in the hardened stainless steel engine cowlings of the B-29. These "fixes" were adopted Air Force wide.
Following the war, in 1953, Major Harwood completed an investigation into a series of US Air Force aircraft crashes and delivered his findings to the Pentagon. He was frustrated by the lack of data and recommended a hardened box (black box) be developed for capturing data on crashed aircraft.
He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Wanda Harwood of Charleston; a daughter, Cynthia Jane Malanos (Dr. George E.) of Charleston; a son, Marcus Donald Harwood (Jan) of Powder Springs, GA; grandchildren, Adrian M. Belton (Joseph) of Mt. Pleasant, Peter Malanos (Megan) of Charleston, Brian D. Harwood (Jessica) of Piedmont, SC and Ashley G. Harwood of Charleston; and 5 great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1157 Sam Rittenberg Blvd., Charleston, SC 29407.
Ray was born February 23, 1918 in Elkhart, Indiana, son of the late Charles Loren Harwood and the late Maude Stutzman Harwood. He was a retired U.S. Air Force Major, taught at the Charleston Air Force Base Tech Center and worked for Lockheed as an engineer. Ray was a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church, where he was a member of the church choir. He also sang in the Charleston Barbershop Chorus.
Ray was a great trombonist winning First Chair in the Indiana championship marching band. He won a trombone scholarship to Transylvania University in 1937. He continued to play very well to the end.
In WWII, Major Harwood served as a maintenance officer in the 504th Bomb Group which flew B-29s flying from Tinian to attack Japan. His creativity solved many problems on the B-29 including a fix to the radar system to make it much more accurate for the missions. He also invented a spot welder that fixed bullet holes in the hardened stainless steel engine cowlings of the B-29. These "fixes" were adopted Air Force wide.
Following the war, in 1953, Major Harwood completed an investigation into a series of US Air Force aircraft crashes and delivered his findings to the Pentagon. He was frustrated by the lack of data and recommended a hardened box (black box) be developed for capturing data on crashed aircraft.
He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Wanda Harwood of Charleston; a daughter, Cynthia Jane Malanos (Dr. George E.) of Charleston; a son, Marcus Donald Harwood (Jan) of Powder Springs, GA; grandchildren, Adrian M. Belton (Joseph) of Mt. Pleasant, Peter Malanos (Megan) of Charleston, Brian D. Harwood (Jessica) of Piedmont, SC and Ashley G. Harwood of Charleston; and 5 great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1157 Sam Rittenberg Blvd., Charleston, SC 29407.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Ray Donald Harwood, please visit our flower store.
Service Schedule
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Funeral Service
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Starts at 10:00 am
Westminster Presbyterian Church
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