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June 4, 1921 - July 15, 2015
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Lt. Col. Lloyd F. Childers, 94, passed away on July 15, 2015 in Moraga, Calif. Lloyd was born on June 4, 1921 in Norman, Okla., to parents Fred and Marie Childers.
Lloyd joined the US Navy in 1939. While assigned to the USS Cassin in Hawaii as a radioman, he survived the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He then served in the Pacific as a tail gunner in a VT-3 torpedo plane on the USS Yorktown (CV-5). Torpedo Squadron 3 was engaged in the historic Battle of Midway on June 4, 1942. Lloyd's plane was severely damaged by enemy fire and he was gravely wounded. When his machine gun jammed he used his service pistol to continue to fire on the Japanese Zero's. Of 12 torpedo planes, his was one of two planes from his squadron to survive the attack and return to the American fleet. His plane was so damaged it could not land on a carrier and ditched next to the USS Monaghan (DD-354). (Read the related story in the Lamorinda Weekly archives at http://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue0809/Conspicuous-Bravery-The-remarkable-life-of-Lt-Col-Lloyd-F-Childers.html)
For his heroism at the Battle of Midway he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Purple Heart.
Lloyd met and married Mary Lorraine Sprouls in 1944. They had three sons. Mary died in 2009 and he married Junetta Dawson in 2010. She preceded him in death in 2013.
In 1945 he was commissioned as a Marine officer and assigned to fly combat missions in Korea in 1950 and 1951. He commanded Marine helicopter squadron HMM 361 in 1965 and 1966 in De Nang Vietnam. Lloyd received the Legion of Merit as well as his second Distinguished Flying Cross.
He earned a master's degree in Education and a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration at North Texas State University in Denton, Texas.
After a second career in administration at Chapman College, Lloyd retired in 1988 to spend more time on golf and with family.
Lloyd Childers is survived by his three sons Michael, Kenneth (Jacquie), and Bruce (Kitty) Childers, five grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Donations suggested for the Wounded Warrior Project.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA