Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph –
A longtime member of the Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph community who made history when he was a part of the Air Force's inaugural class of chief master sergeants died Jan. 14 at the age of 93.
Retired Chief Master Sgt. Guy Rex Kendrick Jr., assigned to Randolph Air Force Base when he was promoted as one of 625 "charter chiefs" in 1959, will be remembered during a memorial service planned for 1:40 p.m. Feb. 2 at the Plaza on the River Senior Living Community in Kerrville, Texas, where he spent the last years of his life.
"We are very sorry for the Air Force's loss, but thankful for his service to our nation and for the example he set for all of us who follow in his footsteps," Chief Master Sgt. Jose LugoSantiago, JBSA and 502nd Air Base Wing command chief master sergeant, said.
Kendrick, who began his Army Air Corps career as a BT-9 crew chief at Randolph in 1939, was honored for his contributions to the base and the Air Force Dec. 5, 2008, when the enlisted club was named for him. His death came just 38 days after the passing of retired Col. Ralph Parr, the legendary fighter pilot for whom the JBSA-Randolph officers club was named that same December day.
Robert Crawford, Air Education and Training Command curator, recalled Kendrick as a "very humble and very positive man - and sharp as a tack."
"I never saw him without a smile on his face," he said. "That is my overwhelming memory of him."
Crawford said he accompanied Kendrick on a road trip to Barksdale AFB, La., in 2009, when the pioneer chief master sergeant and other charter chiefs were honored on the 50th anniversary of their promotion to the E-9 rank.
"He thoroughly enjoyed that," he said. "On the way back, he told me stories about growing up in East Texas and his service to the Air Force."
Kendrick was born in Oakdale, La., but grew up in Kilgore, Texas, where he graduated from high school and attended Kilgore Junior College before enlisting in the Army Air Corps.
He served in the European Theater as a B-17 crew chief and inspector during World War II and transitioned to jet aircraft maintenance in 1949, working on the F-84 Thunderjet. Kendrick flew in, worked on or inspected more than 30 different airframes throughout his career, which ended when he retired in 1965.
Kendrick was also a member of the Air Force's first group of senior master sergeants in 1958.
Kendrick was preceded in death by his wife of 46 years, Joy, their son, Ronald Wayne Kendrick, and grandson, Kevin Shay Kendrick. He married Joyce Kunkel in 1991 and they were together until her death in 2003.
He is survived by his daughter, Sharon Kendrick Hurley; five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Memorial donations may be sent to Peterson Hospice in Kerrville.