ST. GEORGE – The experiences of a World War II fighter pilot will be featured at the next meeting of President’s Colleagues of Dixie State College.
Dixie State College of Utah will host its fourth President’s Colleagues of DSC meeting of the 2011-12 academic year on Jan. 2, 2012, and will feature colleague and veteran Paul D. “Don” McCloud. He will be sharing his first hand experiences as a P-38 fighter pilot during World War II.
The meeting will begin at 12 p.m., in Room 156 of the DSC Russell C. Taylor Health Science Center, located on the Dixie Regional Medical Center’s River Road campus at 1526 Medical Center Drive. The meeting is free and open to the public.
One week following his high school graduation, McCloud enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps in 1942. His military service and flight training took him to bases in California and Arizona, where he received his commission as a Second Lieutenant and his pilot’s wings. McCloud was a flight leader and trained newly-graduated pilots in fighter tactics. He was then sent to India and China as a fighter pilot, where he logged close to 1100 hours of total flight time. He was on active duty for more than three years and attained the rank of Captain.
“I am very proud of my service record, but mostly I’m grateful for the experience and for my American citizenship,” McCloud said. “What a blessing to have lived in what I call a ‘golden period’ in this, the greatest of countries. May God continue to bless America!”
After completing his military service, McCloud, a native of Ogden, Utah, received a Bachelor’s degree from Weber State College in 1948. He ran Don’s Sweet Shop in American Fork for nine years and started four other businesses. He also lived on a farm in Kaysville for 17 years, and he was a distributor for Maytag Company for 27 years. He and his wife Delores have four children and eight grandchildren. They retired to St. George from North Salt Lake in 1993.
The President’s Colleagues of Dixie State College, founded nearly 20 years ago by former DSC President Dr. Douglas Alder, and is a group of retired professors and other professionals who live mostly in the St. George and Washington County area. Dr. Alder, who also started an honors program at DSC, organized the colleagues as a way to increase academic activities on campus.
The colleagues meet together once a month during the academic year to hear presentations from each other and/or invited guests. The next Colleagues meeting is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 6, 2012.
The meeting will begin at 12 p.m., in Room 156 of the DSC Russell C. Taylor Health Science Center, located on the Dixie Regional Medical Center’s River Road campus at 1526 Medical Center Drive.
The meeting is free and open to the public.
Copyright 2011 St. George News. This material may not be published or rewritten without written consent.