Damon Wagner, 98, of Largo, Florida, passed away peacefully on June 4, 2020, while under care of Hospice. He had been in declining health for several months; but, until then had lived a very full, active and bright life.
Damon was born on January 22, 1922, in the rolling hills near London, Kentucky. He was a strapping farm boy, active in sports, and always eager to learn. He had several brothers and sisters who always looked up to their big brother,
Chief Wagner served in World War II, and was part of the D-Day Invasion of Normandy. He also fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He served with distinction and remained in the military (United States Air Force) until his Honorable Discharge in 1969. Chief Wagner’s career in the United States Army Air Corps and the United States Air Force spanned three war areas, World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War eras. He enlisted in the US Army Air Corps when the Army has a horse cavalry and retired after the United States had placed a man on the moon. He retired in 1968 from Headquarters-Air Defense Command at Ent AFB, Colorado as Personnel Director/Superintendent and was awarded during his military career a AFCM with 2 bronze Oak Leaf Clusters; AFLSAw with 1 silver Oak Leaf Cluster (awarded the medal 5 times) ; AFCGM seven times and the SAEMR medal. Prior to entering the military, Chief Wagner had too take the Army Qualification Examination (AQE) covering 4 separate areas dealing with Mechanical abilities; Administration abilities; Electrical abilities and General abilities. A respected score in and any field would be 40 which would just about guarantee you your choice of job assignments. Chief Wagner scored the highest grade ever in all four tests of 95, a “Perfect Score” awarded in all 4 fields. His then lived in Paris, Tennessee, for several years.
After Damon’s first wife, Jean, died, he was re-united with his high school sweetheart, Mary Whitaker Hensley (whose husband Edward Hensley had also passed away). Damon and Mary lived in Largo, Florida until Mary’s passing in 2014, and Damon continued to live in Largo.
Damon is survived by his daughter, Susan Mohamed, of Atlanta, and his step-daughter, Carolyn Reynolds, of Pinellas Park, Florida. Damon is also survived by several sisters and a brother which include: Hobert and Irene Wagner of Hamilton, Ohio; Helen and Claude Slusher of Nicholasville, Kentucky; Winnie Jones of Lexington, Kentucky; Wanda and Fred Marcum of Hamilton, Ohio; and Ruby Weaver of Fairfield, Ohio
Damon will be laid to rest next to Mary at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida on Thursday, June 18, 2020 at 10:30 AM with military honors be performed by the American Legion Post 155 and the United States Air Force Honors and Ceremonial Team.
My grandfather was a great man. He was loved and respected. The above obituary was a kind thought (even with the grammatical and punctuation errors) but left out some of the really important people and passions in his life. I had the pleasure to listen to his stories about his childhood growing up, know of his love of playing the guitar and golf, his passion for UK basketball (Go Wildcats), the eagerness to learn everything about politics and history and knew he played a mean game of cribbage. He came to my high school graduation, walked me partially down the aisle at my wedding and was the only man that was there since my birth. I’ll always remember cornbread in milk, cornflakes, cimmaron toast and the smell of peaches always brings me back to memories in his Paris, TN home. My mother sacrificed a lot to make his last few years great. I know he appreciated it. He was loved and he will be greatly missed.