Rocky Gannon was born in Palermo, NJ on March 8th, 1925. He was born on the kitchen table in a house that did not have electricity or running water. He grew up in Ocean City, NJ, the youngest of five children. He passed away Tuesday, June 4, 2024, at the age of 99 years old. He passed quietly and peacefully in his sleep, surrounded by family.
Rocky left the morning of his Junior Prom on May 12th, 1943, for Army Air Corps Pilot Training. He was 17 years old. For the next year he took college courses and completed several different aviation schools. As his High School classmates were graduating, he was a 19-year-old aircraft commander/pilot of a B-17 Flying Fortress Bomber, having never driven a car or gotten a driver’s license. By age 20, he was flying a B-29, with the rank of Flight Officer.
At the end of 37 years in the U.S. Army Air Corps and U.S. Air Force, he had flown 6,000 hours in thirty-four diverse types of aircraft. In addition to WW II, he flew combat missions in Korea, the Belgian Congo and 387 combat missions in Vietnam. He served 15 years overseas, including 2 Paris Air Shows and 2 years at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, with CEAC, the Committee for European Airspace Coordination. He lived in seven different countries. During his military career, he flew in and out of over one hundred countries. He could converse in five languages. His jobs included being a pilot, a Master Air Traffic Controller, and a Communicator. He has fifty military awards and decorations, including the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star, ten Air Medals, four Meritorious Service Medals and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm.
After his retirement from the Air Force in 1980, he first served as an International Aviation Consultant in Washington D.C., traveling worldwide. Rocky and Bert decided to be close to family and moved to Florence, SC. Rocky was appointed as a Commissioner on the Florence City/County Airport Commission for 2 years. He then served as Executive Director of the Florence Regional Airport for 6 ½ years, retiring in 1993. In 1986, he and Bert chose Darlington, SC, as their forever home. Rocky served two terms as Chairman of the Darlington County Jetport Commission.
He was active in his community, serving on nine boards and commissions. He was an Eagle Scout and a recipient of the Boy Scouts of America’s Silver Beaver Award. He served as President of the Pee Dee Area Council for two years. In 2009, he received Scouting’s highest honor, the “Distinguished Eagle Award.” In 2016, he received his local Scout Council’s “Distinguished Citizen Award” honoring his 80 years in Scouting. In 2001, he was named the South Carolina “Aviator of the Year” and was inducted into the South Carolina Aviation Hall of Fame.
He was also inducted into three US Air Force Halls of Fame: The Flight Safety Hall of Fame in 1974, the Cyber Operations and Support Hall of Fame in 2019 and the Air Force Communications & Air Traffic Control Association’s Hall of Honor in 2019.
Rocky is best known for his story telling, always having a tale about his adventures as a Boy Scout or as an Air Force pilot.
He was predeceased by his one true love, his wife of 71 years, Roberta T. Gause of Kingstree, SC. He is survived by his three children, Michael T. Gannon (Annette), Patricia A. Balazs and Mary B. Gannon-Green. He is also the loving grandfather of ten grandchildren, seven great grandchildren and one great-great grandson.
A visitation will be held for Rocky Tuesday, June 11th at Belk Funeral Home in Darlington from 5 to 7 pm. Funeral services will take place Wednesday, June 12th graveside at Florence National Cemetery at 2pm.