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JAMES WELDON SURBER’S grand entrance on the West Point stage occurred during the after-Taps football rally the night before the Colgate game in September 1950. As the 1st Regiment swarmed into Central Area in bathrobes, from the 15th Division came the distinctive sound of Jim’s amplified guitar.
Jim was born in Stamford and raised in San Angelo, TX, the son of Alice and Weldon Surber. In high school, Jim played football, was a civil air patrol cadet, a member of a journalism club, and manager of the basketball team. His musical career began to blossom as a member of the Twin Mountain Boys band. He attended Tarleton State College in Stephenville, TX, for two years. Since the college was a subsidiary of Texas A&M, ROTC was mandatory, later giving Jim a great boost during Beast Barracks and Plebe year. Because he was naturally meticulous about his personal appearance, adapting to the corps standards of dress imposed no burden on him.
At a Company F-1 party at the Thayer in December 1950, Jim entertained all four classes with songs — some popular, some humorous, and even one written with classmates that recounted the lowly life of plebes. Throughout the next three and a half years, Jim was in demand and performed in the 100th Nite shows. Not only did he enjoy entertaining by playing music, he was also an excellent raconteur with a never-ending repertoire of jokes and stories, many self-deprecating. There was always something uplifting and pleasant about being in his company. He was naturally the center of attention in any group and stimulated and was surrounded by laughter. He also was a member of the cadet dance orchestra and was a mule rider.
Jim was among the few chosen during Yearling summer to go on a cruise aboard the USS Wisconsin with the midshipmen from that other place. As a Cow, he was elected to be cadet corporal, and it was no surprise when, in First Class year, he was promoted to cadet captain and assigned as 1st Regiment adjutant. Jim was greatly disappointed to have a minor physical disability that disqualified him from an Air Force career. He was commissioned in Air Defense Artillery upon graduation.
About a year later, Jim married Faye Bons, also from San Angelo, who was a flight attendant based in New York and, later, in Los Angeles. Together, they had three sons: Jim, David, and Steven.
Jim’s military career followed a typical pattern for those entering active duty in the mid-1950s. After the Basic Course at Ft. Bliss, he attended various specialty schools for the Hawk and Nike Hercules air defense systems. He served as a Hawk battery commander at Wiesbaden AFB in Germany and then on the staff of the 32d Artillery Brigade, USAREUR. He was assigned to ARADCOM upon his return. Following his completion of CGSC in 1968, Jim pulled a tour at MACV headquarters, earning a Bronze Star, a Joint Service Commendation Medal, and the RVN Gallantry Unit Citation. Upon returning from Viet Nam, Jim joined the CGSC faculty and retired at Ft. Leavenworth in 1975 as a lieutenant colonel.
Upon retirement, Jim changed his life dramatically. His marriage to Faye ended. For years he refinished and repaired furniture as a part-time business, and after retirement he started a small business refinishing furniture full-time. He immersed himself in his work with the same zeal, dedication, and perfectionism he had shown as a cadet. And he was quite successful.
But that wasn’t enough. His love of flying resurfaced, and Jim took flying lessons. He progressed to achieve an instrument rating, an instructor pilot rating, and eventually a rating as a Federal Aviation Administration pilot examiner. This wasn’t enough, either. Jim began taking scuba lessons at Ft. Leavenworth and soon was making dives in the Caribbean. He became a certified master instructor with the following specialties: underwater photography, equipment specialist, night diving, deep water diving, rescue diving, wreck diving, and search and recovery diving. He made many trips to the Island of Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles, for diving trips with his students. He lived in Bonaire from April 1987 until May 1989, when he relocated to Prescott, AZ, to pursue his career as a flight-training manager at Embry-Riddle University. From there he moved to Las Vegas to work for the FAA as a flight examiner. He owned his own planes and used them to visit family and friends.
In April 1987, while living in Bonaire, Jim met Elsa. The relationship grew and they married at the home of his sister, Kay Snead, in December 1995 in Friona, TX. Though they had planned to reside permanently in Bonaire, they decided to settle in Leavenworth, KS, to be near two of his sons. Jim was a demanding and perfectionistic father. He was hard on his sons, but his toughness had a purpose. He taught them skills and self-reliance.
Elsa was instrumental in reviving Jim’s religious faith and returning him to church. In 1996, Jim suffered a mild heart attack but recovered so thoroughly he regained his FAA certification. Not long after, he endured and survived a virulent form of cancer. After almost a year, however, the cancer reasserted itself — this time for good. Although weakened in body, his spirit remained strong. His refound faith and his good humor never failed him.
A remarkable person. A remarkable life. |
