Foil: 14 Panel: Retired United Pilots Association Column: 2 Line: 74

Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:

Capt. Robert W. Tappan passed away in Reno, NV after a short illness. He was born in Pueblo, CO 82 years ago. Bob was a mentor to me, my first boss at EWR in 1965, and the Captain I most wanted to be when I grew up. He flew the B-17, as Aircraft Commander in WW II, was shot down over Berlin during a bombing raid by a ME 262, jet fighter. He spent the balance of the war as a POW. In the Stalag he learned, among other things, how to dance and play poker, which was very important to him in later life. In addition to being a great stick, he was an excellent Flight Manager, and one of the premier poker players at the Midway dog house poker games. Bob joined United in 1945, flying most of the aircraft in the fleet as Captain, was a long time Flight Manager on the East Coast, retiring on the B747 in 1983.

Fraternally,

Ken Ernst