Department Order 2017-2018 – 02 will soon be officially published. With timing prior to Department Encampment being short, we are draping the website in the anticipation of the order.
“General Order No. 2 that would order a period of 30 days mourning for Brother Charles Yates and that the charters and badges should be draped in black for the Encampment.” – D. McReynolds, Commander, Department of Tennessee
“Brothers,
It is with a heavy heart that I report the passing of Past Department Commander Charles Yates, aged 94, on March 13, 2018 in Bossier City, Louisiana, with services held on March 24-25 in Bossier City and Rutherford, Tennessee. In 1995, PDC Yates was a founding member and organizer of Sultana Camp No. 1 in Memphis, Tennessee. He was also founding member and organizer of the Department of Tennessee, later the Department of Tennessee (with Alabama and Mississippi) in… 1996. He served as the first Commander of both the Sultana Camp and the Department of Tennessee. He was a life member of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. The Department honored him with a plaque and presentation at its Eleventh Encampment in 2006.
After a brief stint working for the War Department in Washington, D.C., PDC Yates enlisted in the US Army in 1942 and was assigned to the US Army Air Corps, retiring from the US Air Force as Lieutenant Colonel in 1969. During his twenty-seven-year career, he participated in the Berlin Airlift and commanded B-24s, B-29s, B-47s, and B-52s. After obtaining his Master of Arts degree in History, he moved to Germantown, Tennessee where he served as a public high school teacher and administrator for twenty years in Germantown, Tennessee.
Always active in his church and his various communities, Charles served in numerous veterans and civic organizations. He served in leadership roles in the Sons of the American Revolution in Memphis and Shelby County and was also known for his volunteer work with the Tennessee Genealogy Society. He was married to Janice Walton for 67 years until her death in January this year. He spent his last years in Bossier City at Barksdale Air Force Base with his daughter and her family. His two sons, Charles Jr. and Timothy, are currently members of Sultana Camp.
He was known for his interest in genealogy and family, both his own and in assisting others. He will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with Brother Charles’ family during this time of mourning.
Respectfully submitted,
Ben B. B. Jones II, PCC/Secretary Sultana Camp No. 1
JVC Department of Tennessee”