PENNSYLVANIA, May 5 - Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan,

and went on to serve from January 1972 through February 1972

in Vietnam, where he survived being shot down three times.

Due to the confidential nature of his assignments, the time

he spent serving his country in Vietnam was kept secret for

46 years.

(5) As a young Marine officer, Lieutenant Rush was often

called on to perform duties that were of a classified nature

by the intelligence community.

(6) After leaving the United States Marine Corps in

1975, then Captain Rush attended seminary school in

Gettysburg. Captain Rush later joined the United States Air

Force, serving active duty and in the reserves, where he rose

to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel as a chaplain.

(7) In the wake of the terrorist attacks on September

11, 2001, Lieutenant Colonel Rush again volunteered to serve

his country and went on active duty. He was assigned to

Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida, where he served as senior

chaplain of the 1st Air Force. Much like his previous

service, Lieutenant Colonel Rush had access to confidential

material and sat in on all security briefings. As a result,

Lieutenant Colonel Rush was not permitted to communicate with

his family.

(8) Lieutenant Colonel Rush was a direct blood

descendent of Dr. Benjamin Rush, a Founding Father of the

United States of America and signer of the Declaration of

Independence.

(9) Lieutenant Colonel Rush passed away March 2, 2021,

at home in Indiana, Pennsylvania.

(10) Lieutenant Colonel William Alexander Rush III's

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