The LeMay Foundation helps widows with their finances

  • Published
  • 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
Editor's note: The Air Force Assistance Fund at Kirtland Air Force Base is scheduled to run through April 13. The March 9 issue of the Nucleus included an article on the Air Force Aid Society, and the March 16 issue featured an article on the Air Force Enlisted Village. Succeeding editions of the Nucleus will feature the other AFAF affiliates.

The LeMay Foundation helps widows of all Air Force retirees, both officers and enlisted, through financial grants. The widows spend much of their lives coping with the difficulties of military life and supporting their spouses through years of active duty. The foundation is not interested in why they need help, only that they need it. It provides assistance for as long as required. Several widows have been receiving monthly checks for more than six years. The foundation also helps Air Force widows with specific needs they face, in a single disbursement. The foundation does not offer loans. All funds disbursed are considered grants.

The LeMay Foundation believes that military spouses are entitled to a decent standard of living, entitled to live with dignity, and entitled to be proud of their service. The foundation considers it a privilege to be a part of this noble endeavor.

General Curtis E. LeMay had a long and distinguished career in airpower. He completed pilot training and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1929. He served in various assignments in fighter operations before transferring to bomber aircraft in 1937.

During World War II, he led the famed Regensburg raid, a B-17 shuttle mission that originated in England, struck deep in Germany and terminated in Africa. Later, Le- May was in charge of both the 20th and 21st Bomber Commands, employing B-29s against the Japanese.

After the war, he was the first deputy Chief of Air Staff for research and development.

He then commanded U.S. Air Forces in Europe and organized the Berlin Airlift. In 1948, LeMay assumed command of the new Strategic Air Command.

In 1957, LeMay was appointed vice chief of staff of the Air Force, and in 1961, he was appointed chief of staff. He retired Feb. 1, 1965. At his death on October 3, 1990, LeMay and his wife Helen had been married 56 years.

Helen LeMay was always concerned about the welfare of military members and their families.
While her husband fought for better housing and pay for his men, she worked with him to help start housing programs, beginning with the Wherry Housing unit at Offutt AFB, which spread to the rest of the bases. She was instrumental in bringing a group of community leaders together in Omaha, Neb., to help the needs of those stationed at Offutt. A common motto was "Taking care of our own," and the LeMays worked to put their ideas into programs that would improve lives.

Familiar with the plight of wives left behind while their husbands went on temporary duty assignments, Mrs. LeMay started "Family Services in the Air Force," a support group for families separated by TDYs.
She was involved with wives clubs and was interested in the helping the whole family, starting Brownie troops in Wiesbaden, Germany, in 1947.

Perhaps the best legacy of the LeMays was the General and Mrs. Curtis E. LeMay Foundation. Situated in Air Force Village West, in Riverside, Calif., it continues to serve the needs they discovered during their many years of active duty.

For more information, visit http://www.lemayfoundation.org .