James L Post

Lt. Colonel James L. Post, USAF, (Ret.) a Vietnam Veteran, age 86, went to his eternal reward on September 19, 2022, after a valiant fight against cancer. 

James (Jim) began his military career as an ROTC cadet at Colby College in Waterville, Maine and then transferred to the University of Colorado, Boulder where he completed his undergraduate degree in Economics followed by a Master’s in Business from Ohio State.

He officially entered the Air Force in January 1958 and retired from a distinguished military career in July 1980 serving in many high security clearance missions.  As a young Lieutenant he was stationed at Bitburg Air Base West Germany when he was ordered to Berlin and provided military support during the “Berlin Crisis of 1961.”

With the Soviet built Berlin Wall, the Cold War began which led the trajectory of Jim’s career with a specialty in air weapon and space defense.  On assignment to Ellsworth Air Base South Dakota he was a Minuteman housed 200 ft below ground level with a two-man team that had the keys to defensively launch an intercontinental ballistic missile. From 1967-68 during the Tet-Offensive he was stationed at Binh-Thuy Air Base Vietnam where he provided air weapon control intelligence and targeting support for highly classified missions.  In 1969, he was stationed at Vandenburg Air Base California where he participated in the missile launches that were the precursor to the now US Space Force.  Assigned to Offutt Air Base Nebraska he was involved with the national defense program “Looking Glass,” which was a 24 hour flight surveillance of US air space.

Another proud moment and acknowledgment of his strong leadership ability was the appointment as the Base Commander of Hessisch-Oldendorf Air Base in West Germany. 

In 1979, he was assigned on a military training mission to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as an Air Defense Advisor to the Saudi Air Force. In preparation for this assignment, he attended the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California and completed Arabic language courses.

On July 30, 1980, his official retirement ceremony was held at the Space and Missile Systems Organization Headquarters in El Segundo, CA.

Jim’s military personnel records included many commendations, ribbons, medals and numerous letters from his ranking superiors thanking him for his dedication to his assigned missions that referenced his intellectual aptitude, strong moral character, and outstanding management and leadership skills that served him well throughout his career.

Upon retiring from military service Jim began a career with Raytheon as a systems engineer in the Air Defense Systems unit in Fullerton, CA and negotiated multi-million dollars contracts for Hughes Aircraft with foreign countries.  In 1991, he was selected to join the General Motors Corvette division team assigned as a systems engineer to design the Corvette ZR-1 and a special assignment to work with Opel cars in Germany and Great Britain.  Cars were always a passion of his and he thoroughly enjoyed working with these engineer teams in Warren, Michigan.

He was an avid outdoorsman and had a life-long love of hunting, fishing, skiing, snowboarding, and boating.  He was also a licensed pilot.

His careers were an important part of his life, but his priority was his family. He was a wonderful father, grandfather and great-grandfather.  He was always there for us with love and support.

He is survived by his wife and college sweetheart Teodora G. Post and after twenty-one years of military life in the US and Germany they settled in Huntington Beach, CA.  He is survived by five children James P. Post of Orange, CA, Karl S. Post (Kelly) of Newport Beach, CA, Michael L Post (Mia) of Arlington, VA, and Stephanie Lopez (Rene’) and Dr. Elenea Medina (Juan) both of Huntington Beach, CA.

Grandchildren James L. Post (Shasta), Stephen Post (Jarred), Krisstal Post, Kyle Lopez (Victoria), Christopher Lopez, Braeden Post, Kaulin Post, Davis Post, Andre Medina, Camille Medina, James E. Post, Alexander Zur, Natalie Zur and great-granddaughters Chevelle Boccardi, Veronica Post, Alanna Post, McKenzie Post, Elinore Lopez and Emma Lopez.

He is survived by his sister Connie Post of Walpole, Massachusetts and brother Peter Post (Beth) of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.  Predeceased by his parents, Francis L. and Eleanor R. (Crowley) Post of Westwood, Massachusetts and his brother Francis L. Post, Jr. of Newburyport, MA.

He will also be missed by his many nieces and nephews in Colorado, California, and New York.

A donation may be made in his name to the American Cancer Society.

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