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Lt. Col. Arthur J. Houle Jr., USAF retired, died Sunday (July 7, 2002), in Salem.

Lt. Col. Houle’s funeral will be held 10:30 a.m. Monday (July 15, 2002), at St. Anne Catholic Church in Grants Pass. Viewing will be prior to Mass at the church. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Cemetery in Grants Pass.

He was born April 17, 1921, in Anville, Mich., to Arthur and Anna Houle. He was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Army in 1941. He received parachute training, earned his wings and was assigned to the 507th parachute infantry regiment at Fort Benning, Ga.

On June 6, 1944, he parachuted into Normandy, France, with the 82nd Airborne Division during the World War II Allied invasion of Europe. He was a POW at Oflagt 64, Althergund, Germany, force-marched to Hammelburg, Germany, where he escaped and was recaptured and returned to Hammelburg.

He escaped to the Serbian compound and the Serbian POWs hid Lt. Col. Houle until they were liberated by the U.S. Army’s 14th Armored Division.

After the war he attended Wayne State University in Detroit. He re-enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Rescue Service as a parachute team leader and transferred to the USAF Air Rescue Squadron, where he was chief survival instructor. Lt. Col. Houle served in Alaska, the Philippines and many states in America.

He retired in 1963 and settled in Ashland, where he attended Southern Oregon College. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1970 and a master’s in 1972.

Lt. Col. Houle was a member of the VFW Post 01833, Moose Lodge No. 178, National Rifle Association, the Josephine County Sportsman Association, American Legion Post No. 0028 and the Pararescue Association. He earned his Oregon pilot’s license in 1989.

Lt. Col. Houle is survived by three daughters, Martha, Kay and Dana; one stepdaughter, Vicki; one stepson, Richard; nine grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and two sisters, Helen and Joan.

Arrangements: Howell-Edwards-Doerksen with Rigdon-Ransom.

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