He was born to Elmer and Grace (Jones) Carlson on September 23, 1922 in Galva, IL.
Dale graduated from Galva High School in 1941.
Dale was 19 and living in Galva, IL when he enlisted October 1, 1942 and served in the Air Force for the next 3 years. After going through training, he was sent to a small town in England named Molesworth. There, he was assigned to the 8th Air Force and was assigned to the 303rd bomb group, 359th Squadron. With the same consecutive crew, Dale flew 35 bombing missions and served as the bombardier for each mission. On several of those missions, Dale’s plane flew solo and he was charged with bombing the bridges that would cripple the German transportation system. Dale’s name resides on the Air Force Honor Roll. He was awarded the Air Force Medal 5 times. Dale also was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation that was given to servicemen who participated in a mission directly ordered by the President. On September 22, 1945 Dale was formally discharged from the service in California. He hitchhiked to Colorado where he caught a bus back to Galva, IL.
After his service in the Air Force, Dale returned to the family farm. Dale married the love of his life Beth Cone on April 3, 1947. He went to work as an order buyer for a local hog dealer at the Galva Stockyards. At the beginning of the 1950’s, Dale moved his family to Peoria where he went to work for Buster and Company at the Peoria Union Stockyards. In the late 1970’s, Dale opened his own business at the stockyards. Dale bought high quality hogs, and shipped them to eastern and southern packing houses where the meat eventually found its way to some of the finest restaurants in places like New York City. After forty years of working at the stockyards, Dale retired and continued to raise cattle on a 40 acre farm near Kickapoo, IL where he and Beth lived for over 50 years. Dale and Beth moved to Proctor Place in 2006. Dale was a member of the Shriners and attended the University Avenue Methodist Church for many years.
Dale is survived by his three children; Cindy (Keith) Worner of Green Valley, IL, Rick (Rosemary) Carlson of Plattsburg, MO, and David Carlson of Peoria, IL. Three grandchildren; Jenny (Aaron) Heider, Sarah (Vic) Fabris, and Rachel Carlson. One great-grandchild; Violet Heider. He was preceded in death by two brothers and one sister.
Cremation rites have been entrusted with Davison Fulton Woolsey Wilton in Peoria, IL.
A memorial service will be held at a later date.
For more information please visit www.DavisonFulton.com
