COLUMBIA Services for Col. Bob A. McIlwain, U.S. Army (Ret.), will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 27, 2018 at Wildewood Downs Retirement Community. Burial will take place in Arlington National Cemetery, joining an uncle of the same name, a WWI casualty.
Col. McIlwain is survived by his son, David and his wife Ann of Potomac, MD. and their children, Benjamin and Samantha; daughter, Debra and her husband, Antonio Agnoletti of Florence, Italy and their children, Ambra and Arianna; and sister, Mrs. Becky Gregory of Oklahoma City, OK. He was predeceased by his wife, Eleanor McIlwain; sister, Ruth Uptegraft; and brother, William McIlwain.
Col. McIlwain enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1943, graduating from OCS the same year. During his 30 years of service, he was a member of staffs from infantry battalion through Office, Secretary of Defense and command units at company, battalion and group levels. He was a Distinguished Graduate of the Air War College and U.S. Army Logistician designee, as well as holding a Ph.D. in Economics from American University in Washington, D.C.
He served overseas in three wars and was credited with eight battle stars. His 17 awards included a Legion of Merit (with Oak Leaf Cluster) and a Bronze Star from the Second Infantry Division for Korean War service. His last Army assignment was as Commandant, U.S. Army Logistics Management Center in Ft. Lee, Va.
Following retirement, Col. McIlwain established and ran a Logistics School for the Singapore Ministry of Defense, which is still operational. He then joined Wilbur Smith Associates in Columbia as a Senior Economist, specializing in feasibility analyses of large transport projects. His consulting career spanned 23 years, full and part-time.
During his various pursuits, Col. McIlwain traveled extensively, circling the globe four times and visiting over 70 countries, while working in 32 countries and 26 of the U.S. states. He also lived abroad for 14 years, not counting short tours.
He was a member of the U.S. Army Transportation Regiment, the American Economic Association and the Forest Acres Rotary Club. He was also a life member of the Military Officers Association and an early member of the small group, which later became the S.C. Writers Workshop, with some 11 chapters. His hobby was writing adventure novels, with two published.
Memories may be shared at www.dunbarfunerals.com.
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