Bruce Marion Bailey

In loving memory of our father, grandfather, great grandfather Bruce "Colonel" "Old Crow" Bailey, who passed away on December 04, 2022. He was the devoted husband of Fay Olsen Bailey and loving father of Patti (Ken), James (Wendy), Susie (Eric), John (Alecia). He was a fun-loving grandfather to Meagan (Brandon), Hunter (Sara), Mason Bailey (Haley), Jordan, Kelly, Melissa (Matt), Rachael (Hadden), Morgan (Pedro), Aubrey, Brigham, Sydney. He was great grandfather to Ellie, Birdie, Linden, Carver, Oliver, Holt, Rowan, Parker and Hardy. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

Bruce was born and raised in Crystal Springs, MS. Joined the Air Force in his early years and he lived many places both stateside and abroad. He spent the last 20 plus years in Southlake, Texas.

Bruce was a man of strong faith and he taught us the importance of family, hard work and doing what is right. He was always there for us, whether we needed help or advice. He had great stories of his life to tell us which always made us laugh. He had many great sayings over the years but our personal favorites that he would always use are "It'll feel better when it quits hurting" and "I need a volunteer for a dangerous mission"! Our father was a true role model who we will always look up to. He was larger than life, a true hero, a storyteller and an exceptional patriot.

The challenges of his later years he met with admirable strength and courage as he had done all his life. He was an absolute warrior enduring so much with little complaint. He will stand in our hearts as a reminder of strength, perseverance, love, and compassion. We will mourn his loss daily, but we know that we will be reunited in time.

At an early age, he joined the military and for the next twenty plus years he was deeply involved in what is now commonly referred to as the Cold War "Spy Flights". He flew and was assigned to the well-known spy planes, such as the RB-47, U-2, SR-71, DC-130, and RC-135 plus many one-of-a-kind and still unknown aircraft. He became known as 'the authority' on enemy capabilities and the methods for collecting the needed intelligence on them. He spent an entire career working in buildings that had no windows or were underground and he was not allowed to have a picture of any of the aircraft he flew. Wherever his group went, they were isolated from all others and commonly referred to as 'Brand X'.

After several reunions of his old outfits and hearing all the war stories over and over, he knew that some of those tales must be preserved. That led to his writing two military histories and numerous articles for aviation, historical and technical publications. It became increasingly difficult to get official release for his writings and presentations. After three years of red tape, he took a different approach to publish his history of the 55SRW, We See All. He went through the back door of the White House. A personalized copy was printed up for the President, which he endorsed enthusiastically and paved the way to publication.

Still a heavy veil of secrecy hung over all the cold war intelligence programs. He knew the time of disclosure was nearing, so prepared for it by writing "As The Crow Flies" and several other stories about those vital programs, which so greatly influenced our past forty years. The lid was finally cracked in 1993, leading to special reports and documentaries by the major networks, CNN, A&E, BBC and others. He has appeared on many of those programs and co-authored eight books about the 'spy planes' and their operations.

One of the kindest souls on this planet, our father was a gentle, giving man who worked tirelessly to ensure that his family had everything they needed.

The memorial service will be held December 10, 2022 in Southlake, Texas. Visitation with the family will be at 10:15 with the memorial at 11:00. A full military funeral with honors will be held at a later date.