Decorated Marine pilot 'Ace' Realie remembered as giving, civic-minded

Glenview resident A. Charles Realie, a fighter pilot who earned a Distinguished Flying Cross for his missions in Korea and Japan and was 2016 Glenview Citizen of the Year, died on Dec. 13.

A Marine fighter pilot who after his 1982 retirement worked to preserve the history of the Naval Air Station Glenview as it transitioned from military to civilian use as The Glen, Col. "Ace" Realie was 99.

"He was one of the most interesting, one of the most giving people I think I ever met," said Beverly Dawson, president of the Glenview History Center and a founding member of the Hangar One Foundation.

Realie served as president for both of those institutions as well as the Glenview Council of the Navy League of the United States, she said.

"He had a long life, a very productive life, and he certainly was a Marine's Marine," Dawson said.

Born on June 28, 1922, Realie was raised in Chicago. Qualified in 1945 to fly Corsair aircraft on the USS Mission Bay based in Mayport, Florida, the following year he was assigned to Marine Air Reserve Training Command in Glenview.

Third in command of Squad VMF 121, Realie's squadron was activated for conflict in the Korean War on March 1, 1951. An Air Officer for the 1st Marine Division, he led airstrikes in support of ground forces of Marines, Army and South Korean troops. In 13 months he flew 126 missions in Korea and Japan.

Reassigned to staff duty with the Air Force in Japan in May 1952, he later was assigned back to Naval Air Station Glenview as a commanding officer, and subsequent staff positions.

Realie and his late wife of 60 years, Beatrice, raised three boys in a house on Pick Lane near Springman Middle School.

While flying out of Glenview, Dawson said Realie "could look down at his house and make sure his boys were cutting the lawn."

Realie earned six air medals, the U.S. Navy Commendation Medal with a "V" for valor, and the Distinguished Flying Cross, the highest award for aerial achievement. He retired in 1982 after logging more than 4,000 flight hours piloting 21 different military aircraft.

He was a member of American Legion Joseph M. Sesterhenn, Post 166, in Glenview.

"Ace was a great guy," said Post 166 Cmdr. Wayne Carle, a 24-year veteran of the Marine Corps who saw action in Okinawa.

"Very easy to get along with, very pleasant. He was friendly, outgoing."

Dawson said after Realie retired he gave back to Glenview.

In 1995 the air station was set for closure and redevelopment. Realie helped establish the Hangar One Foundation, which in turn preserved the Hangar One Tower.

"Once he became involved in Hangar One he made sure history was not lost," Dawson said.

She recalled Realie urging the Glenview board of trustees to create a Navy park on the site, and lobbied for the statues of a pilot, air crewman and sailor, which could be financed in part by selling commemorative bricks.

"And he said, 'I will put my house up as collateral,'" Dawson said.

A 2016 article in the Daily North Shore quoted a resident who nominated Realie for Glenview Citizen of the Year based not on his military service but for "his service to Glenview and our history."

Dawson also wrote a letter nominating Realie for the award that did acknowledge his service as a Marine pilot.

"My statement in that letter was he protected our freedom so that we who were involved with the village during his military years were free to do our thing and make our village a better place," she recalled.

"Once he set his mind to something he just could accomplish anything," she said. "He was determined but in a very pleasant way. He was just a guy who got the job done but at the same time he was a very warm human."

Realie is survived by his sons Charles D. (the late Noreen), James (Hanny) and Craig (Sandra); grandchildren Cristan, Jon and Edward; and dear friend Toni Anderson.

Visitation was held Dec. 22 at N.H. Scott & Hanekamp Funeral Home, Glenview. A funeral Mass was held Dec. 23 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Glenview.

Interment with military honors took place Dec. 24 at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, www.woundedwarriorproject.org.

"He was a good friend," Dawson said. "He was our friend for many years and he was a terrific guy."