Meet Robert Earl Beckett Jr., the January 2025 Veteran of the Month

The Tipton County Museum honored its January 2025 Veteran of the Month, Robert Earl Beckett Jr., on Tuesday night.

Beckett was born on Feb. 5, 1944, in Memphis, where he spent his formative years in South Memphis. As a student at South Side High School, Beckett was a standout leader and athlete, serving as captain of the football team in 1962. In recognition of his contributions on the field, the school retired his jersey number upon his graduation.

After high school, Beckett attended Memphis State University, earning a degree in business. Following in the footsteps of his older brother, he joined the U.S. Air Force through the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program, commissioning as an officer in 1967. The brothers became the first members of their family to serve in the U.S. military.

Beckett began his Air Force career with flight training at Craig Air Force Base in Alabama, graduating in 1968. He was soon selected to pilot the Lockheed EC-121 “Warning Star,” a long-range radar surveillance aircraft, and was assigned to McClellan Air Force Base in California. His missions took him to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, where he flew reconnaissance missions over North Korea and North Vietnam. He also flew out of Korat Air Base in Thailand, monitoring ground sensors tracking North Vietnamese troop movements in Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

After his time in Asia, Beckett transitioned to piloting the Boeing KC-135 “Stratotanker” at Loring Air Force Base in Maine. As aircraft commander, he led a crew responsible for aerial refueling of fighter jets and cargo planes, including the massive Lockheed C-5A Galaxy.

In 1975, Beckett was reassigned to Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico, where he took charge of a Disaster Preparedness Program. Under his leadership, the program went from a marginal rating to earning an outstanding evaluation within three years. His next assignment took him to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, where his unit also received an outstanding rating from Tactical Air Command, Europe.

Beckett’s career continued to advance, and in 1980, he was promoted to major and stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. There, he served with the Strategic Air Command, training crews to decode wartime messages to determine mission actions, such as takeoffs and strikes. Later, he transitioned to the 2nd Bomb Wing Command Post, coordinating operations between aircrews, maintenance teams, and wing staff.

After 24 years of distinguished service, Beckett retired from the U.S. Air Force on Oct. 31, 1991. Throughout his career, he earned numerous accolades, including the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Meritorious Service Medal, and Air Force Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster.

Beckett’s dedication to service extended beyond his military career. During his marriage to Donna Taylor of Memphis, the couple welcomed a daughter and later adopted identical twin boys. His sons continued the family tradition of military service by joining the U.S. Marine Corps.

Following his Air Force retirement, Beckett worked as a sales tax auditor in Bossier City, La. 

In 1994, he moved to Brighton to marry Faye Trumbo, who was his close friend and neighbor growing up. Their parents were also close friends who went out dancing together. Faye, they said, was his babysitter. 

“I’m nine months older,” she said, with a laugh.

“Every time they went dancing, I’d go to her house or she’d come to my house. Then we have her sister and her brother,” Beckett said. “When we were kids we never dated. We were best friends.”

Thirty years later they’ve made their home in Tipton County. Beckett said his life’s been wonderful and he enjoys living here.

“I can’t say enough things good about Tipton County,” Beckett said Tuesday. “From the first day, or I’d say when we first lived on Sunnyside Road, people were so friendly and cordial … This is a classic example of a Southern town. It’s a Southern seat because the square and everybody is… It’s just something you dream of. This is the perfect town.”

He briefly worked in insurance sales before finding his true calling as a special education teacher at Munford High School, where he also served as a volunteer school bus driver. He spent 17 years at the school, making a positive impact on countless students.

Since 1996, Beckett and his wife, Faye, have been active members of the First United Methodist Church of Covington. His community service includes contributions to Covington Care, the church’s Thursday Morning Men’s Breakfast, and the Methodist Church Food Pantry.

To commemorate his service, Beckett received a patriotic quilt made by the Millington Quilters Guild, flowers donated by the Covington Garden Club, a membership to the museum and Covington Sportsplex, proclamation by Speaker of the Tennessee House Cameron Sexton and Representative Debra Moody, and the local Daughters of the American Revolution chapter has donated to Wreaths Across America in his name. A flag was also flown at the state capitol in his honor.