The name “Chuck Lucas” is synonymous with excellence in Air Force journalism. No wonder - he was the consummate pro when it came to the printed word.
As a young reporter for his hometown newspaper before he joined the
Air Force in 1948, and then as an active duty PA who somehow also
managed to juggle off-duty jobs as a part-time staff writer and copy
editor for the St Louis Post-Dispatch and the Washington Post, Chuck
learned the newspaper business from the ground up. That experience
paid dividends for the Air Force, paving the way for his very
productive and prolific six year stint as editor of the Air Force News
Service at the Pentagon.
His 24-year Air Force career, filled with increasingly challenging
public affairs assignments, was followed by another 20 years in the
Veterans Administration News Division, where Chuck became the first
public affairs officer in the VA’s Department of Veterans Benefits.
Journalism wasn’t his only love. As a civilian after his first
enlistment, he became the public relations director of one of
baseball’s minor leagues, the Eastern Baseball League, and then the
general manager of that league’s team in Wilkes-Barre, and later,
Johnstown, Pennsylvania. When he was back on active duty and stationed
in Germany, he was, in addition to his regular full-time public
affairs job, the director of the European Little League.
Chuck’s retirement as a Chief Master Sergeant certainly didn’t end his
commitment to the Air Force team. He served on both the Air Force
Retiree Council and the Air Force Association’s Veterans/Retirees
Council for many years.
Perhaps Chuck’s proudest
accomplishment though, was his involvement with the AFA’s Outstanding
Airmen Program. For over 30 years, he and his wife Mary hosted the Air
Force’s top enlisted people at AFA’s annual convention. In recognition
of this outstanding effort, the Air Force Association presented Chuck
with its AFA Citation of Honor award.
To learn more about Chief Lucas and his distinguished — and
amazingly diverse — career, you can read his
biography and Oral History here.