WEST COLUMBIA - Services for Col. Clifford C. Cartee, 85, (US Army Ret.) of West Columbia were held at 4 p.m. Tuesday, August 10, 1999 at Congaree Baptist Church, South Congaree, officiated by the Rev. Ron Pelfrey and the Rev. Steve Kittrell, with burial in Congaree Baptist Church Cemetery with Military Honors. Pallbearers were Col. Cartee's grandsons, Clay Spires, Mark Spires, Ken Spires, John Spires, Jeff Millsapp, Sam Gunnell, Art Cartee, and Michael Hutchinson. Honorary Pallbearers were members of the American Legion, Post 90, South Congaree.
   Col. Cartee was born in Etowah, Tenn.  He was the son of the late William Edward Cartee and Cordelia L Underwood Cartee. He served in the U.S. Army as a Chaplain during World War II and The Korean Conflict. He graduated from City High in Chattanooga, Tenn., class of 1932 and Columbia Bible College with a Bachelors and Masters of Arts in Biblical Education, a Bachelors in Divinity, and from the University of S.C. with a Bachelors and Masters of Arts in Education. He attended the University of Ga. and the University of Ala. for post graduate work. He also attended the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and the Chaplains School of Harvard University prior to serving in Europe during World War II.
   He concluded his military service as an instructor of the U.S. Army Commanding Generals War College.
   In 1941 he was ordained at Congaree Baptist Church where he was a member. He served as pastor there for several years. He also served as pastor of several other churches in S.C. and Ga. during his years as an active minister. He was an Educator serving as Teacher, Principal, and Counselor in various school systems of Ga. He was Chaplain and English teacher at Area Trade School in the mid 1950's. He served as a Missionary in Colombia, South America where he taught missionary children in the mission-based schools and churches. He founded and personally funded several schools and churches in the area of the mission-base. He retired to the West Columbia area 1993.
   Surviving is his wife, Marguerite McQuilkin Cartee of West Columbia; daughters, Evelyn Hopkins of Lookout Mtn., Tenn . Ruth Spires and Beverly Hutchinson of West Columbia. Mitty Gunnell and Esther Millsapp of Dallas. Ga . Ginny Zeigler of Spartanburg,. Rita Smith of Lexington. He is also survived by 16 grandchildren; 17' great-grandchildren.
   He was preceded m death by his first wife, Jessie Vernon Cartee: and their only son. Arthur Cartee.

[State, Columbia, SC, Thu, Aug 12, 1999, Page: 8]

[courtesy of Bonni Bobb]

Grave marker for Clifford C. Cartee in Congaree Baptist Church Cemetery, West Columbia (Lexington county), South Carolina.

Rev. Cartee took his unofficial chaplain's nickname of "Sky Pilot" to heart as he got his private pilot's license and owned an Ercoupe,

Chaplain (Capt) Clifford Cartee of the 82nd Airborne division, Fort Bragg, stopped by in his Ercoupe en route to Marietta, Ga, to visit his family, stopped on his return to Fort Bragg also.

The Ercoupe was designed in the late 1930's and a number of them were pressed into military service during WWII (see a civilian example "dressed up" in military livery above The two-seat ERCO Ercoupe 415 with a 100-HP Lycoming engine went on sale in 1940, toted as a safe aircraft that nearly anyone could fly. LIFE magazine described the aircraft as "nearly foolproof" and showed pictures of a pilot landing with his hands in the air. The aluminum version was halted due to wartime shortages and wooden versions were built instead.

Capt. Cartee may well have purchased a war-surplus aircraft but the marketing for the aircraft built quickly in 1949 as aluminum supplies became more plentiful with both two-place and four-place versions, the latter being the "family" model.