Norman Robert Banda

Norman Robert Banda of Chester, MD, passed away on December 1, 2015, at his home. He was 83. Born on September 6, 1932, in Crockett, CA, to Italian immigrant parents, John Banda and Camilla Mazzucchelli Banda. He grew up and attended school there, graduating from John Swett High School in June 1950. During the next two years, he continued his education by attending the University of California at Berkeley. On the first day of his third year of college, with the Korean War still raging, he received his induction notice. On October 17, 1952, he was inducted into the Army and began basic training at FT. Ord, CA. In July 1953, he began Infantry OCS at Ft. Benning, GA. On November 24, 1953 he was commissioned a 2LT in Ordnance. He underwent Basic Officer and MOS training at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), MD. His first unit assignment was with the 2d Infantry Division at Ft. Lewis, WA. One third of the division, including his unit, “Gyroscoped” to Alaska in the summer of 1956. His unit was initially stationed at Eielson AFB, south of Fairbanks, and later moved to Ladd AFB on the outskirts of Fairbanks. In mid 1958 he was assigned as XO, then CO of Stallion Site Range Camp at the Northwest corner of White Sands Missile Range, NM. Thirteen miles south of the Camp in Trinity Site where the first atomic explosion took place. He returned the APG in January 1960 to attend the Ordnance Officer Career Course. He next commanded an Ordnance Maintenance Company as part of the Ordnance Depot Complex in Bupyong, Korea. Upon return to the States he was assigned to and assisted in the closure of the Benicia Arsenal in CA. In preparation for a Military Assistance Program assignment, he first attended the Defense Language Institute at Monterey, CA, studying French, and then the Military Assistance Institute in Arlington, VA. In August 1964 he began a 33 month tour as Supply Officer in the Military Assistance Program Office with the American Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia. He returned to APG, MD , in April 1967, first as an instructor and Xo of the Ordnance OCS Brigade, and later as XO of the Ordnance School Brigade. In July 1968, as part of the Military Degree Completion Program, he began studies at the University of Nebraska, Omaha Campus, where he attained his BGS Degree in early February 1969. Later that month he began a one year tour as Logistics Officer of the 45th General Support Group in Pleiku, Vietnam. His final military assignment was with the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), Alexandria, VA, as Pentagon Liason Officer and Joint Action Control Officer. He completed his military service and retired from the Army on November 30, 1972. In 1973, he began his second 20 year career as a civilian employed by DLA initially with its Inspector General (IG) Field Office in Alameda, CA. This office was responsible for IG inspections and investigations of DLA Field Activities in the Western United States and throughout the Pacific. After over six and one half years in the IG Office, he spent a bit more than a year and a half as Deputy Director of the Office of Planning and Management at DLA’s Tracy, CA, Defense Depot. He rounded out the remainder of his 20 years of civilian service as a DLA Customer Supply Assistance Representative visiting all Military and most Federal Civilian activities in Northern CA and NV, initially from his office in Sacramento, CA, and later from Alameda, CA. In April1996, he moved from California to Kent Island, MD, to be near his two sons, John and Joseph, and their respective families which include seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. He is survived by his sons. LTC Banda was predeceased by his father, mother, sister, brother, and two uncles in America, and several aunts, uncles and cousins in Italy. LTC Banda is a Life Member of the AL, DAV, MOAA, NAUS, and VFW. He held many awards and decorations including LoM, BSM (meritorious service) w/1 OLC, AM w/1 OLC, ACM w/1 OLC, GCM, NDSM w/1 OLC, VSM w/3 BZ Svc Stars, AFRM w/X Yr Device, RVNCM w/60 Device, 2 OS bars. Following a gathering on Sunday, January 17, 2016, from 2-4 p.m., at the Fellows, Helfenbein & Newnam Funeral Home, P.A. in Chester, MD, there will be a Funeral Mass in Saint Rose of Lima Catholic Church on September 6, 2016. Inurnment will follow at Saint Joseph Cemetery, San Pablo, CA, with full military honors. In lieu of flowers, please make any donations in LTC Banda’s name to the charity of your choice or to the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675

Norman Robert Banda

September 6, 1932 - December 1, 2015