December 20, 1920 ~ April 28, 2013
Colonel Herbert B. Mattingly (U.S. Army, Retired), 92, of Glasgow, Kentucky, died Sunday, April 28, 2013, at the Western Kentucky Veteran’s Center in Hanson, Kentucky.
He was the son of the late Albert Begley Mattingly and Margie Claybrooke Mattingly. Survivors are three sons: Herbert B. Mattingly, Jr. of Glasgow, Edward A. Mattingly of Houston, Texas, and Charles C. Mattingly (Beth) of Knoxville, Tennessee; three daughters: Ann M. Bertrand of Glasgow, Mary Elliott (Tommy) of Glasgow, and Sue M. Smith (Jamie) of Columbia, Kentucky; seven grandchildren: Laura B. Johnson (John), Teresa Bertrand, Robert “Bobby” Bertrand, III, Brookes Mattingly, Sabel Mattingly, Emma Mattingly, and Brittain Mattingly. Also surviving is one sister, Della Jean Skaggs, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, as well as many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 56 years, Jane Abell Mattingly, and four sisters: Pearl Schaeg, Isabel Goff, Elizabeth Clarkson, and Peyton Matthews, and two brothers: Roy Mattingly and Freeman Mattingly.
Colonel Mattingly was born in Washington County, Kentucky, on December 20, 1920, and was a 1939 graduate of Springfield High School, where he was a star player on both the football and basketball teams.
Upon graduating from high school, he was employed by the A and P Grocery Store in Springfield, Kentucky. Other civilian jobs include work at Hubbard’s Restaurant, which he co-owned, and automobile sales at Nally and Mudd Pontiac Company, both in Springfield.
Colonel Mattingly was a veteran of the U.S. Army and the Kentucky National Guard. He served in World War II as a tank commander in the 44 th Tank Battalion in the Pacific Theater including New Guinea, as well as Leyte and Luzon in the Philippines. He participated in the liberation of the civilian detainees at Santo Tomas University in Manila, Philippines, and also served as part of the Occupational Forces in Tokyo and Yokohama, after the Japanese surrender. During this duty, he received the Purple Heart, among numerous other medals.
Colonel Mattingly became a commissioned officer in 1948, and was assigned to the 623 rd Field Artillery of the Kentucky National Guard. Having been called to active duty in late 1950, he served in the Korean War, where he received the Bronze Star Medal.
In 1962, Colonel Mattingly was assigned to active duty at the Pentagon, in Arlington, Virginia, with the National Guard Bureau. During the Vietnam War era, he served as a National Guard Liaison Officer at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
In 1972, Colonel Mattingly became an area director for the Kentucky Department of Military Affairs, Division of Civil Defense, based in Bowling Green and Glasgow, Kentucky. He retired in 1985.
Receiving of friends will be at Hatcher and Saddler Funeral Home in Glasgow, Kentucky, on Wednesday, May 1, at 3 p.m., with a prayer vigil at 7:30 p.m. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Helen’s Catholic Church in Glasgow, on Thursday, May 2, at 10 a.m. Inter ment will be at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, at a later date.