Funeral service for Senior Airman Drew Bellairs, 20, of Osage, Iowa, will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 6 at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 833 Ash St. in Osage.
Bellairs, a member of the maintenance group in the Sioux City-based 185th Air Refueling Wing of the Iowa Air National Guard, drowned July 25 while swimming at Marbo Cave in Mangilao, Guam. He was serving on temporary duty while assigned to the 506th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, at the time of the accident.
Bellairs was born in Greeneville, S.C., April 28, 1995, and graduated from Osage (Iowa) High School in 2013, where he participated in chorus, band, cross country, basketball and golf. Bellairs was a student at Iowa State University, majoring in criminal justice and was active in the ISU flying and skiing clubs.
He enlisted in the Iowa Air National Guard in July 2012 as an aerospace maintenance journeyman. Following graduation from Air Force Basic Training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, Bellairs attended the aerospace maintenance apprentice course. He was an aircraft mechanic and was currently assigned as a crew chief for KC-135R refueling aircraft.
Bellairs had previously deployed to Japan for typhoon response. His awards included the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, Air Reserve Forces Meritorious Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal and the Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal.
Perry-area reaction to the news of Bellairs’ death was swift and stern.
“This young Airman lost his life while off duty, taking a well deserved break far from home and family,” said American Legion Post 85 Commander Mike Kelley of Perry. “He lost his life not by hostile fire yet still serving under a commander in chief experienced as a community organizer and past leader of Acorn, a commander in chief who will never know the pride that comes with the wearing of the uniform and serving one’s country. He will never know the pain felt by fellow veterans when one of us falls. He will probably never learn his name. Sad.”
Bellairs is survived by his father and mother, David and Beth Bellairs of Osage; sisters, Jenny Bellairs of Pensacola, Fla. and Natalie Bellairs of Osage; brother, Sam Bellairs of Osage; maternal grandparents, Ray and Marge Huftalin of Osage; and paternal grandmother, Dolores Bellairs of Clarinda.
He was preceded in death by his paternal grandfather, Dale Bellairs.
The family will greet relatives and friends at the church immediately following the funeral. Interment will be held at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minneapolis, Minn. at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Drew Bellairs Memorial Fund for the family’s designation to various charities and organizations. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Champion-Bucheit Funeral Home. Information and condolences accepted at www.champion-bucheitfuneralhome.com or call 641-732-3706.
