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Unit:
773rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Gun Battalion, Company C
Date of Birth:
May 9, 1930
Hometown:
Raleigh, North Carolina
Date of Death:
January 10, 2015
Awards:
Korean Service Medal (with 2 bronze stars), United Nations Service Medal
Colin Alexander Maultsby, Jr. was born in Bennettsville, South Carolina on May 9, 1930. He was the oldest of three boys. Colin’s father, a truck driver, died of an aortic aneurysm on May 4, 1936, and his mother, unable to raise the children on her own, released the boys to the care of the Raleigh Methodist Orphanage.
Colin, age seven was too old for admission by the orphanage’s standards and he was returned to the care of his grandmother. Not wanting to have the three brothers separated, Mrs. Maultsby convinced the orphanage to re-admit Colin. He lived and attended school there until he graduated from the orphanage high school in 1950.
Colin worked as a milkman for the Melville Dairy in Raleigh, and married Jeannette Cole on April 21, 1951. Shortly afterwards, he received his draft notice and entered the U.S. Army on June 5, 1951.
In October 1951, Maultsby arrived in Korea with the 773rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Gun Battalion and was assigned to provide cover for the K55 Airfield outside of Osan, Korea (now Osan Air Base.) This was the only base in Korea entirely constructed by Aviation Engineer units of the nascent U.S. Air Force.
The 773rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Gun Battalion never came under direct assault by enemy ground troops, but they did face enemy counter-battery fire. When that happened, they took refuge in local caves. The caves offered dubious protection, since they also were used to store the battery’s ammunition. Maultsby’s duties with the 773rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Gun Battalion included maintenance and crewing of the battery’s guns. He was promoted to corporal on January 17, 1953 and departed Korea along with his unit on April 30, 1953.
Maultsby returned to Raleigh after being separated from active duty but remained in the U.S. Army Reserve for five years. Taking advantage of his G.I. Bill benefits, he attended Appalachian State University for a short time, but determined that academic life was not for him. He returned to Raleigh and became an insurance adjuster.
From 1971 to 1975, Maultsby was the director of the La Vernia Boys Ranch in La Vernia, Texas, a ranch for troubled boys. He returned to Raleigh and had many occupations, including courier for the pharmaceutical industry and various positions with the railroad, fulfilling a childhood dream and hobby interest.
He was active in coaching local boys softball leagues. He and his wife, Jeanette, had four sons, Greg, Danny, David, and Colin. Jeanette, his wife of forty years, passed away in 1990. Maultsby became very interested in veterans affairs and served as the local VFW Post Commander.
Colin Maultsby, Jr. passed away on January 10, 2015. He leaves a legacy of four sons, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
“Colin A. Maultsby.” National Cemetery Administration. Accessed March 19, 2018. https://www.va.gov/oca/index.asp.
Colin A. Maultsby. South Carolina Death Records, 1821-1965. Digital Images https://ancestry.com.
Colin A. Maultsby, Jr., DD-214, Department of the Army, RG 319, National Archives and Records Administration – St. Louis.
“Colin A. Maultsby, Jr. Obituary.” Legacy.com. Last modified 2018. Accessed March 21, 2018. https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/colin/maultsby-obituary?pid=173829748.
Colin A. Maultsby, Jr. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995. Digital Images https://ancestry.com.
Colin A. Maultsby, Jr. Wake County, NC Marriage Records, 1711-2011. Digital Images https://ancestry.com.
Griffin, William. The Methodist Orphanage/Methodist Home for Children. New Hill, NC: Author, 2011.
Maultsby Family Photographs. 1936-2014. Courtesy of the Maultsby Family.
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